• A three person Judging Panel including a Chief Judge.
• Three Timers (one for assembly, two for timing each trial).
• A Recorder.

• Enough Radio Shack (RS) Alkaline Enercel 1.5V AA batteries to provide one battery for each motor in each entrant's system (the number of motors required by each entrant is listed on the "Letter of Intent to Enter"). Valid RS part numbers are 23-557 (2-pack), 23-552 (4-pack), and 23-652 (12-pack).
• Three digital stop watches.
• At least five "good" widgets and five "bad" widgets (ten of each is recommended).
• Two open-ended boxes of inside dimensions 16x16x32 cm to be used to verify the system pre-assembly size.
• 2 1/4 quart pitcher (Rubbermaid product number 3062).
• A smooth flat surface (e.g., a sheet of Plexiglas) large enough to cover the mouth of the pitcher.
• Four 22.9x15.2x5.1 cm (9x6x2 in) drawer organizers (Rubbermaid product number 2916) to be used for receiving boxes. Two should be marked "good" and two should be marked "bad."

• The Region Vice President should appoint the Judging Panel, Chief Judge, Timers, and Recorder prior to the RSC.
• The Host Section should set up two designated areas for running the trials so one group can be assembling while another is presenting and running. That is why two boxes and four drawer organizers are required. We recommend that you use two hard-surfaced tables, one for each setup. Each setup should have a pre-assembly size check box, a receiving box marked "good" and a receiving box marked "bad." The pitcher and widgets should be handled by one of the Judges.
• All personnel involved with the contest should read the problem statement and all update bulletins very carefully. Anything unclear or confusing should be discussed by the Judging Panel before the contest.
• The Judges should have a pre-contest meeting with the contestants to discuss the contest rules and procedures, and to answer any questions.
• The Chief Judge should be the point of contact for any and all questions before or during the contest. The Chief Judge should discuss questions with the Judging Panel before answering them.
• The running order for the teams should be selected randomly (e.g., by having the teams pick numbers from a hat).

• Call the selected team to one of the areas and supply them with new batteries (one for each motor).  One of the judges should verify that the entire system fits within the 16x16x32 cm box provided to them prior to calling them up.
• Give the team a signal to start assembling their system and have the Assembly Timer measure the assembly time. The team should give a clear signal to the Timer when the assembly is complete. Once this signal is given, the team members aren't allowed to touch the system until the system is started. The Recorder should note the assembly time. If the time exceeds five minutes, the team is disqualified.
• One of the Judges should verify that there is a clear view into both receiving boxes.
• If this is the first trial, the contestants must give a one minute presentation to the Judges and audience. Questions that should be answered by the presentation include: How does the system work? What sequence of events should be expected as the event proceeds? Why did you choose this design?
• A Judge should place five "good" widgets and five "bad" widgets into the pitcher, cover the pitcher and shake it to "randomize" the widgets.
• The Judge should now remove the pitcher cover and place the flat surface over the mouth of the pitcher. The pitcher should then be inverted and positioned 2 to 5 cm above the release location designated by the team.
• When ready the team must give the Judge a clear signal to release the widgets. On this signal, both Timers should start their watches, the Judge should quickly slide the surface away from the pitcher releasing all ten widgets, and if necessary the system should be switched on by a team member.
• The Timers should stop their watches when the last of the ten widgets comes to rest in one of the receiving boxes. The maximum amount of time allowed for the separation is two minutes. If less than ten widgets come to rest in the receiving boxes a separation time of two minutes will be used in the scoring.
• At this time a judge should count the number of "good" widgets in the receiving box marked "good" and the number of "bad" widgets in the box marked "bad." The Recorder should record these numbers.
• Now the team will be given a maximum of two minutes to reset their system for a second trial. During this time, the team must return all ten widgets to the Judge. If the two minute reset time is exceeded, a second trial will not be allowed and a score of 0 will be assigned to the second trial. The Assembly Timer should signal the beginning of the reset and measure the reset time.
• When the second trial is complete, the team should remove their system from the area allowing the next group to prepare for assembly.

The score for each trial is:

• where:

  N = number of widgets separated correctly
      = number of "good" widgets in the "good" box +
             number of "bad" widgets in the "bad" box.

  T = time (in sec to the nearest tenth) to process all ten widgets.

 
If less than ten widgets are separated within 2 minutes, T=120.

The final score is the average score for the two trials:

where:

• score1 = the score for the first trial.

  score2 = the score for the second trial.

 
Note:

• The highest score wins.
• If there is a tie, the Judging Panel should select a winner based on "reliability" and "potential to succeed at the finals" as subjective measures. A run-off with an increased number of widgets (e.g., 20) may also be used.
• The Region Vice President is encouraged to give special awards to teams for originality, aesthetic appeal, enthusiasm, etc.