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Oakland County Game & Invention Challenge

Rules and Regulations

By submitting an entry to the Oakland County Game & Invention Challenge, participants and their parents/guardians/teachers agree to abide by the following rules and requirements.

Eligibility

Oakland County Game & Invention Challenge participants must be ages 6 – 18 years old as of March 11, 2023  and enrolled in some form of elementary or secondary education (public, private, charter, or home school).

Participants can invent and enter the challenge on their own or with a team that meets the eligibility requirements. There is a maximum of four participants per team, no exceptions.

All entries must be the original idea, development and work product of the participant/team, and must not have previously been made available to the public as a commercial product.

Use of outside services for prototype production assistance (ie. 3D printing, playing card printing, etc.) is permitted, but students must disclose anything that is not their personal work in their entry.

Registration

Registration closes on March 1, 2023 at 5:00 PM. Register here.

You can begin the registration at any time, save what you have input so far, and have up to 30 days after your initial entry to complete the registration.

You will need to answer the following questions when registering:

  1. Briefly explain the design process you went through to develop your game, app or invention.
  2. Please give a clear description of the rules of your game or how your invention works.
  3. Who is the target audience for your product?
  4. What items have you found through an internet search that are most similar to yours?
  5. How is your product different from the one(s) you found in your internet search?

Judging & Awarding of Prizes

All judging decisions are final. Judging will be done in person on March 11, 2023 in presentation circles at the Oakland Schools Administration Building. Students will meet in small groups with judges to pitch their ideas and take questions. Parents will leave the judging area during this time.

Winners will be announced and prizes awarded at 1:30pm on Saturday, March 11, 2023.

Teams will be judged in the same way as individuals.

Invention and Prototype Requirements

Entries must consist of only one prototype/invention per participant /team.

All entries must consist of a working prototype of the game/invention.

All entries need to fit on a 60” wide x 24” deep space on a tabletop, including poster display.

No walls or curtains will be available for hanging/posting of materials.

Logbooks showing your design process (see our Design Guide for details), or journals must be displayed at the competition along with poster boards and prototypes. Teams only need to submit one logbook for their project.

Entries may not contain hazardous materials such as explosive, combustible, or incendiary materials, blades or dangerous projectiles.

Event Staff reserves the right to reject any prototype deemed hazardous, threatening, or otherwise inappropriate in its judgment, and to prohibit challenge participation of the owners of said prototype.

Other

Event Staff will not be responsible for the supervision of minors at any time.

All participants and their parents/guardians/teachers and families are expected to conduct themselves responsibly and with respect for others during the challenge.

Event Staff reserves the right to disqualify from the challenge and to permanently remove from the facility/property, anyone whose conduct is deemed unsafe, disruptive, insensitive, inappropriate, or threatening.

All children under the age of 18 years must be accompanied by a parent/guardian/teacher when participating in the Challenge.

Liability/Permissions

When registering for the Oakland County Game & Invention Challenge, the following statement will be electronically signed during the registration process by the student’s parent or guardian. Participation in the event means that the following has been agreed to:

  • Permission is given for me/my child to exhibit at the Oakland County Game & Invention Challenge. I understand that the material used in the project/prototype is my/my child’s responsibility. I understand that I am responsible for the supervision of the registered minor during the time they are present at the Oakland County Game & Invention Challenge.
  • Oakland County Game & Invention Challenge participants and their parents/guardians/teachers shall protect, save and hold the Oakland Schools Education Foundation and Oakland Schools and its officers, directors, employees and agents; Event Staff and its officers, directors, employees and agents (hereinafter collectively called “Indemnities”) forever harmless from any damages or charges imposed for violations of any law or ordinance, whether occasioned by the negligence of the participants and their parents/guardians/teachers or those holding under them. Further, Oakland County Game & Invention Challenge participants and their parents/guardians/teachers shall at all times protect, indemnify, save and hold harmless the Indemnities against and from any and all losses, costs, damages, liability or expenses (including attorney’s fees) arising from or out of or by reason of any accident or bodily injury or other occurrences to any property, person or persons, including the participant and their parents/guardians/teachers, which arise from or out of or by reason of said participant’s challenge participation, occupancy, and use of the facilities, or any part thereof. All liabilities, including medical, shall be borne by participant and their parents/guardians/teachers.
  • I grant permission for my child to be photographed, audio/video recorded, interviewed by the Oakland County Game & Invention Challenge, partners, news media or others for event-related stories. I/my child understand that appropriate behavior is required at the Oakland County Game & Invention Challenge and that distraction of others or any form of harassment or vandalism will not be tolerated and may lead to disqualification from the competition.
  • I understand that my/my child’s project/prototype will be shown to judges/mentors. I agree that no contract, express or implied, is formed by virtue of showing my/my child’s project/prototype to judges/mentors. I hereby waive all present and future claims, actions, and remedies that relate to my/my child’s project/prototype (both damages and equitable relief) against the judges/mentors who participate in the Oakland County Game & Invention Challenge, their employers, and any corporate affiliates of their employers, except for claims and actions for violations of U.S. patent or copyright laws. I acknowledge that the judges/mentors who participate in the Oakland County Game & Invention Challenge, including their employers, and any corporate affiliates of their employers, are express, intended third party beneficiaries of this agreement.
  • Event Staff reserves the right to permanently remove anyone from the facility who may violate its rules of safety and conduct.
  • I have read the above statement and agree; I will follow the rules of this event.