WYOMING FFA CAREER AND LEADERSHIP i D EVELOPMENT EVENTS HANDBOOK 2017–2021

Official Policies and Procedures for Wyoming FFA Association

Career and Leadership Development Events for 2017-2021.

FFA MISSION

FFA makes a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.

THE AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION MISSION

Agricultural education prepares students for successful careers and a lifetime of informed choices in the global agriculture, food, fiber and natural resources systems.

2017-2021 Official CDE/LDE PHILOSOPHY

The Wyoming FFA Association is dedicated to organizing experiences that will meet the future needs

of students while accomplishing the current purposes of agricultural education.

The primary goal of career and leadership development events is to develop individual college and

career readiness skills through personal growth

and premier leadership.

Individuals will be challenged to develop critical thinking skills, effective decision making skills,

foster teamwork and promote communication while recognizing the value of ethical competition

and individual achievement.

The activities in each event:

• Include problem solving, critical thinking and teamwork skills, where appropriate.

• Encourage appreciation for diversity by reducing barriers to participation among members.

• Develop general leadership and recognize individual and team achievement.

• Promote concentrated focus on future needs of members and society.

SHIP

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES Violations of any of the following rules may be grounds for the event superintendent or

state staff to disqualify the participants.

Wyoming FFA staff and event superintendents will use the published policies and

procedures to organize and implement the FFA Career and Leadership Development

Events. Event activities may not be conducted due to lack of necessary materials,

expertise or extreme impact to event budgets.

WYOMING FFA CAREER AND LEADERSHIP vii D EVELOPMENT EVENTS HANDBOOK 2017–2021

OFFICIAL DRESS RECOMMENDATIONS, NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS AND NUMBER OF SCORES FOR TEAM TOTAL

Career Development Event Official Dress

Appropriate

Number of

Participants

Allowed (per team)

Number of Scores

Counted for Team

Score

Agricultural Technology and Mechanical Systems No 4 4

Agricultural Sales Yes 4 4

Agronomy Yes 4 4

Environmental and Natural Resources No 4 4

Farm and Agribusiness Management Yes 4 4

Horse Evaluation Yes 4 4

Livestock Evaluation Yes 4 4

Marketing Plan Yes 3 Team Score Event

Meats Evaluation and Technology No 3 3

Poultry Evaluation Yes 4 4

Veterinary Science No 4 4

Leadership Development Event Official Dress

Appropriate

Number of

Participants

Allowed (per team)

Number of Scores

Counted for Team

Score

Agricultural Issues Forum Optional 3-7 Team Score Event

Conduct of Chapter Meetings Yes 7 Team Score Event

Creed Speaking Yes 1 N/A

Employment Skills Yes 1 N/A

Extemporaneous Public Speaking Yes 1 N/A

Parliamentary Procedure Yes 6 Team Score Event

Prepared Public Speaking Yes 1 N/A

WYOMING FFA CAREER AND LEADERSHIP viii D EVELOPMENT EVENTS HANDBOOK 2017–2021

Eligibility of Participants

The participant, at the state event, must:

WYOMING FFA CAREER AND LEADERSHIP ix D EVELOPMENT EVENTS HANDBOOK 2017–2021

Selection and Certification of Participants • Each team will be composed of the number of members determined by the

specific event policies, procedures and format.

• One team per chapter can compete at state events. Exceptions are individuals for agriscience fair and Creed, Extemp, and Prepared speaking.

• All members of a chapter team must be from the same chapter.

• Members must qualify in the event in which they are to participate at the national level.

• To compete at National Convention, teams must be selected at a state or interstate CDE/LDE event held between the immediate previous national FFA convention and prior to the national FFA convention in which they are participating.

• Online add/delete deadline is at the coaches meeting of the first day of convention.

• If a chapter’s representative withdraws after the online document submission date, a replacement will not be allowed. This includes prepared public speaking, ag issues forum, employment skills, and marketing plan.

• With extenuating circumstances for National Convention, a teacher/advisor may substitute another student from the chapter who may not have participated at a state qualifying event but that student must be listed as an alternate on the convention registration. Exception: Creed speaking, extemporaneous public speaking, employment skills and prepared public speaking must be submitted and approved by state staff prior to the national convention in which the member is to participate.

EMERGENCY CONDITIONS

Under emergency conditions a chapter team participating in a CDE/LDE may be made

up of less than the required members.

States must still certify teams prior to the national FFA convention, but fewer than

the required members could compete if an emergency condition such as illness, death

in the family or an act of God would occur. Those individuals competing would still be

eligible to qualify for individual awards, if applicable.

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Disqualification

A member or team may be disqualified from an event if:

• There is any communication, verbal or non-verbal, between participants during the event. The only exception to this would be communications between team members during the team activity portion of a given event.

