Rules and program

Aliante 2009 Competition Rules

1. The competition is designed for all secondary school students between the ages of 15 to 19 (born in the period of August 1st, 1989 – May 31st, 1994), who are residents of the Czech Republic, Georgia, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
2. The competition is designed for teams consisting of two students. However each team may also have an alternate member who will be used in the event that an original team member is unable to participate in the next round.
3. Team members must be citizens of the Czech Republic, Georgia, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, the United Kingdom or the United States.
4. Students who have already taken part in previous Aliante competitions, including prior winners, are allowed to register as well.
5. Each team must have its own e-mail address and all participants must be able to communicate in English. Knowledge of English will be checked before the final. If it is determined that a team can not communicate effectively in English it will be replaced. 

Aliante 2009 Competition Schedule

The Aliante 2009 competition consists of three rounds:

1^st round - knowledge based questions will take place exclusively via the Internet. Competitors need to answer 20 questions no later than 22^nd March 2009 before 23:59 CET. Answers submitted after the deadline will be void. Correct answers to at least 15 questions are required to go through to the 2^nd round.

2^nd round - knowledge based questions will take place from 23^rd March 2009 to 4^th May 2009. In the 2^nd round teams need to answer 35 questions in writing (printed on paper, or on CD) and then send them to the address below by 4^th May. The date of the postmark is decisive:

National coordinators together with professional political scientists will evaluate the written answers. All answers must include information about sources used. Be specific and complete so that it is possible to verify your sources. Include a complete Internet link, or the title, author and the page number of the book, etc.

3rd round - the international final will be held in Lithuania, at the NCO School in Kaunas, from the 29^th June to 4^th July 2009. In total, 40 teams will go through to the final. From each country there will be at least one team - provided that it has been able to answer the 2^nd round questions to the satisfaction of the national coordinators and political scientists. The other 29 teams will be chosen according to the number of complete 2^nd round answers from each country, but there is a maximum of 6 teams from each country (example of the count  here).

In the case that a team is unable to participate in the final, that team will be replaced by another team on the basis of the professional jury evaluation (the next highest scoring team) from the same country.

The final will focus not only on physical and psychological strength. It will also test general knowledge and the ability to cooperate on an international level under severe conditions.

20 international squads consisting of four competitors (2 teams) will be created by impartial draw from the initial 40 teams. The original two-member team will be joined by an additional team from another nation. The national composition of the four-member squad is not specified in any way. One squad may, for example, be composed of Lithuanian and Slovakian members, another of Polish and Czech members, and a third of Lithuanian and Hungarian members. The squad assignments will take place 2 weeks before the final and the teams will then be notified by e-mail. They will have an opportunity to get to know each other before the final itself in Lithuania.

The winners of Aliante 2009 will be the international squads that finish in the top 7 places according to the final results.

The final program is prepared in cooperation with the Lithuanian Armed Forces.

Detailed Schedule of Aliante 2009

When the finalists are announced, they will be provided with a list of things that each finalist must bring to the 3^rd round of competition. . If the finalists do not have all the required items, the whole squad may have points deducted.

1. Transportation to the final, namely in the form of reimbursement of return tickets or by providing transport (microbus, flight tickets, train, etc.), and insurance for finalists.
2. Food and accommodation at the international final.
3. Transportation, food, accommodation, admission, and insurance for the winning teams that participate in the Winners’ Trip.