MECC REGIONALS

Each regional is open to students from its host school, as well as student teams from nearby schools. For specific details (deadlines, costs, agenda), please check each location’s event page.

MECC Regionals will have two levels of difficulty:

• Junior Varsity – For newcomers to Excel Esports.
• Varsity – For more experienced students.

Each level will feature four different types of Excel Esports cases:
Speed Challenge – Solve the case as fast as possible. You’ll have 30 minutes and can do as many attempts as time allows.
Visual Case – Work with maps, visual references, and questions related to visual elements.
Data/Logical Case – Analyze and work with large databases.
Ninja Challenge – You get one question at a time and can get to the next by solving the first one. 

For each case you will have 30 minutes to get familiar with the case and complete it. Late submissions will enquirer penalty points.

You should try the competition cases from the last year’s Regionals available on ExPrep in ASUS Case Explorer folder, which are divided into these levels. Start with the Junior Varsity case—set a 30-minute time limit for yourself. If you can solve it, or most of it, without relying on the step-by-step tutorials, then move on to the Varsity case. Download it, set the timer for 30 minutes, and try the case. If the questions seem manageable and you can get more than halfway through, you’re ready for that level. By solving all the cases you’ll have a chance to get familiar with all four case types.

If you haven’t signed up for MECC yet, please do so. Once you register, you will gain access to all our training assignments. Go to the ExPrep folder for the Case Explorer Badge. This folder includes various types of cases with detailed step-by-step walkthroughs (coming soon) to help you learn effectively. If you complete at least six of the assignments, you will additionally earn a ASUS Case Explorer Badge to add to your resume and have a chance to participate in ASUS raffle to win prizes.

The MECC Regionals will feature four case categories that all individuals can complete. While each case fits into one of these broad categories, they may not be exclusively confined to them. The categories are as follows:

1. Speed Challenge (e.g., shortcuts, keyboarding)
2. Visual Case (e.g., mapping, directions, cell locations, and distances)
3. Data Case (e.g., lookups, data referencing, logical calculations)
4. Ninja Challenge (e.g., formatting, conditional formatting, sorting, etc.)

Each category will have two levels of difficulty: Junior Varsity (beginner) and Varsity (advanced). Only students in the Varsity level are eligible to qualify for the Online Regional Winners’ Battle on April 25. Top students will be announced for both Junior Varsity and Varsity level.

Participation & Scoring

• Level Selection: Students must choose to compete in either the Junior Varsity or Varsity level. Competing in both levels will result in disqualification from overall scoring in either level.
• Equipment: Students must use their own equipment. External peripherals such as keyboards, mice, and portable monitors are allowed.
• Collaboration: Students must complete all challenges individually. If it’s found that another student’s work is present in a student’s file (as determined by ExPrep), both students’ scores may be disqualified.

Testing Sessions & Time Limits

• Case Duration: All cases will be completed in 30-minute testing sessions.
  • For speed challenges, the 30 minutes allows time to learn the case and complete it as quickly as possible. Rankings will be based on the best times (in seconds), and only 100% correct attempts will count.
  • For other challenges, points are awarded based on total points earned. Ties will be broken based on the total time to complete the challenge (files turned in earlier will be ranked higher).
• Case Order: While the order of certain cases may vary, it’s recommended to start with the Speed Challenge (Case 1). Breaks can be included between cases, with suggested times for lunch, speakers, or brief rests between Case 2, 3, and 4.

Ranking & Team Scoring

• Individual Rankings:
• Students will be ranked based on their performance in each case, with the best ranking being 1st. Ties result in both students receiving the higher rank and skipping subsequent rankings (e.g., 1, 1, 3, 3, 3, 6, 7, 8).
• The top 25% of students in each challenge (rounded up to the nearest 10) will receive a rank. All other students will receive the maximum rank for that challenge.

• Overall Individual Winner:

• • The overall winner is determined by the lowest weighted sum of ranks across all four challenges. The Data and Visual Challenges will be weighted at 30% and the Visual and Speed Challenges will be weighted at 20%. Students must complete all four challenges to be eligible for the aggregate individual rankings. The individual winner will advance to compete against other regional winners in the online battle.
• Team Rankings:
  • Team rankings are based on the weighted sum of the lowest (best) three individual ranks from students within the same school. The Data and Visual Challenges will be weighted at 30% and the Visual and Speed Challenges will be weighted at 20%. Each team must have at least three students completing each challenge to qualify for an overall team score.

Example of Team Scoring

For example, if School X has the following individual rankings:

• Case 1: Tim (2), Joan (7), Alex (15), Ralph (29), Tina (89)
• Case 2: Tim (7), Tina (7), Alex (9), Ralph (15), Joan (54)
• Case 3: Ralph (4), Alex (7), Joan (23), Tim (29), Tina (42)
• Case 4: Joan (1), Tina (3), Ralph (7), Tim (24), Alex (50)

Team case scores would be:

• Case 1: (2 + 7 + 15) = 24
• Case 2: (7 + 7 + 9) = 23
• Case 3: (4 + 7 + 23) = 34
• Case 4: (1 + 3 + 7) = 11

Overall Team Score = 24*20% + 23*30% + 34*30% + 11*20% = 24.1.

• Any ranks over 50 (assuming that between 161 and 200 students participated at the given level) would be given the maximum rank (50).

The team with the lowest overall score wins.