• Teams or participants arrive after the event.

• Any assistance is given to a team member from any source other than the event officials or assistants.

• Event superintendents stop any participants for manners they deem to be hazardous to themselves or others. Such action shall deem the individuals disqualified for that section of the event.

• Participants start the event and do not complete the event without notifying event officials at the time of departure. This can affect the overall team rank and position. In some events this will also disqualify the entire team.

• Participants utilize personal electronic communication devices, other than those approved by the event officials, during the entire course of the event. Participants who access personal electronic communication devices without prior approval of

the event officials will be disqualified.

• Participant, team, advisor or coach gains access to real materials that will be utilized by the event committee during competition. Any team, participant, advisor or coach reported and proven

to do so will be disqualified from the national event.

Waiver of FFA Rules Any local chapter seeking a waiver of a Wyoming FFA policy or procedure must submit in writing to the Wyoming FFA association office. The Board of Directors will make final decisions on policy and procedure. The request must be submitted to the Wyoming FFA staff at least 30 days prior to the scheduled event or due date for which the waiver is requested. This policy does not supersede any current FFA policy for appeals already established for a particular FFA program.

Official Dress

Participants are expected to observe the National FFA Code of Ethics and the proper

use of the FFA jacket during career and leadership development events. (Please

reference the latest edition of the Official FFA Manual.)

Official FFA dress is highly recommended for all participants where appropriate and is recommended for the

awards presentation and recognition.

WYOMING FFA CAREER AND LEADERSHIP xi D EVELOPMENT EVENTS HANDBOOK 2017–2021

Accessibility for All Students

All special needs requests and appropriate documentation as outlined in the special

needs request policy must be submitted by March 1st.

Special needs policy is posted on the CDE/LDE program page at FFA.org/cde.

Written Document Penalties

A penalty of 10 percent of the total points allotted will be assessed for the

written documents received after the online submission deadline.

If the document is still not received seven days after the postmarked deadline, the team/individual may be

subject to disqualification.

• State FFA staff will mark late entries as such.

• Event officials will be notified of late entries at the time written documents are evaluated and scored.

• Event superintendent will ensure that penalty is applied.

Policy on Appeals Adding/Deleting Contests

• If a written appeal is filed within the seven (7) calendar days after results announcement, the Wyoming Board of Directors and the event superintendent will review the appeal. The written appeal must be filed with the State FFA Advisor within seven (7) calendar days of the results announcement and accompanied by a $50 filing fee. The fee will be returned if the appeal is justified.

• The Wyoming FFA Board of Directors will make all final decisions on interpretation of the rules and regulations of the Wyoming FFA Career Development Events and Awards. The Board will resolve detailed written appeals associated only with scoring errors. Official judges’ decisions are considered final. The announced results are the official results and awards may be duplicated as a result of the appeal. In the event of a tie for first place, the announced winner shall be the Wyoming representative at national competition. If the first place tie is discovered before award announcement, a representative will be determined either by an objective decision or by the flip of a coin.

• The Wyoming FFA Board of Directors in cooperation with the WVATA is expected to be proactive in

developing new and/or initiating changes within existing career development events to insure they

meet the needs of Wyoming FFA members and advisors.

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• The state FFA advisor shall certify FFA Career Development Event winners for national as well as

interstate competitions with the understanding that the state team will provide for their own travel

expenses beyond the current level of state support or state FFA Foundation support.

• The Wyoming Vocational Agriculture Teachers shall recommend all changes made in the general plan,

rules, and methods for selecting winners to the Wyoming FFA Board of Directors.

• Career Development events with less than 5 teams competing will be considered for deletion. The

representatives at CPC the following November after State FFA Convention will discuss any contests

with less than 5 teams. Delegates at State FFA Convention will vote on a recommendation for that

contest to the Board of Directors. This process will start using the number of teams in each contest in

2013.

• To add a Career Development Event, the delegates or WVATA must make a recommendation to the

Board of Directors. The State FFA Advisor will conduct a study and report to the Wyoming FFA Board of

Directors. If approved by the Board of Directors, the contest will be put in place for one year. The team

that represents Wyoming at National FFA Convention will make a report at mid-winter/FIRE on the

contest as well as the contest superintendent and state staff. The WVATA or Delegates will then make a

recommendation to the Board of Directors to continue with the contest or drop it. If a contest is added

from this procedure it will then fall under the guidelines of having 5 or more teams to remain in place.

CDE Rule Updates/Changes

Wyoming FFA will review each contest’s rules and policy every four years if needed (following National FFA’s schedule, 2017-2021). Contest superintendents can also make recommendations to the WVATA for changing contests, which would follow the decision making process from the WVATA to the Board of Directors.