Rules of the Road:
Frequently Asked Questions
Have questions about Rules of the Road?
Check out the Frequently Asked Questions (and answers) below!
Note:
The sections and page numbers included below refer to the 2024-25 Rules of the Road.
Section numbers and page numbers may change each year.
Important:
Reading this page is not a substitute for in-depth review of the entirety of Rules of the Road!
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Rules of the Road states general rules applicable to all Challenges. A TeamChallenge may have a special requirement that supersedes Rules of the Road. (For example, even though Rules of the Road states that batteries are allowed, a specific Challenge may prohibit any use of electricity, making batteries of all kinds illegal for that Challenge. In that case, the Tam Challenge takes precedence.) A Published Clarification supersedes Rules of the Road, the Team Challenge, and a Team Clarification. This is why it is important to check the Clarification webpage frequently throughout the time leading up to your tournament. ROTR, p. 35, Section VII.L.4a-4d
Your team MUST NOT involve the audience or the Appraisal Team in your Presentation in any Team Challenge. This includes a team’s Preparation time for the Improvisational Challenge. If you use members of the audience or the Appraisal Team in your Presentation, it is like having extra team members because they will add something to your Challenge solution. ROTR, p. 40, Section IX.B.3
Playbills, programs, and flyers advertising or telling about the team’s Presentation may be handed out to Appraisers ONLY during the team’s Presentation. These materials MAY be handed out to the general public at any time prior to or during the Presentation. ROTR, p. 39 Section IX.A.5
Due to potential allergy and health concerns, Appraisers must not be asked to sample food items brought by your team for your Presentation. In addition, your team must not ask Appraisers to wear items such as headphones, glasses, viewing devices, etc. when viewing your team’s Presentation. ROTR, p.39, Section IX.A.7
Your team must not attach anything to walls or furniture at the Presentation Site, and your team must not use any items that happen to be at the Presentation Site in your solution. ROTR, p. 39, Section IX.A.6
Your team must not use any items that happen to be at the Presentation Site in your solution. ROTR, p. 39, Section IX.A.6
Tournament Directors cannot guarantee floor space beyond the dimensions outlined in the Team Challenge and cannot guarantee ceiling space above 7.5ft (2.29m) high. Your team should be prepared for this possibility. ROTR, p. 39, Section IX.A.3
Make sure your Presentation materials will fit through the opening of a standard doorway, approximately 30in x 76in (0.76m x 1.93m). In addition, keep in mind that not all event sites will have standard-sized doorways, especially in older buildings, and that access to some Presentation Sites may involve stairways or tight hallways. ROTR, p. 39, Section IX.A.4
Your team is required to leave the Presentation Site clean at the end of the Presentation. You must provide your own cleaning materials and leave the site in the same condition in which you found it. Your team should be ready to show you have clean-up supplies for any solution that includes something that can cause clean-up issues. It is the team’s responsibility to find out from the Tournament Director, prior to the tournament, if there are any site-specific restrictions regarding the use of any potentially wet or messy solutions. ROTR, p. 39, Section IX.A.10
Your team may use any available Wi-Fi networks at the Presentation Site. However, Wi-Fi may not be available at all tournaments. It is your team’s responsibility to find out from the Tournament Director, prior to the tournament, if there are Wi-Fi networks available for your team’s use. The Tournament Director is not responsible for the strength and/or quality of any Wi-Fi available at the tournament site. ROTR, p. 39, Section IX.A.8
Depending on the Team Challenge you have chosen and the Presentation Site, your team may or may not be allowed to turn the lights off during your Presentation. It is your team’s responsibility to find out from the Tournament Director, prior to the tournament, if there are any site-specific restrictions regarding the operation of the lights. At Global Finals, your team will not be allowed to turn off the lights. ROTR, p. 31, Section VII.J.3
IMPORTANT: Unless explicitly stated in the Challenge, NYDI does not allow teams to turn off the lights.
All team members must wear shoes or foot coverings with reasonably impenetrable soles at all times during a tournament. This is to protect team members from any undetected debris that may be on the floor. A team member who loses or removes a foot covering during the Presentation may continue their portion of the Presentation only after the foot covering is replaced. Appraisers may assist the team member in retrieving the foot covering but not in replacing it on the foot. The remaining team members may continue to present. ROTR, p. 31, Section VII.J.1
Your team MUST NOT involve the audience or the Appraisal Team in your Presentation in any Team Challenge. This includes a team’s Preparation time for the Improvisational Challenge. If you use members of the audience or the Appraisal Team in your Presentation, it is like having extra team members because they will add something to your Challenge solution. ROTR, p. 40, Section IX.B.3
During your Presentation, audience members must not signal or communicate with your team in any way. This includes Team Managers. For example, your Team Manager must not signal how much time has elapsed or use hand signals to indicate that you should speak louder. However, if a member of the audience, who is not a Team Manager, spontaneously interferes through no fault of the team, the team will not receive a deduction. ROTR, p. 40, Section IX.B.4
Anyone MAY help unload, uncrate, and move scenery and props to and from the tournament site(s) and to the Launch Area, depending on the site. Non-team members are also allowed to move any scenery or props that have been left in a high-traffic area or are a safety hazard. ROTR, p. 40, Section IX.B.2
Your team may complete assembly of props and scenery in the Launch Area as long as this activity does not interfere with another team’s Presentation or delay the tournament schedule. When the Appraisers signal that they are ready, the team must stop assembly when directed by the Prep Area Appraiser or other tournament official. Once the Presentation begins, your team may continue assembly if necessary. ROTR, p. 40, Section IX.C.4
Only members of your team may assemble, prepare, or repair props, direct your Presentation, decide how to stage your Presentation, and decide on all other aspects of your Challenge solution. If anyone else helps, it is Interference. Your team needs to work on your ideas, script, props, costumes, directing, and staging yourselves. ROTR, p. 21, Section VI.F.2
Regarding the use of audio and video technology in a live Presentation, it is the intent of all Team Challenges that solutions be presented “live” at the tournament. ROTR, p. 26, Section VII.E.1. Video and audio recordings may be used for portions of the Presentation (such as pre-recorded piano playing by a team member), but these recordings are not meant to replace a live performance. If the Appraisal Team thinks that too much of your Presentation has been pre-recorded, your team’s scores may be affected. ROTR, p. 26, Section VII.E.2
There is an extensive section regarding this in ROTR, p. 27, Sections VII.F, VII.G and VII.H
Interference is covered in depth in ROTR, p. 18-23, Sections VI.A-VI.G
This topic is covered in detail in ROTR, p. 19, Sections VI.D.1, VI.D.2, VI.D.3, VI.D.4, VI.D.5, VI.D.6, VI.D.7 and VI.D.8
The Clarification process is explained in the ROTR, p. 34 and 35, Sections VII.L and VII.M
