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1. Eligibility |
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1.1
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Anyone
can participate in the West Point Bridge Design Contest; however,
only eligible contestants may compete for national-level recognition. |
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1.2
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Eligible
contestants include the following:
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(1)
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Students,
age 13 through grade 12, who are currently enrolled in middle
schools, junior high schools, and high schools in the United
States. |
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(2)
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Students,
age 13 through grade 12, who are legally home schooled in the
United States. |
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(3)
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All
U.S. citizens, age 13 through grade 12, who are attending school
outside of the United States or are home-schooled outside of
the United States. |
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1.3
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To
be eligible, a contestant must be at least 13 years old at the
time of registration. |
| 1.4 |
To
be eligible, a contestant cannot have graduated from high school,
as of the time of registration. A student who registers
while attending high school and then subsequently graduates
prior to the end of the contest retains his or her eligibility.
In such cases, the student must be prepared to document that
he or she was, in fact, enrolled in high school at the time
of registration. |
| 1.5 |
Any
contestant who is not eligible may register and compete in the
Open Competition. |
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2. Teams |
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2.1 |
Students
may compete individually or in teams of two members. Competing
in teams of two is strongly encouraged. |
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these rules, the word team refers to one
or two students who have identified themselves as
a team during the contest registration process. |
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2.2 |
A
team of two students is considered eligible only if both
members of the team are eligible. (See the eligibility
requirements above.) |
| 2.3 |
Each contestant may register as a member
of only one team, except under the following circumstances: |
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(1) |
If
an individual enters the contest alone but subsequently decides
to work with a teammate, he or she may form a new two-member
team. |
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(2) |
If
a two-person team enters the contest but one member subsequently
drops out, becomes ineligible, or joins another team, the remaining
individual may register a new team and continue in the contest. |
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(3) |
If
the members of a team forget their team name or password, they
may register again under a new team name. |
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(4) |
If
a 12 year old contestant will turn 13 prior to the end of the
contest, then that contestant may initially register
and compete in the Open Competition, and then register a new
team on or after his or her 13th birthday, in order to compete
as an eligible contestant. |
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(5) |
One or two contestants may register multiple teams for the purpose of participating in two or more local contests, or for the purpose of participating in the national and local contests simultaneously, as specified in Rule 7.2 below. |
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At the end of the contest, if one individual is a member of two or
more different teams that are ranked in the top 10 of any contest
zone, then only the highest-ranked team (i.e., the team with
the lowest cost design) will be considered for national-level recognition.
All others will be disqualified. |
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3. Registration |
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3.1
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Registration
for the West Point Bridge Design Contest begins on the date indicated in the Contest Schedule, posted at http://bridgecontest.usma.edu/schedule.htm. |
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3.2
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To
participate in the contest, a team must register
via the WPBDC website. As part of the registration process,
the contestant will be asked to (1) validate the eligibility
of each team member, (2) provide a team name and password, (3)
provide an e-mail address, (4) provide contact information for
each member of the team, and (5) designate one member as Team
Captain. |
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3.3
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As
part of the registration process, each team will be automatically
assigned to one of four contest zones, based on the geographical
location of the Team Captain's school. |
| 3.4 |
Once
a team has registered for the contest, the team name, the names
and ages of the team members, and the assigned contest zone
cannot be changed. Other information (mailing addresses, e-mail
address, etc.) can be updated on subsequent log-ins. |
| 3.5 |
No
contestant may be registered in more than one zone. If a contestant
registers in more than one zone, he or she will be barred from
further participation in the contest, and his or her team(s)
will be disqualified. If a contestant mistakenly registers in
the wrong zone, he or she should request disqualification of
that team before registering a new team. See Rule 3.6. |
| 3.6 |
Any
team that wishes to voluntarily disqualify itself may do so
by sending an e-mail message to wpbedc@usma.edu.
The message must include the team name, the team's password,
and the reason for the requested disqualification. Once a team
has requested disqualification, the team members may register
again under a new team name. |
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3.7
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Anyone
who is found to have misrepresented their age, eligibility status,
contact information, or contest zone during the registration
process will be barred from any further participation in the
contest and will be ineligible for national-level recognition. |
| 3.8 |
The
use of inappropriate team names is strictly forbidden. Any team
that registers under an inappropriate team name will be disqualified,
and the members of that team may be barred from further participation
in the contest. Further guidance on what constitutes an inappropriate
team name is provided on the registration web page. The Contest
Committee reserves the right to determine if a given team name
is inappropriate. All decisions of the Contest Committee are
final. |
| 3.9 |
To
ensure the privacy of contest participants, the team name may
not include the last name of any team member. |
| 3.10 |
The
use of any obscenity or other inappropriate language in a team
registration (to include the team password) is strictly forbidden.
