Judging Day - May 13

TEAM CANADA

Front Row: Stef, Jen, Chris, Jake, Ratna, Beth, Romita, Lia, Taneille, Michael, Abi

Back Row: Sayuri, Andrew, Claire, Tavian, Kent, Emma, Alex, Jonathan, Xingyu, Juno, Zach, Nirusan, Mathieu

Today was judging day. It's the reason we're here .. yet the most stressful day of all. This is what everyone has been preparing for .. for weeks, months, even years ....

Anyone who has something to put at their display has to do it between 6 am and 7 am (IISEF rules .. trust me .. these aren't the chaperone rules!!). We tell the kids they can go in sweats or whatever, then come back and get dressed. I get down to the lobby at 5:45 to make sure we don't miss anyone .. and the kids start appearing not long after.

The one thing we've learned is that everyone has their "own rhythm" on judging day .. and we try to be as respectful of that as we can. Some like to go early and sit quietly outside, some want to be surrounded by the energy of other people ... some want to practice "just one more time", and yet others want to talk about anything other than their project!

We've also learned not to organize a really formal breakfast for this day .. as most of the students don't eat much. We also know they will be ready to eat a horse by lunchtime! So we sit outside the coffee shop, and greet everyone, and make sure they've eaten something. We send some back up to comb their hair, we straighten a few ties, (we teach some students how to tie them first!), we advise on what top goes with the shoes and the jacket, we remind them to wear their nametags, and, most importantly, we make sure they get on the bus!

Chaperones are not allowed in on judging day .. only the students. So after the students are all gone, we swing into action to get lunch ready. They get a 90 minute lunch break .. but by the time you get 1570 people out of the judging area, get to a restaurant, order, and eat, it would be time to go back. So we usually "scout out" a location in advance, then take pre-orders for lunches. This year the lucky winner was Quizno's. So Caitlin and Liane get the brilliant idea of photocopying one sheet of the menu, and getting the kids to circle what they want.

We take the order over at 9 am to find out that Quizno's doesn't open until 11 am. Cathy manages to sweet-talk them into opening the door, taking our order, and having it ready for us to pick up at 11:15. We are lucky enough to have Chris's dad, Mike, who is spending the week here in Reno with us and had rented a car. We go over to Safeway to pick up a few other supplies .. pop, chips, fresh fruit, granola bars, chocolate chip cookies. Cathy wants to get some diaper wipes (to use to clean their hands .. no other purpose that we know of) but Stef assures us he's got a ton of wipes and serviettes in his room left over from pizza the other night.

We head back to the hotel to wash the fruit, and collect the other stuff that we need for lunch. Back to the convention centre (you'll notice that one of the important chaperone criteria is owning very comfortable shoes!) to find a spot on the floor to set up.

We stop first at Quizno's to pick up all the subs. The place is crazy by now, with other teams coming in to order a dozen subs at a time .. not to mention their regular lunch hour crowd. They have everything ready for us (we were smart enough to pre-pay too!) so it's a quick in and out trip.

When we get to the convention hall, we are pleasantly surprised to find out that they have a whole exhibit hall area set up with tables and chairs for lunch, so we grab four tables, and get lunch all ready for everyone to arrive. We laugh loudly though when Cathy realizes the "hand wipes" that Stef thought were left over from the pizza are actually little packages of crushed red pepper, and grated parmesan cheese! We discuss the merits of attempting a "sand blasting" version of germ removal with pepper or cheese, but decide perhaps the washroom is a better bet!

All set up for lunch.

(in this picture, Cathy, Claire, Spencer and Ray getting cookies ready for each table)

The students arrive absolutely famished .. and relieved to have the first judging portion over. They have all seen between one and five of their Merit judges (they will see six in total over the course of the day) and some have seen Special Award judges as well. Emotions, however, can run high. One bad judging experience, none of your judges doing "cartwheels" as they are leaving, or noticing your neighbour getting more judges than you, can cause total panic. On the other hand, having a judge say he/she loves your project, or finding a business card from a Special Awards judge on your table can make your day. And sometimes both happen over the course of the morning!

We try to chat with everyone one at a time. If it's been good, then we help them build on that energy .. but if it's been not-so-good, then we pull them outside for a chat to try to help them re-focus. We clean up, take the offical Team Canada picture (shown at the top), then head outside for a little fresh air before they have to return for another five hours of judging.

We see them again for a quick afternoon break. The leftover chips, drinks, chocolate bars and apples are well received. Everyone's a little calmer, and looking forward to the evening.

At the end of judging, everyone returns to the hotel to get dressed for a buffet dinner and dance. There's one party for the students, and a separate one for the adults. All the students head over to the Grand Sierra for their party, and the adults head out to another restaurant for dinner.

After dinner, there were a number of students who were tired, and wanted to come back to the hotel to swim in the pool and watch a movie, so they do. They head down to the pool with a couple of plastic Canadian flag beachballs for a game of pool volleyball. Meanwhile, back at the Grand Sierra, when the band takes a little break, Tavian asks if he can play the piano. They agree, so he gets on stage and starts playing. The band comes back early, and joins in for a jam session.

Meanwhile, Cathy's son, Tyler, has been asking his mom if the chaperones have "had a chance to have any fun yet" .. meaning go to the casino. So we all decide to go and blow a dollar or two on the one cent slot machines.

In this picture: Spencer, Caitlin and Liane.

Cathy and Susan were at the two next machines over ...

Eventually, everyone makes their way back, and heads to their rooms for a good night's sleep.

Tomorrow .. Finally .. they get to sleep in a little!!