Tenth Annual
Valkyrie Invitational Drill Meet
17 January 2009
Valkyrie Honor Guard, AFROTC
Louisiana Tech University
Ruston, Louisiana
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Purpose of SOP
Applicable Service Manuals
Events 3
Penalties 4
The Competition 5
Weapons 7
Judging 8
Overall 9
Inspection 10
Regulation Drill 12
Exhibition Drill 14
Tandem Exhibition Drill 16
Color Guard 17
Regulation Drill Down 19
Physical Fitness Competition 20
Appendixes 22
PURPOSE OF SOP
The purpose of this SOP is to standardize the rules for the Tenth Annual Valkyrie Invitational Drill Meet (VIDM 10) to be held on 17 January 2008.
APPLICABLE SEVICE MANUALS
The following drill manuals will be used during the competition:
1) Naval Units: Current Drill and Ceremonies Manual
2) Army Units: Current Drill and Ceremonies Manual
3) Air Force Units: AF Drill and Ceremonies Manual AFI 36-2203
4) Marine Corps Units: Current Drill and Ceremonies Manual
EVENTS
1) Inspection (T w/a and T w/o)*
2) Regulation Drill (T w/a and T w/o)*
3) Exhibition Drill (T w/a and T w/o)*
4) Color Guard (Pro and Challenger Cup)
5) Tandem Exhibition Drill
6) Physical Fitness Competition
Additional Competition:
1) Overall
2) Regulation Drill Down
* Note: T w/a= Team with arms, T w/o= Team without arms
PENALTIES
1) Any act that is in violation of this SOP’s regulations will be punished by loss of points and/or disqualification from competition as decided by the Drill Meet Commander.
2) Teams not at the prescribed area of competition at the time they are scheduled to compete will be penalized 10 points per minute past a five-minute window. After that time, the team will be disqualified for that event. This is only applicable if the team was at fault for the delay and no other arrangements were made. Teams will not compete earlier than the given time unless authorized by the Drill Meet Commander.
3) Excessive piercing in uniform will not be tolerated (see AFI 36-2903 Chapter 2, p. 93, Table 2.5). Cadets wearing said piercing will first be asked to remove piercing. If piercing is not removed, team will be penalized 50 points of each individual committing the infraction.
4) A penalty of 1 point will be deducted from the team score for each second over or under the maximum/minimum time limits specified for each event. This penalty is not to exceed 50 points.
5) A penalty of 10 points will be deducted for each movement added, omitted, or out of sequence, in Regulation Drill and Color Guard. There is no maximum for penalty points in this area. The exception to this rule is calling an “understood” command. If questions arise, the Drill Meet Commander will address them.
6) A penalty of 10 points will be deducted for each dropped weapon or prop (i.e. rifle, saber, guidon, etc.) A dropped weapon or prop is defined as any weapon or prop that unintentionally touches the ground. There is no maximum for penalty points in this area. If a drop or the appearance of a drop is planned in the sequence, the officials must be notified in order for the team to not be penalized.
7) A penalty of 5 points will be deducted for each uniform item dropped during all events except inspection. There is no maximum for penalty points in this area.
8) Penalization in an event will result if a team competes with less people than the minimum required for that event unless a waiver has been granted by the Drill Meet Commander due to injury or other previous agreement.
9) Wearing metal taps on the gym floors, whether competing or not, will result in a 5-point penalty deducted from the school’s overall score for each instance.
10) All other point deductions are discussed in the event descriptions.
THE COMPETITION
General:
1) Overall Competition will determine the best overall team in all events with the exceptions of Tandem Exhibition Drill and Regulation Drill Down.
2) If a last minute injury or accident occurs and a team is unable to field the minimum size required, the Drill Meet Commander may authorize that team to march with a missing person. Any other team with less than the minimum number will be penalized unless prior agreements have been made.
3) Team/Flight Sgt, Guides, and/or Guidon Bearers are optional. For Regulation Drill and Inspection, these members must be incorporated in the team according to the applicable drill manual. These members are considered part of the team for meeting the minimum number of marching members, grading by the judges, boundary violations, and timing.
4) The order of competition will be determined at least one week prior to competition and will be sent out to each participating team. Teams may request general drill times. Requests for times must be made to the Drill Meet Commander prior to 12 December 2008.
5) Each event allows for a specific number of cadets that can compete on two separate teams. Cadets may not compete twice as commander in any event. If a cadet is to compete twice in an event, the Drill Meet Commander must be notified by 4 January 2007 in order to schedule competition times accordingly.
6) The Drill Meet Command Post will have the official time schedule with all updated times. Each team will be responsible for knowing their competition times.
Categories of Competition:
1) Teams With Arms (M-l, M1903, M-14, M-16, or equivalent). This includes teams drilling with mock weapons (other weapons will be accepted).
2) Teams Without Arms. This includes teams drilling with sabers.
3) All teams will compete in either the With Arms or Without Arms categories. There are no senior, junior, male, or female categories.
Individual Trophy Breakdown:
1) 1st, 2nd and 3rd place Overall
1) 1st, 2nd and 3rd place Inspection (T w/a, T w/o).
2) 1st, 2nd and 3rd place Regulation (T w/a, T w/o).
3) 1st, 2nd and 3rd place Exhibition (T w/a, T w/o).
4) 1st, 2nd and 3rd place Regulation Drill Down.
5) 1st, 2nd and 3rd place Tandem Exhibition Drill.
6) 1st, 2nd and 3rd place Color Guard. (Two Series)
7) 1st, 2nd and 3rd place Physical Fitness.
8) There will also be more specific awards and recognition within some phases.
WEAPONS
General:
1) Weapons to be used in the Team With Arms competition will be rifles comparable in size and weight to the M-1, M-14, M-16, or Springfield M1903. Lightweight rifle props will be considered weapons and teams using these will compete in the Teams With Arms category.