Any team that uses inappropriate language in its registration
will be disqualified, and the members of that team may be barred
from further participation in the contest. The Contest Committee
reserves the right to determine what is inappropriate. All decisions
of the Contest Committee are final. |
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4. Your Privacy |
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4.1 |
In
developing the West Point Bridge Design Contest, we have made
every effort to comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection
Act (COPPA). We strongly support the provisions of COPPA and
pledge to use all personal information collected from contestants
solely for contest administration and assessment. |
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4.2 |
As part
of the online registration process,
each eligible contestant will be required to provide his or
her name, age, mailing address, phone number, e-mail address,
school name, and school city. This information will be used
only for (1) assignment of teams to contest zones, (2) verification
of eligibility, (3) direct communication with contestants
for the purpose of providing updates or resolving problems,
and (4) notification of winners. |
| 4.3 |
Contestants
will be asked to provide information on their gender and ethnic
background. This information is optional and is requested solely
for the purpose of assessing whether the contest has been successful
in reaching out to women and ethnic groups that are underrepresented
in the engineering profession. |
| 4.4 |
Because
of COPPA restrictions on acquiring personal information on line,
children age 12 and below are not eligible for this contest.
Children age 12 and below can participate in the Open Category,
but they will not be asked to provide any personal information
on line, and they are not eligible for prizes. |
| 4.5 |
No
information collected during registration for the West Point
Bridge Design Contest will be disclosed to any third parties, except as indicated in Rule 4.6 below. |
| 4.6 |
A
number of local contests will be offered in conjunction with
the West Point Bridge Design Contest. To support these local
contests, we will provide the names and contact information
of the top finishers to the appropriate local contest coordinators,
upon request. This information
will be provided solely for the purpose of notifying the local
contest winners. |
| 4.7 |
Data
collection for the West Point Bridge Design Contest is the responsibility
of COL Stephen J. Ressler, Department of Civil & Mechanical
Engineering, West Point, NY 10996; phone: (845) 938-2600; e-mail:
wpbedc@usma.edu. |
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5. National Contest |
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5.1 |
The
national West Point Bridge Design Contest will begin and end as indicated in the Contest Schedule, posted at http://bridgecontest.usma.edu/schedule.htm. |
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5.2 |
A
team must register before it can submit bridge designs. It is
not necessary to submit a bridge design at the time of registration.
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5.3 |
Once
a team is registered, there is no limit to the number of entries
that team may submit. Any entries submitted after the specified end of the contest will not be considered for national-level recognition. |
| 5.4 |
All
bridge designs must be created using the current edition of the West Point Bridge Designer
software, which will be available for download
from the WPBDC website at the start of the contest. (It is permissible
to obtain the software from another source; however, the team
is solely responsible for ensuring that it has obtained the
correct version of the software.) |
| 5.5 |
There are no restrictions whatsoever on
collaboration during the contest. Teams may consult freely with teachers, contest
volunteers, parents, or peers about their designs. (However, local contest sponsors may choose to restrict collaboration during their local Final
Round competitions.) |
| 5.6 |
Each team is responsible for the security
of its own design(s). Any contestant who shares his or her team's
design(s) with another person or team does so at his or her
own risk. Any contestant who fails to safeguard his or her team's
design(s) does so at his or her own risk. A contestant who has
shared or failed to safeguard a design loses all claim to "ownership"
of that design or design concept. If a team shares its design
and subsequently fails to achieve national-level recognition, that team has no basis for complaint. |
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6. Recognition |
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6.1 |
At
the end of the contest, the top ten eligible teams
from each contest zone will be selected for national-level recognition. Each team member will receive a certificate, signed by the Contest Director, certifying the team's final contest standing. |
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6.2 |
The
Contest Committee reserves the right to select more than 10
teams per zone for national-level recognition. Additional
teams might be selected, for example, if a given school has two
or more teams in the top 10 for its zone. |
| 6.3 |
To facilitate notification, each
team is responsible for ensuring that its contest registration
data includes an accurate e-mail address, phone number, and mailing address. |
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7. Local Contests |
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7.1 |
Many
local bridge design contests are conducted in conjunction with
the national West Point Bridge Design Contest. These local contests
make use of the WPBD software and contest website; however,
they are not affiliated with the U.S. Military Academy or the
West Point Bridge Design Contest in any way. Neither the U.S.
