Dear Academic Challenge Coach:

It is my pleasure, as coordinator of Eastern's Sectional Academic Challenge competition, to invite you and your advancing students to Eastern's campus on Thursday, March 12th. Check in will take place outside the Grand Ballroom in the Martin Luther King Student Union from 8:00AM to 9:00AM on the day of the competition. The Grand Ballroom is located on the second floor in the east wing of the Union. A campus map, parking instructions and a schedule of the day's events will be posted on our web server at http//www.eiu.edu/~pre-eng/. Follow the link to ‘Academic Challenge’. Coaches will again be asked to help with the competition by passing out exams at the beginning of each test period and collecting them at the end of each period.

Travel Directions: As you come into Charleston, you will probably be traveling on Route 16 (Lincoln Avenue). At the intersection of Route 16 and 7th Street, turn south. The Union is about two blocks south and on your right. Note that the Union drive-through is blocked, so vehicles should let passengers out at the corner of 7th and Grant, then proceed eastward on Grant. Testing will take place in the Grand Ballroom and the University Ballroom, both of which are located on the second floor of the Union. The awards ceremony will take place in the Grand Ballroom.

Competition Rules: The tests at the Sectional competition will be similar in structure to those at the Regional level. This year, as in past years, the student's raw score will be solely based on the number of questions that he/she answers correctly. There will be no penalty assessed for incorrect answers. Individuals scoring in the top two places in each subject, from each division, will be invited to compete at the State competition, as will the top two or three varsity squads from each division, depending upon the number of varsity squads in that division. Additionally, any individuals who meet or exceed "competitive cut-off" scores will also advance.
Each varsity squad at the Sectional competition must be represented by a minimum of 6 students, and a maximum of 14. Each team must arrange to have a minimum of two scores in each of 5 subject areas, including Chemistry, English and Math, plus 2 of the remaining 4 areas. A squad's score will be determined from its two highest scores in Chemistry, English and Math, as well as the two highest scores in two of the remaining four.
Students may use calculators for the Chemistry, Math and Physics tests only. Calculators will not be allowed for any other test. Further, students may not share calculators either during or between exams. Go to http://www.engr.uiuc.edu/wyse/AC/coaches.html to see a list of calculator rules. Since tests will be machine graded, each student should bring several sharpened, # 2 soft lead pencils to enter their responses on the answer sheets.

Registration: In order to minimize coding errors on test forms, please pre-register as soon as possible. In the event that you later need to make a change in the roster, email revisions as soon as you become aware of the need. Virtually all coding errors that have occurred in the past involve changes made on the day of the competition. Using the registration information that you have provided, we will prepare the Scantron forms for your students. These response sheets will be properly coded to minimize errors in determining team winners and individual winners in each division of the competition. Since coding the forms is a time consuming task, do not try to make wholesale changes to the roster on the day of the competition. Changes should be emailed prior to competition day.

You may pre-register in one of two ways:
1. (Preferred) Use the on-line pre-registration form located through the web link: http//www.eiu.edu/~pre-eng/. Please email me for your registration password. Note: You will NOT be pre-registering through the WYSE web site for this competition. We will upload your rosters for you.
2. (Next preferred) Send the information by email to cfles@eiu.edu. Each line of the email should be formatted as follows: Student's full name, first exam taken, second exam taken, class status. (e.g.: John Q. Smith, physics, math, junior) Also include coach's name, coach's email address, school name, school address, phone numbers (home and school), school fax number, division, and school enrollment. Participation certificates will be made from names you submit, so make sure they are accurate.

Dr. Len Storm, Sectional Coordinator,
WYSE Academic Challenge Competition