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Rules

Competition Format

There will be two preliminary rounds on Friday, February 26th. All teams will participate in both. Teams will negotiate based on the General Facts and their Confidential Facts in the First Preliminary Round. In the Second Preliminary Round, teams will negotiate based on the General Facts, their Confidential Facts, and their Additional Confidential Fact.

Based on the judges' scores, the teams who score in the top third of the competition during the preliminary rounds will advance to the semi-final round on Saturday, March 1. As described below, a new fact pattern will be distributed to the advancing teams for Saturday’s rounds on Friday afternoon. Teams will negotiate based on these new General Facts and Confidential Facts in the semi-final round. The two top scoring teams (one team from each side of the fact pattern) will advance to the final round, and those two teams will negotiate based on the General Facts, their Confidential Facts, and an Additional Confidential Fact.

Structure of Negotiation: 

Competition rounds, consisting of two teams of two competitors each, will be structured in the following manner: 

  • Negotiation (45 minutes) 
    • Each team will be allowed an optional 5-minute caucus during the Round (the time for the negotiation is not stopped during a caucus) 
    • Self-evaluation preparation (5 minutes) 
      • The first team gives self-evaluation (5 minutes) 
      • The second team gives self-evaluation (5 minutes) 
  • Judges’ comments (10 minutes) 

TOTAL TIME per round: 70 minutes

Self-Evaluation: Preparation for the self-evaluation portion must take place outside the presence of the judges, coaches, and the opposing team. After the initial five minutes of permitted prep time, the first team begins its self-evaluation and the second team of competitors will not be permitted to continue preparing for their self-evaluation. The second team will wait in a separate area with a designated representative of the host school until it is time for the second self-evaluation. During the self-evaluation, each team should address the following two questions: 

  1. What parts of this negotiation would you keep the same, and what  would you change if you had to do this negotiation again?
  2. How did your strategy impact the outcome? 

*The teams should also be prepared to answer additional questions from the judges about the team’s preparation and performance. No prepared materials may be used or handed out for the self-analysis. 

Caucus: If one team elects to take a break, both teams will be released into separate areas. The teams may not converse with any other competitors, coaches, or persons during the break. The teams will be brought back into the negotiation room at the end of the five-minute break. Teams may elect to use less than the full five minutes, but they will not be permitted to use any remaining time later in the negotiation. Judges may deduct performance points based on any violation of these rules.

Fact Pattern Distribution

Overview: Competitors may not conduct any outside research; all preparation must be limited to the materials provided. Judges will be instructed to penalize competitors for reference to any outside sources. All questions concerning the fact patterns should be submitted to the provided google form.


Schedule: The fact pattern for the two preliminary rounds on Friday, February 26th, including the General Facts and Confidential Facts, will be sent out on February 12th by 11:59 pm.  All clarifying questions must be submitted by February 19, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. EST. The tournament coordinators will consolidate the questions and the answers and distribute both to all tournament competitors by Monday, February 22, 2027, by 11:59 pm.


After the First Preliminary Round on Friday, February 26th, the bailiff will distribute an Additional Confidential Fact to be used in the Second Preliminary Round. This Additional Confidential Fact is to be used in conjunction with the Confidential Facts sent out on February 12th. Teams may use the time between the preliminary rounds to adjust their strategy as needed.


Following the announcement of which teams will advance, the fact pattern for the semi-final and final rounds on Saturday, February 27th, including the General Facts and Confidential Facts, will be sent out on Friday, February 26 no later than 3:00 p.m.  All clarifying questions regarding Saturday’s fact pattern must be submitted by 7:00 p.m. The tournament coordinators will consolidate the questions and the answers and distribute both to all tournament competitors by 9:00 p.m.


The two teams selected to move on to the Final Round will each receive an Additional Confidential Fact shortly before the Final Round. This Additional Fact is to be used in conjunction with the Confidential Facts sent out on February 26th. 

No participating school with more than one team in the competition will be provided with the confidential facts for both sides of a problem for any competition round. Participating schools are prohibited from sharing confidential problem information with each other until the conclusion of the tournament. Mooting the fact pattern with other participating teams is prohibited. 

Team Identification

Competitors (or any other school representative) are not permitted to divulge the name of the school they represent to any judge  until the completion of the competition in order to preserve anonymity and fairness. Teams will be identified by a number provided by the tournament coordinators.

Electronic Devices

Competitors may have calculators, stopwatches, cell phones, and computers as long as all devices are kept in airplane mode. All instant messaging and internet functions must be turned off except for those necessary to participate in the tournament. Competitors may not consult outside materials during the round. 

Permitted Observers

Two judges and one bailiff (from the W&M ADR Team) will oversee each round. Before the start of the round,  the bailiff will also lay out the general rules for the competition. Competitors are allowed to keep their own time, but the round will begin and end according to the bailiff overseeing the round, regardless of any discrepancies in time between that of the bailiff and that of the competitors. The judges overseeing each round will evaluate the performance of the competitors according to the criteria provided. Tournament coordinators will collect score sheets after the end of each round. Judges’ scores will be used to determine the teams for the semi-final round. 

Coaches are permitted during the round, provided that they are respectful of competitors and remain for the entirety of the round (until the second self-evaluation has ended). Coaches from one team will not be permitted to observe the self-evaluation of the other team. Coaches must leave while judges tabulate their scores. Coaches will not be permitted to participate in any way during the competition round, caucus, or self-evaluation.

Observers from other schools are encouraged to watch the final round.

Violations

Any violations of these rules, or any other act or speech not contemplated in these rules that would have an adverse or unfair effect on the results of the competition, may be presented to the competition administrators for review and ruling. Competition administrators can disqualify the team for violations.