Rules and Regulations

Regulations for Regional and State Competitions

  1. Team members must be enrolled in grades 9-12 during the school year preceding the national competition.
  2. Teams will consist of five members.  A team will not be allowed to compete unless there are five members present at the competition.
  3. Alternate team members may substitute for regular team members in the regional and state Envirothon competitions if properly registered. Unless needed on the day of the competition, alternates will not be allowed to attend the competition.
  4. Each school or club is permitted to register and send as many teams as they want to the regional competition but only the top two teams from each school or club will be eligible to compete at the state competition. Each student will be allowed to compete on one team only.
  5. Teams winning the regional competitions will be allowed no more than 2 alternates to substitute for the original 5 member team at the state competition. Alternates must be listed on the team roster prior to the state competition.
  6. Teams must be accompanied to any Envirothon competition by an adult advisor or representative of a soil conservation district.  During the competition, however, the advisor may not accompany the team. Another adult will be assigned.
  7. The Envirothon shall consist of five competitive categories: soils, wildlife, aquatic ecology, forestry and environmental issues.
  8. The Envirothon competition will be conducted by personnel employed by cooperating local, state and/or federal agencies and volunteers from independent companies and environmental organizations.
  9. Team members are not to use or be in possession of any electronic recording or communication devices such as cell phones, tablets, tape recorders, video cameras, etc. during the competition or review session. Calculators are permitted.  Adults accompanying students are not permitted to video tape or record the competition or review sessions.
  10. Decisions of the judges are final. Tie breaker procedures will be determined and announced prior to the beginning of each Envirothon competition.
  11. Transportation and meals en route to the competition will be the responsibility of participating teams.
  12. Advisors will be responsible to assure that teams display proper conduct during the competition and at the host facility.
  13. Snuff, tobacco, drugs and all alcohol are PROHIBITED during the entire competition. (Rules applicable to local school code of conduct will apply)
  14. Registration forms must be legible and received by the announced deadline. All late or illegible registration forms will be rejected. An eighty dollar per team registration fee must accompany the registration form. The registration fee covers both the regional and state competitions.
  15. The winning team will be the team with the highest cumulative point total at the end of the five events. (Four events for the regional competitions. There will be no current issues oral presentation topic at the regional events.)
  16. The top 15 teams state-wide will move on to the state competition.  Winning at the regional level does not guarantee an invitation to the state competition.  Schools or Clubs having multiple teams in the top 15 will only be allowed to send the top two teams to the state competition.
  17. Only reference materials and keys provided by the Envirothon Coordinator and Volunteers at testing stations will be allowed. Reference packets will be provided at each station as necessary.
  18. Envirothon rules and regulations are subject to change.  Any and all relevant changes will be explained to all teams and advisors at an affected Envirothon competition.
  19. Any suggestions for improvement of the Envirothon rules and regulations or procedures should be submitted in writing to the Iowa Envirothon Coordinator. All changes to the rules and regulations are based on a general consensus of the Coordinator.
  20. Individual students and teams may compete in consecutive years as long as the students are in grades 9-12.  There is no restriction on winning teams or students competing in future competitions.
  21. The team with the highest cumulative score at the State Envirothon Competition will represent Iowa at the National Envirothon.  In case of a tie, a tie breaker will determine the winning team.  If this team is unable to attend, the team with the next highest score will be selected.
  22. At least one team member and one advisor must remain at the competition site for the duration of the scheduled day, including the award ceremony.  If an entire team leaves, they will forfeit any prizes or opportunity to advance to the next level.
  23. The winning team must make arrangements for travel to the National Competition in a timely matter. The Iowa Envirothon will attempt to cover the basic expenses of sending the team to the National Competition, but this cannot be guaranteed. Expenses incurred by the winning team due to delays in making arrangements or last minute changes in team or staff members will be the responsibility of the team.
Download the Iowa Envirothon Overview Here