Rules and Regulations

Rules & Regulations

Revised January 2019

Envirothon NB Rules & Regulations revised Jan 2019 – pdf

Envirothon N.-B. Règles 2019 French – pdf

The Envirothon New Brunswick (Envirothon NB) competition shall be conducted under the following rules and regulations:

1. Only students enrolled in grades nine through twelve, in New Brunswick, during the current school year are eligible to compete in the “Competitive” category. Other students are considered eligible to compete in the “Non-Competitive” category, after review by committee.

2. Teams

  • Each “Competitive” category team will consist of five members from the same school and/or organization/association/community within New Brunswick, in grades 9 – 12.  A spare/alternate member may be used to prepare for the competition.
  • Each “Non-Competitive” category team may consist of a minimum of two and maximum of five people. Alternates from multiple schools can combine together and compete as a “Wild Card” team under this category.
  • All teams will compete, be scored, and ranked with equal advantage. The highest ranked “Competitive” team will be given the first invitation to compete at North American Envirothon.
  • Visiting teams from outside of New Brunswick will not be eligible to win awards. Honourable mentions and scores will be included in the results.

3. A registration form listing the names of team members and advisors must be submitted by the date set by the Envirothon NB coordinator.

4. All teams composed of both male and female students must have one male and one female team advisor or chaperone accompany each team. A team composed entirely of one gender must have at least one team advisor or chaperone of that gender accompany the team. If there is a need to leave the site, one of the competition organizers must be notified. The Envirothon NB organizers will not be responsible for improperly chaperoned teams.

5. Tobacco, drugs, and alcohol are all prohibited during the entire stay.

6. Advisors will be responsible to assure teams display proper conduct during the competition and at the host facility.

7. All team members and advisors must attend all scheduled functions.

8. Transportation and meals traveling to and from the Envirothon NB site will be the responsibility of each participating team.

9. A competition fee may be charged to each student and advisor/chaperone participating in the competition. The fee will be an established rate set by the Envirothon NB organizers at the beginning of the competition year. Meals and housing during Envirothon NB will be provided for a five-member team and two adult advisors. This fee must be paid on or before the first day of the competition.

10. Registration forms and a registration fee shall be submitted to Envirothon NB by a date set by the Envirothon NB coordinator.

11. The Envirothon NB coordinator will provide resource materials to help teams prepare for the Envirothon NB competition.

  • a. All resource materials will be provided, when possible, to both French and English teams.
  • b. Any French or English teams may request additional resource materials in the other language.
  • c. The use of any resource materials during the field-testing, unless provided/approved by Envirothon NB organizers, will be prohibited.
  • d. No electronic, battery-operated or solar powered equipment, unless provided/approved by the Envirothon NB organizers, may be used by
    the team members during the field testing, or presentation rounds of the competition.

12. There shall be four field-testing stations: Soils, Aquatics, Forestry and Wildlife.

  • a. Cooperating agencies and/or independent environmental professionals will conduct the four station tests.
  • b. Each station test will be 30 to 60 minutes in length, the time limit to be predetermined before each competition.
  • c. Each station will have either one bilingual judge, or one judge fluent in English and one judge fluent in French.
  • d. Each of the four static field-testing stations (Soils, Aquatics, Forestry, and Wildlife) will incorporate some questions about the Current Environmental Issue in relation to the specific station.
  • e. During field-testing, no school identification, either written or stated, is permitted.

13. During the field-testing, the advisors may not rotate with their respective
teams. Whenever possible, advisors will be offered a chance to experience the testing stations at an alternate time.

14. Fluently bilingual professionals from various provincial and national organizations and agencies will judge the problem-solving exercises for the oral presentation.

  • a. The oral presentation problem will reflect the topic of the Current Environmental Issue.
  • b. The oral team presentation will be 20 minutes maximum in length, followed by 10 minutes of questions to team members by the judges.
  • c. All team members must participate orally in the presentation.
  • d. During oral team presentations, all team members must wear an Envirothon NB t-shirt.
  • e. During oral team presentations, no school identification, either written or stated, is permitted.
  • f. Visual aids must be prepared by team members using only materials approved by Envirothon NB organizers.
  • g. Oral presentation scores will be based on a criteria sheet approved by the Envirothon NB Judging Subcommittee, and will be available to teams for the oral presentation preparation.
  • h. During oral presentations, competing teams will not be allowed to observe each other.

15. The Envirothon NB Judging Subcommittee will select all field-testing station judges, special speakers, and oral presentation judges.

16. Scoring for Envirothon NB will be as follows:

  • a. Each of the four station tests will comprise 1/6th of the total score.
  • b. Preliminary oral presentation will comprise 2/6th of the total score.
  • c. Tiebreakers shall be as follows: Oral Presentation score; Soils/Land Use score; Aquatic Ecology score; Forestry score, and Wildlife score.
  • d. The scores from 16 (a) and 16 (b) will be totaled to determine which three teams will advance to the final oral presentations round.
  • e. Final team placements (places 1-3) will be determined by adding the four station test scores to the final oral presentation score. (Preliminary oral presentation scores will not be used to determine team placement in the final round.)

17. Awards for the Envirothon NB competition may include:

  • a. Registration will be awarded to the New Brunswick representative team to participate in the North American Envirothon competition.
  • b. The first place team will receive the Envirothon NB rotating trophy to be held for one year. This award will be returned and passed on to the next year’s first place team.
  • c. Team members from the top 3 teams in the Soils field test, Aquatics field test, Forestry field test, Wildlife field test, and oral presentation will receive individual awards.

18. According to Rule #2 of the North American Envirothon Competition Rules and Regulations, New Brunswick as a member of the North American Envirothon must send a champion team or a designated team. Should the winning team not be able to participate in the North American Envirothon, the runner-up team will be offered the opportunity to represent New Brunswick.

19. All team members, advisors, cooperative agencies, and sponsors involved in the competition will be requested to complete an evaluation sheet prior to leaving the competition.

20. Rules and Regulations of Envirothon NB are subject to change by the Envirothon NB Steering Committee. Any and all changes will be provided in advance to all teams and advisors.

21. Any infraction of the Rules and Regulations of Envirothon NB could result in disqualification and dismissal from the event.