Tournament Volunteers: Appraisers

Destination ImagiNation cannot happen without the work of loyal and hardworking volunteers. Most of these positions are necessary at both the Regional tournament level as well as the State tournament level.

Most important among all volunteers are the Appraisers who work the Challenge sites. These people are the ones who must appraise the creativity and hard work of the teams. It is not the easiest volunteer role, but it is also not as hard as you may first perceive it to be; and it can be the most rewarding.

Teams take different approaches going into a tournament: some may only be there to have fun, some may be first timers that want to learn the process, and some may be experienced teams that want to get to the next level. But no matter their intent, the kids depend on you to give an honest evaluation of their performance. You'll see team creativity and artistic work that will blow your socks off, or you may see teams that, with a little extra effort, could be great.

These positions represent work in the Central Challenge area, but they are also applicable for work in the Instant Challenge area. Whereas teams come prepared for the Central Challenge, they have no idea what kind of Instant Challenge awaits them. If you want to see the quick-thinking abilities of the kids, this may be the area for you.

Here is a list of tournament officials. Please consider volunteering in one of these areas. Go to the registration tab to fill out a volunteer form.

The Head Appraiser/Challenge Master

The Job: Every Destination ImagiNation Team Challenge Appraisal Team must have a Head Appraiser. The Head Appraiser is the site facilitator who helps ensure the smooth running of one Presentation Site. The Head Appraiser is responsible for supervising the entire Appraisal Team at the site, and must be thoroughly familiar with the Destination ImagiNation program rules, as well as the specifics of the Team Challenge. In most cases the Head Appraiser, rather than the Challenge Master, is the person who presents and explains the Raw Scores and possible deductions to the Team Manager. The Challenge Master and Head Appraiser may wear both hats.

The Prep Area Appraiser

The Job: The Prep Area Appraiser is responsible for greeting the team members and Team Managers at the Presentation Site, relaxing them and checking that required elements of the solution such as props, paperwork, etc., are in order and in compliance with rules. This Appraiser is the first Tournament Official the team meets, usually just before the team's Presentation. It is VERY important that the Prep Area Appraiser is able to set a team at ease. No scoring is involved.

The Team Challenge Appraiser

The Job: Since most Team Challenges are comprised of the Central Challenge and the Side Trips, a Team Challenge Appraiser is a person who evaluates assigned elements of a team's Presentation. The Appraiser will watch for quality of workmanship, teamwork, creativity and innovation in the student's presentations.

The Number Cruncher or Appraisal Team Organizer

The Job: The job of the Number Cruncher is to collect, organize, and scrutinize all paperwork from each team's Presentation and prepare the paperwork for the Score Room. The Number Cruncher will tally and enter Raw Scores on the team's copy of the Master Score Sheet. Sometimes there will be a computer at the Presentation Site and the Number Cruncher will enter the Appraiser's scores directly into the Scoring Program.

An Appraisal Team Organizer (ATO) is used instead of a Number Cruncher when all scores are computed and input into the Scoring Program in the Score Room. The ATO collects, checks and organizes all paperwork from each team's Presentation and prepares it for the Score Room. The ATO does no score tallying or computer input at the Challenge Site.

The Structure Check-In Appraiser (Challenge E:)

The Job: This special Appraiser is in charge of checking all Structures for compliance with the Team Challenge requirements. This usually involves weighing and measuring the Structure and sometimes evaluating the design

Timekeeper/Announcer

The Job: The Timekeeper/Announcer must keep accurate times according to the specifications in the Team Challenges. He or she should attempt to keep the Appraisal Team on schedule updating them on how they are keeping to the posted schedule. The Timekeeper/Announcer introduces each team to the Appraisers and the audience. Aside from noting the team's time for scoring purposes, the Timekeeper/Announcer does not appraise any aspect of a team's Presentation.

Score Room

The Job: Under the direction of the Score Room Master, you will enter the team scores in the main database, checking for errors and inconsistencies along the way.