Challenge Trials

Challenge Trials

Test your design! Ask questions of the judges! See other teams' works in progress. Challenge Trials are set up for you and your team to practice. The most successful teams attend most, if not all, the trials. Go to as many trials as you can, even before you have a working prototype.

You can spend time at the test rig to:

  • Run a test to examine a particular part of your device
  • Prepare for event day with a dress rehearsal

Be sure to write down the results of your testing. What worked? What needs to be fixed? How will you fix it? Turns on the test rig are first-come, first-served.

Trials are an open house format: come when you can, leave when you need to.

Below are scheduled dates for Challenge Trials - note that all dates are in 2009:

March 21, 22, 28 and 29, 2009
Trials run from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

April 4, 5, 18, and 19, 2009
Trials run from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

April 22, 2009 (Wednesday)
Trials run from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Team Meetings @ The Tech

You are invited to hold your team meetings at The Tech on Challenge Trial days. You can bring your tools and material and build. You can do research. Talk to Tech Challenge staff and judges to get all you questions answered. Observe other teams. Familiarize yourself with the test rig. Test! Test! And Test!

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get a turn to test on the test rig?
When you arrive, put your team name on the sign-up list near the test rig. At busy trials, we will stop taking new sign ups early to make sure we end on time.

Can we get more than one turn? Possibly. After completing a turn on the rig, teams may be allowed to sign up for an additional turn, depending on how busy the trials are. Trials get busier the closer to the event date. Come to the earlier trials to have more time on the rig.

What if I can't make it to any of the test trials? Luckily this is the first year where you can easily do a lot of testing on your own all you need is a standard basketball hoop. They are normally about 10' tall and our volcano is 8' - so if you can get your device to land on or go in the hoop you'll have no trouble with our volcano.