A Message From WIDI's Affliate Director Regarding The 2020-2021 Season

We are taking this opportunity as the school year begins to keep everyone up to date as far as what DI will look like this coming season. It is realized that each school district may be handling extracurricular programs differently, with some not allowing them at all for the foreseeable future. You can always have an independent team outside of a school co-curricular program.

Team number registration is open but looks a little different. Purchasers of a team number will be required to assign a Team Manager (TM) to that team number and the TM background check will need to be completed through DIHQ (a change from WIDI doing it last season). Once the check is complete and approved, the TM will get access to the Challenge materials.

DIHQ set aside the Challenges that were to be used this season and has written hybrid Challenges that will allow them to be presented virtually. Therefore, the season will be starting later than normal with the release of 4 challenges on November 1st and the remaining 2 on December 1st. Rising Stars will also be released on November 1st. The regular previews for Technical, Scientific, Fine Arts, Service Learning, and Early Learning Challenges have been released on the national site here.

Upon WIDI’s discussion with DIHQ to confirm what information is in the FAQ's on the national website (https://www.destinationimagination.org/challenge-program/2020-21-faq/), ALL Central Challenges are to be presented virtually. There are to be NO in person Challenge performances. IC's will be written to be presented either in person or virtually. We plan to have clarification on this as it is not clear how this will work.

WIDI Regional Directors were polled about bypassing Regional tournaments and only having the Affiliate Tournament in April due to the anticipated lower team numbers that we will see this season. Under these uncertain circumstances, this idea was well received. That being said, NO Regional Tournaments will be held in Wisconsin this season. WIDI is going to invite ALL teams that purchase a 2020-2021 season team number to participate in just the Affiliate Tournament which will be virtual. This includes Rising Stars.

This will give all teams ample time to come up with a Challenge solution that will be submitted via video by a certain date prior to the scheduled Affiliate tournament on April 10, 2020, that can be appraised "live" that day.

There will be some type of award ceremony as we normally would, although we are not sure how this will all look at this time. Teams will have awards shipped to them and these teams will be advanced to Global Finals however that will look in 2021. As always, we are living in an ever-changing environment where we all need to be flexible. We are trying to adapt this to best fit the current situation and to make this easy on the Regions and teams and most of all keeping our participants and volunteers safe!!

Appraisers will still be needed for the Affiliate tournament and as soon as WIDI knows more about what that will look like Challenge Masters will be notified.

We sincerely thank you all for your dedication to the program and for your patience as we maneuver these new circumstances. That is what we do as DI-ers and we hope to come out on the other side of all this stronger than ever.

As always let me know if you have any questions, concerns, or feedback.

Mary Bykowski
Affiliate Director
Wisconsin Destination Imagination, Inc.
mary.bykowski@wisconsindi.org