Military Academy nor the WPBDC Committee have any authority
over, or responsibility for, the rules, procedures, or prizes
used in these local contests. Any dispute or disagreement with
the rules, procedures, or prizes used in any local contest must
be directed to the local contest sponsor for resolution. |
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7.2 |
In the on-line registration system, each team is only permitted to register for one local contest at a time. If one or two contestants wish to enter two or more local contests simultaneously, they may register with a different team name for each local contest. |
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8. Judging |
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8.1
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An automated
process will be used to check the validity of each design submitted
electronically to the contest website. An entry will be judged
as valid if: |
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(1)
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The
file is a "bridge design file" created with the current edition of the West Point Bridge Designer software (using any available site configuration); |
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(2)
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The
design has no more than 120 members and no more than 50 joints;
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(3)
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The
design is not identical to any previously submitted design;
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(4) |
The
design is structurally adequate; i.e., it passes the WPBD load
test with no member failures. |
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(5) |
The
design has no instances of one structural member drawn directly
over the top of another. |
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The
WPBDC website will automatically reject any design that is identical
to any previously submitted design. In other words, the first
team to achieve and submit a given design will obtain full,
exclusive credit for it. Two designs are considered to be identical
if (1) their joints are all in exactly the same positions; (2)
their structural members are all in the same positions (without
regard to member numbers); and (3) each member in one design
uses exactly the same material, cross-section, and size as the
corresponding member in the other design. |
| 8.2 |
The
submitted design must have been created entirely within the
West Point Bridge Designer software. Any attempt to manually modify
the bridge design file will result in rejection of the design
and may result in disqualification of the team. |
| 8.3 |
If
a design is rejected, the submitting team will usually be notified
automatically by the website. If any subsequently discovered
condition causes rejection of a design or disqualification of
a team, the Contest Committee will attempt to notify the affected
team(s) by e-mail. However, even if a team never receives such
notification, the Contest Committee's decision to reject the
design or disqualify the team will stand. |
| 8.4 |
Once
an entry is determined to be valid, its standing in the contest
is determined by its cost. A lower cost results in a higher
standing. The lowest cost
wins. |
| 8.5 |
The
cost of a design is as calculated by the WPBD software and the WPBDC
website. These two calculations should be identical; however,
in the unlikely event that the two calculations are different,
the one performed by the WPBDC website will be used to determine
the contest standing. |
| 8.6 |
The
load test results calculated by the WPBD software and the WPBDC website
should be identical; however, in the unlikely event that the
two calculations are different, the one performed by the WPBDC
website will be used to determine whether or not the design
passes the load test. |
| 8.7 |
If
two teams in the same zone submit designs that are not identical
but that have exactly the same cost, the tie will be
broken based upon the time of submission. The design submitted
earlier will have the higher standing. |
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9. Technical Req'ts |
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9.1
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Each team is responsible
for gaining access to the Internet and the WPBDC website. This
responsibility includes providing computer equipment, a phone
line or other connection, and an account with an Internet service
provider. Use the most reliable access available to you. The
United States Military Academy and its sponsors will not be
responsible for any difficulties you encounter due to access
problems or slowness in your connection to the WPBDC website.
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10. General |
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10.1 |
All
teams agree to abide by the terms of these official rules. |
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10.2 |
If
any contestant engages in conduct judged by the WPBDC Committee
to be "unsportsmanlike," then the contestant and his or her
team will be permanently disqualified from the contest. |
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10.3 |
The
decisions of the WPBDC Committee are final on all matters concerning
the operation of this contest. All teams agree to be bound by
the decisions of the WPBDC Committee. |
| 10.4 |
The
published contest schedule and rules are subject to change. |
| 10.5 |
Members
of winning teams grant the U.S. Military Academy and the other
contest sponsors permission to use their names on line, in print,
or in any other media, in connection with contest publicity.
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| 10.6 |
By
entering, participants release and hold harmless the U.S. Military
Academy and the other contest sponsors, their respective directors,
officers, employees, and agents from any and all liability for
any injuries, loss, or damage of any kind arising from or in
connection with the West Point Bridge Design Contest. |
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10.7 |
The
U.S. Military Academy and the other contest sponsors assume
no responsibility for lost, late, or misdirected entries, or
for any computer, communications, or other technical malfunctions
that may occur during registration or submission of contest
entries. |
| 10.8 |
Any
attempt by any individual to deliberately damage a website,
to gain unauthorized access to a contestant's registration account
or Team Home Page, or to otherwise undermine the legitimate
operation of the WPBDC is a violation of criminal and civil
laws, and should such an attempt be made, the U.S. Military
Academy and the other contest sponsors reserve the right to
seek damages from any such individual to the fullest extent
permitted by the law. |
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| Why All These
Rules? |
| Now that we are no longer conducting a Final Round or offering national-level prizes, why is it still necessary to specify eligibility requirements and to require contestants to register? There are two reasons: |
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We are still facilitating hundreds of local contests that are being conducted around the world. Most local contest sponsors need to have contact information for their contestants, in order to recognize their winners and award prizes. Thus, it is essential for us to continue requiring registration for all contest participants. |
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The Children's On-Line Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) forbids us from requesting contact information for any child under the age of 13 without written parental consent. Thus, we must continue to restrict eligibility to contestants age 13 and older. |
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Our Top Ten Rules |
| All
of the contest rules are important, but these ten are
particularly important. Be familiar with them before
you enter the contest. |
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To
be eligible for national-level recognition, you must be a U.S. student, age
13 through grade 12. (Rule 1.2) |
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You
may compete individually or in a team of two. (Rule
2.1) |
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You
must register before you can submit
bridge designs. (Rule 3.2) |
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If
you provide false information or an inappropriate team
name during registration, you will be disqualified. (Rules
3.7 and 3.8) |
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You may submit as many bridge designs
as you like. (Rule 5.3) |
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All
bridge designs must be created with the current edition of the West Point Bridge
Designer, available from this
site. (Rule 5.4) |
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To
be valid, your design must pass the WPBD load
test, and it cannot be a duplicate of any design previously
submitted in the contest. (Rule 8.1) |
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The
lower the cost of your bridge design, the higher your
standing in the contest. (Rule 8.4) |
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There are no restrictions on collaboration during the contest.
(Rule 5.5) |
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