Spring Meet Hot Topics
By Dr. David Stevens, Academic Director | Tuesday, February 10, 2015 2:53 PM
As spring begins to arrive, so does the UIL academic season. Below are several hot topics that will be of interest to coordinators and coaches.
Contest Entry
All spring meets are now set up in the online system and are ready for entering contestants. Your entry is due in the online system at least 10 day prior to your contest, unless your District Executive Committee has set an earlier date.
Academic coordinators entering their school’s contestants need a UT EID but do not need to be authorized by our office. Be careful to type students’ names correctly. Use upper and lower case, and enter last name first, followed by first name. Proof for correct spelling. Unless a student actually prefers initials to a name, do not use initials. Please do not type the names in all CAPS. Whenever possible, enter substitutes in each event. They will appear on the contest roster as eligible to compete if a replacement is needed.
http://www.uiltexas.org/academics/spring-meet-entry-system
Modifications for Contestants
To arrange for modifications in accordance with Section 504/ADA or a student’s IEP, adequate prior notice is required. Please see the Special Needs Modification of the UIL Academics website. http://www.uiltexas.org/academics/meets/special-needs/
Returning District Materials
The date for meet directors to return materials to schools is the end of the day Saturday of the week of the meet. We have had discussions about holding District Week 1 materials until after District Week 2 has concluded. The expense of mailing materials, and the time, has outweighed the perceived advantage that may be gained by students procuring a copy of the previous week’s test. Therefore, we are asking each coordinator and coach to not share any District Week 1 materials until the conclusion of the second week of district competitions.
Regional Contests
Please check the UIL website for dates and schedules of your Regional competitions. Some schedules have changed from previous years. Handbooks are starting to be posted. Check this site often for any changes that may have to be made. http://www.uiltexas.org/academics/regional-information
State Meet
The TENTATIVE (some rooms/times will likely change) State Meet Academic schedule is now posted. PLEASE NOTE: some coaches meetings are on Monday, May 25, most events will compete on Tuesday, May 26, with finals in speaking events on Wednesday, May 27. This is to accommodate schools with finals and graduation that week.
http://www.uiltexas.org/academics/state
Social Media
For those of you wanting to be in the loop though social connectedness, one of our distinguished colleagues has set up a UIL Academic Coordinators Facebook group. There is a lot of chatter about locating judges, invitational meets and regular questions about what you do to recruit students and prepare for contests. We need more members to join so we can make the page even more beneficial.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/UilAcademicCoordinators/
Latest Information
Check the UIL academic web page regularly. This is the fastest and easiest way to get important updates from our office. We also plan to use our academic coordinator email list this year, but it is always difficult to make sure we have everybody on the list. The website continues to be your best resource.