What is an Appraiser?
Appriasers are neccessary volunteers needed for each Destination Imagination tournament. The various types of jobs can be found in the next section. Each team will need an appraiser for their regional tournament and if the team advances, the State tournament. You will NOT be scoring your own Team, BUT you will have FUN! As an appraisers you will be provided training on how to accomplish your job.
Appraiser Registration
We Love Our Appraisers!
A successful DI tournament depends on the efforts of many volunteers.
About Appraiser Training
In order to ensure that the teams are fairly and consistently evaluated, every appraiser must be trained each year. Appraiser training dates and sites are indicated below. You will indicate your preferred training date and challenge preference when you register online.
Important Appraiser Dates
Date |
Event |
TBD for 2024-2025 Session |
MDDI State Tournament Dealine for Appraiser Registration |
Wednesday Janary 22nd/Tuesday January 28th7:30PM-8:30PM |
New Appraiser Overview (Virtual Event)
|
Wednesday January 29th/Tuesday February 4th7:30PM-9:00PM |
Appraiser Challenge Specific Training (Virtual Event)For New and Veterna Appraisers |
Saturday January 25th.New Appraisers: 9AM-12PM |
Appraiser Training (In Person Event) |
March 15th, 2025 |
MDDI Affiliate tournament |
What type of Appraisers are there?
HEAD APPRAISER
THE JOB: Every Destination Imagination® Team Challenge Appraisal Team must have a Head Appraiser. This person is the site facilitator to help ensure the smooth running of the Challenge Site. The Head Appraiser is responsible for supervising the entire Appraisal Team at one specific site, and must be thoroughly familiar with the Destination Imagination® program rules, as well as the specifics of his/her Team Challenge. In most cases, the Head Appraiser, rather than the Challenge Master, is the person who presents and explains the raw scores to the Team Manager.
QUALITIES OF A GREAT HEAD APPRAISER: Has experience in overseeing Appraisal Teams; is friendly and has a sense of humor; has great leadership qualities; is diplomatic; is fair; enjoys children and young people; is well organized; is a great listener.
THE TEAM CHALLENGE APPRAISER or INSTANT CHALLENGE APPRAISER
THE JOB: The Team Challenge is comprised of the Central Challenge and 2 Team Choice Elements. A Team Challenge Appraiser is a person who evaluates one or two of the required elements of a Team’s Presentation. For Instant Challenge, there will be several different elements to appraise in a shorter time interval.
QUALITIES OF A GREAT TEAM or INSTANT CHALLENGE APPRAISER: Enjoys children and young people; is friendly and curious; appreciates technical and artistic creativity in all its forms; is sincerely interested in the creative process and in understanding the efforts of the team members; is fair and consistent; can maintain consistent level of enthusiasm throughout a full day of Presentations.
THE PREP AREA APPRAISER
THE JOB: The Prep Area Appraiser is responsible for greeting the team members and Team Managers at the Performance Site; relaxing them and checking that required elements of the Solution such as props, paperwork, etc., are in order and in compliance with rules. This Appraiser is the first Tournament Official the team meets, and this is usually just before the team’s performance. It is VERY important that the Prep Area or Check-In Appraiser is able to set a Team at ease.
QUALITIES OF A GREAT PREP AREA APPRAISER: enjoys children and young people; is diplomatic, friendly, and has a ready sense of humor; is level headed and calm; is gentle and patient; is well-organized; is fair and understands the concept of keeping the playing field LEVEL.
TIME KEEPER /ANNOUNCER (TKA)
THE JOB: The Announcer introduces each Team to the Appraisers and the audience. The TKA also keeps time for each team’s performance.
QUALITIES OF A GREAT ANNOUNCER: Is upbeat, enthusiastic, and personable; is comfortable speaking in front of an audience; has a loud clear voice that carries across large spaces if there is no microphone; is able to maintain energy and enthusiasm throughout the Tournament day; understands that the last Team of the day deserves the same attention as the Team than performed first; is entertaining but never forgets that it is the TEAMS – not the Announcer – that should be the center of the audience’s attention!
STRUCTURE CHECK-IN AND WEIGH-IN APPRAISER (Structure Challenge ONLY)
THE JOB: This Special Appraiser is in charge of checking all Structures for compliance with the Team Challenge. This usually involves weighing and measuring the Structure and sometimes evaluating the design.
QUALITIES OF A GREAT STRUCTURE CHECK-IN APPRAISER: Must be calm, patient, and friendly; must understand that he/she should NEVER touch the Team’s Structure; must understand the specific procedures for this Challenge.
Common Questions:
Q: What if I want to sign up for multiple tournaments (such as a Regional Tournament and State Tournament)
A: You will need to submit multiple registrations for each tournament but your preferences will be the same between tournaments