2) No penalty points will be assessed for demilitarized weapons. If the bolts are inoperable, the team will execute a modified "Inspection Arms." The command of recovery will be either "PORT ARMS", or "READY, PORT ARMS" before proceeding.
3) The commander may use a saber, sword, pistol, or rifle. The use of a saber, sword, pistol, or rifle by the commander adds the responsibility of using the item correctly in accordance to the applicable drill manual. Any failure to use one of these items correctly will result in point deduction. If the commander carries a saber or sword, the use of a scabbard and any associated equipment is required.
4) Props that may be used in the Team Without Arms category include sabers, guidons, pistols, or any other approved items.
Safety:
1) Weapons used by teams will be under the control of the team commanders. Any compromise of safety or security will result in disqualification from the applicable phase(s) of the drill meet.
2) Any weapon that is operational (i.e. not demilitarized) will be kept under lock and key at all times except when actually being used in drill. A storage facility will be made available upon written request only. Requests to use operational weapons must be submitted by 6 Jan 2009.
3) In case a weapon or prop breaks during any event, a designated person may bring a replacement onto the drill area and exchange it. However, there cannot be any delay in the flow of the drill, and the timekeepers will not stop the clocks.
4) Fixed bayonets will not be allowed at any time during the competition.
5) Neither blank nor live ammunition will be used. Use of ammunition or other pyrotechnic devices will result in disqualification of the unit from all events.
6) No cadet shall be lifted above ground level. A 10 point per person penalty will be accessed.
JUDGING
General:
1) All judges will be members of the Valkyrie Honor Guard or AFROTC Detachment 305 at Louisiana Tech. Officers or noncommissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces or Reserve Components may also be used as judges.
2) Head judges and inspecting judges are authorized to deduct points for uniform discrepancies.
3) Official time and scorekeepers will be up to the head judge’s decision.
4) Specific judging criteria are located in each event description.
5) The decision of the judges will be final.
Ties:
1) In the event of a tie for the Overall awards, the team with the highest Color guard score will be declared the winner. If a tie still remains, the team with the highest Inspection score will be declared the winner.
2) In event of a tie in any single event, the team with the highest head judge’s score for that event will be declared the winner. If the head judge scores are the same, then the total score given by the field judges for “Overall Impression” will be used to break the tie.
OVERALL
General:
1) The Overall Competition will be a comprehensive ranking of all schools entered into the competition.
2) The winners of the Overall Award will be determined by the combined totals from Exhibition Drill, Regulation Drill, Inspection, Color Guard, and Physical Fitness.
3) Minimum marching team size is 9 members. The judges will consider the commander as well as the other team members in determining violation of time limits and boundaries.
4) The commander will be included as part of the team for the purposes of beginning and ending time and considering boundary violations.
5) If the unit is entering more than one team to compete in the same event, only one of these teams will be used in the calculation of the Overall total. The team competing for overall will be designated the number one team.
INSPECTION
General:
1) The Inspection will be the first event for the competition for Overall. Inspection will be held in the designated inspection area and will last for approximately 10 minutes.
2) All teams must enter the drill area as prescribed in the appropriate appendix.
3) The team commander will bring the team into the inspection area when signaled by the head judge or the official team escort. The commander will bring the team to drill center and prepare his team for inspection. After the team is formed and aligned, the commander will formally report-in.
4) The commander will re-form the team at the end of the inspection and then a formal report-out is required.
5) Inspection Teams of 9 to 16 members (plus commander) may be entered for each unit in each With and Without Arms categories. Only three cadets from each school may compete twice in this event.
Area of Drill:
1) The drill area for Inspection will be 45x45 feet. The boundaries will be visibly marked. A 10-point penalty for each command that takes at least one member of the team out of bounds will be assessed. Boundary violations include stepping on or over the lines.
2) The team will wait outside of the boundaries prior to the inspection as indicated in Appendix 3B.
3) The team will be moved entirely off of the drill area after the head judge dismisses the team
Judging:
1.) The head judge will evaluate the commander as well as the team as a whole. Inspecting judges are not authorized to touch team members unless they expressly ask permission. However, the judges will be authorized to take weapons for inspection.
2.) The team will be judged from the time the team marches onto the drill area until the team is completely off the drill area.
3.) Questions asked by the judges will cover drill and weapons. Teams may also be asked questions concerning, but not limited to: Commander-in-Chief, Chiefs of Staff, Service Secretaries, and their respective Chains of Command. Current events of national and international scope may also be asked, as well as questions about each team’s respective school. The purpose of the questioning is to evaluate awareness and military bearing of the individual team members. Answers should be given in a military manner respective of each team’s particular service.
4.) Judging criteria will also include the condition of the weapons used (i.e. free of rust/corrosion, clean slings, and polished wood), the condition and appearance of each uniform (i.e. shined chrome/brass, ironed shirts and pants, shined shoes, and serviceability of overall uniform), personal appearance (to include haircut and shave), and precision of movements (i.e. inspection arms and order arms).
5) In the event of a tie in this category, the commander’s score will be used.
6) The commander’s score will count twice that of a normal member in the formation.
7) For fairness, only 9 members will be counted. If more than 9 members are inspected, the members to be counted will be chosen at random after completion of that team’s inspection.
Regulation Drill
General:
1.) Each team will execute the sequence of movements specified in Appendices 1 or Appendices 2 for their category. These are the only movements allowed. Teams must use the equivalent commands specified in their respective manuals. There will be ten penalty points for each movement added, omitted, or out of sequence. There will a judge assigned with Appendices 1 and Appendices 2 whose sole purpose is to identify any commands given incorrectly or out of sequence.