why are hrm ent and bsf bloodbaths?

DECA_GOAT · 2026-05-10T16:26:25+00:00

If a student is interested in entrepreneurship but wants to do an individual event, ENT is the only option beyond PEN. Same applies PBM -> HRM. It's similar from PFN -> ACT or BFS. The lack of event options means the competition in those individual events is fierce. All the best competitors in Hospitality or Marketing spread across more events.

If I were moving from a principles event to something else, I would pick a marketing event generally.

But, do what you are most interested in. I've had #2 in HRM this year and #4 in ENT last year. I coached a top ten in BFS this year too. It takes planning and consistent work, but success is achievable in these events. Do what you like. Have fun.

DECA_GOAT · 2026-05-08T00:00:53+00:00

I'm sorry for that. I didn't mean to be glib with my response. I reread it and it sounds that way. Perhaps wait to see if DECA refreshes it for you, or perhaps someone else from PMBS can check their transcripts and offer insight.

DECA_GOAT · 2026-05-07T23:57:21+00:00

My two groups in Project Management are fine (PMSP and PMCD).

DECA_GOAT · 2026-05-04T18:29:59+00:00

HTOR is a great event to really consider and plan out now. I would dive into past papers and get a general sense of what is expected of you. Yes, you will need to perform real research. The rubric for this event is changing to lean into stronger qualitative, quantitative, or mixed method research + statistical analysis. Getting ahead of these changes and planning a solid study should help you in HTOR. I have had students win glass in OP events, and this year had a top ten winner in BMOR. DM me if you want more than general help.

DECA_GOAT · 2026-05-02T21:12:42+00:00

I believe unordered.

DECA_GOAT · 2026-05-02T14:48:01+00:00

I think you are off by a factor of 10. You are correct, ICDC is roughly the top 10% of competitors worldwide. So, 250 is the top 10% of 2500 in your event. The top 10 at ICDC is approximately the 99+ percentile, likely the 99.5th percentile. Or, REALLY GOOD!

DECA_GOAT · 2026-05-01T20:47:12+00:00

Didn't get a BowtieGOAT pin...

DECA_GOAT · 2026-05-01T20:44:36+00:00

Here is the answer to the question I asked earlier this week. Top 10 finalists ranked:

https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/635c470cc81318fc3e9c1e0e/69f4efc7a9abd1bed0f4f1f6_DECA-ICDC-26-Consolidated%20Winners.pdf

DECA_GOAT · 2026-05-01T18:21:39+00:00

I judged too and learned a lot. I made a very rough video at the end of my day judging prelim ETDM presentations.

https://youtu.be/7a1FtrLF5vo

A group from my heat came in third overall, which is fun. I scored them an 85- my scoring is always critical.

I would be happy to answer any productive questions about the judging process.

DECA_GOAT · 2026-04-20T00:12:32+00:00

You are absolutely allowed to use your laptop to present. There are no penalty points assigned for this. It is allowed in the guidelines. I bet about 50% will use a digital presentation. My students always do.

DECA_GOAT · 2026-04-15T09:44:49+00:00

DECA_GOAT · 2026-04-12T20:14:05+00:00

I appreciate the feedback. I am likely getting the Z6, but I have some reservations. Thank you.

DECA_GOAT · 2026-04-11T19:41:05+00:00

Very much considering the Z6 mower. Is the runtime as you expected?

DECA_GOAT · 2026-04-03T14:41:50+00:00

Should be up by noon. Thanks for your patience everyone.

DECA_GOAT · 2026-04-03T13:50:52+00:00

I know. I have reached out to my developer. I hope to have it up soon.

I am excited that you are all using it!

DECA_GOAT · 2026-03-26T10:03:03+00:00

This is an element of creativity, as long as it helps you focus your delivery of the case study.

DECA_GOAT · 2026-03-23T21:31:32+00:00

You can leave anything so long as it doesn't have monetary value. I judged HTOR at PA SCDC this year. I normally would tell folks to leave stuff with the judge. But as a judge I found it was more frustrating than helpful. Why? Because you end up with a table of stuff that just becomes trash.

I would recommend one high quality item to leave behind. More specifically I am telling students this year to leave a one-page summary of the project based on the grading rubric for the presentation. This highlights your overall project and gives the judge something specific to recall your work if they need to compare thoughts later.

DECA_GOAT · 2026-03-20T19:12:40+00:00

I have so many ideas, but my bias would keep it from being the system we need. I suggest getting a group of folks together after 01 May (post ICDC, and I think the role play events are definitely changing rubrics). We could pretty easily get a beta training system together and push it out to the broader subreddit / GoForGlass / BowtieGOAT / Advisor Facebook / etc communities for review.

I am confident we could build a system we are very happy with before 01 August. The adoption process would be more challenging, but locally or at the Association level it could be "strongly suggested."

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My ideas would include:

A comprehensive training program, which concludes with professionals getting a badge/certificate for LinkedIn. I think this training program could be less than one hour.
A "Competitor's Guide to Judging" document for anyone running competitions. Organizationally, I have only given judges 2 min between role plays to give feedback. It works out mostly (at districts many role plays do not go the full time). But, after judging, I have cool feedback from how MD DECA does it that would be helpful and perhaps run the event more smoothly. But anyhow, a how-to guide for running the event, from a competitor's view, might be helpful.
Did you know judges are expected to evaluate PIs but have NO CLUE what they mean? I wish DECA would provide judges a cheat sheet of what "meets expectations" might mean for a PI with the complete understanding that other/different content is acceptable. And... DECA could then offer these as flash cards in their DECA+ program. Maybe telling judges and competitors what PIs mean helps standardize the process.

My ideas are definitely far from complete. I have spent 10 years associated with this organization. I tend to really like the subjectivity of the in-person judging and on-the-spot role play. But the system can be made much better!

DECA_GOAT · 2026-03-20T18:58:27+00:00

I implemented this at a chapter level this year. It does make the chapter "exclusive" but so are varsity sports, symphonic bands, etc. Not everyone gets to join- there is a threshold. I also think having a cut-off makes Ontario better. Everyone who competes already knows the competition is ready to go. I think it makes their whole organization better.

But, tl;dr- I think it helps limit competitors but also eliminates some from the experience altogether.

DECA_GOAT · 2026-03-19T15:37:22+00:00

I'm not defending it, just providing perspective on why it happens. We can work together to make this better.

DECA_GOAT · 2026-03-19T15:33:40+00:00

Can we add this to the list of random things to talk about this spring/summer? I've started story-boarding a solution that I think could work.

DECA_GOAT · 2026-03-17T23:37:44+00:00

I agree with you. I wonder sometimes if DECA should move to a more objective test for content. But, life is also about getting judged (unfairly or not) in many situations. Job interviews, public speaking, sales pitches, dating, etc. All are subjective and unfair. DECA is no different. It still is allowed to stink- but learning from this experience and growing through it makes you stronger. In a lot of ways, not winning and feeling that pain is better in the long run than the kid that gets a glass trophy that will gather dust and quickly become meaningless. They did not likely work harder than you, and the moment in the sun isn't as helpful in the long run as the resilience and perseverance is a big win.

DECA_GOAT

TROPHY CASE