Hello & Welcome!

Similar to a traditional Regional Tournament, teams will receive a performance time for their Central Challenge and a report time for their Instant Challenge. All teams will have times about 90-120 minutes apart, and will be expected to only be in the facility during their unloading/prep and between their two scheduled times.

During registration, teams will be asked whether or not they are willing to have spectators from the general public (meaning anyone not directly related to or connected to the team) in the audience. Being a showcase, and given that our performance sites do not always allow for the room to appropriately-distance larger crowds, we must respect limiting audience size for teams wishing to have a 50% capacity max in the performance site during their performance.

The Showcase Schedule is as follows:

• City of Detroit - TBD @ MI Science Center
• Detroit Metro (COMBINED) - Saturday, March 5 @ Waterford Mott HS
• Lake Huron - Saturday, Feb. 26 @ SVSU Gilbertson Hall
• Lake Michigan - Saturday, Feb. 26 @ Ravenna MS
• South Central - Sunday, March 6 @ Western HS (Parma)

Without scoring the Central Challenges, there will be no final rankings of teams, and an awards ceremony will not be hosted. All teams will received post-it note feedback from appraisers immediately after their Central Challenge and will receive workshop-style feedback from appraisers immediately after their Instant Challenge. Instant Challenge Scores will be posted to our website following the event.

The Rising Stars teams will be presented with their medals and celebrated in the Central Challenge performance space, immediately after their presentation.

The MICA Board will be making regular updates to the MIcreativity.org website as the showcases approach.

All competitive teams (Elementary, Middle, & Secondary Level) will be invited to participate at the State Tournament, scheduled for Saturday, March 26th at the Lansing Center. We intend to host this as a normal, in-person tournament with a few additional COVID-mitigation procedures in place. However, to limit large gatherings of all teams in one place, the Awards Ceremony will happen in a virtual format, that teams can either watch together from a location of their choice, or individually.

All teams are still required to provide one volunteer willing to serve as an Appraiser at the Showcase. All Appraisers will need to complete an online training course within the two weeks prior to the Showcase, and also dedicate a full-day to the event (a typical appraiser commitment is 9am-4pm, but often shorter).

There is NO additional in-person training date required for appraisers this year. They will complete online training, and then receive supplemental training the morning of the Showcase.

All Appraisers, Tournament Officials, and MI Creativity Association Board Members are required to wear a properly-fitted mask covering both their mouth and nose throughout the duration of the event (except when eating in an identified appraiser-only location).

Teams should verify that their provided volunteer is willing to comply with this policy before registering. All Appraisers will be asked to verify that they understand this policy during registration.

We intend to post the schedule, along with any final COVID-mitigation procedures, approximately 10-days prior to each Regional Showcase.

Teams should only plan to be in the Showcase venue during their scheduled performance times.

CURRENT MASK REQUIREMENTS:

Some venues will be requiring all attendees to be masked during the entire event.

Some venues will be requiring all attendees to be masked during the entire event, except for students during the time they are delivering the Central Challenge performance and competing in the Instant Challenge.

Some venues may not have mask policies as strict as others for spectators. The venues that we already firmly know masking policies on are as follows:

• Lake Huron Region (@ Saginaw Valley State University) - ALL ATTENDEES ages 3+ must be masked during the entire event, including all students during their Central Challenge performances and Instant Challenges.
• City of Detroit Region (@ MI Science Center) - ALL ATTENDEES ages 3+ must be masked during the entire event, including all students during their Central Challenge performances and Instant Challenges.

• Detroit Metro Region (@ Waterford Mott HS) - ALL ATTENDEES ages 3+ must be masked during the entire event, with the exception of "mask optional" times for students while they are performing their Central Challenge and competing in their Instant Challenge.

• Lake Michigan Region (@ Ravenna MS) - Venue does not have masking policy currently; the MI Creativity Association will be determining masking protocol shortly.
• South Central Region (@ Parma Western HS) - Venue does not have masking policy currently; the MI Creativity Association will be determining masking protocol shortly.