Tips for Planning Your Academic Vacation
By Dr. David Stevens, Academic Director | Friday, September 06, 2013 1:59 PM
Being an academic coordinator or coach for your campus is much like planning for a summer vacation with the family. It takes months of preparation for a few days or weeks of gratitude. But the payoff is usually worth the trouble.
The first step to going on vacation is selecting a date and location. For the UIL traveler, planning meetings for district spring meets began Aug. 15. The planning meetings should include location, dates and assignments for CX debate, One-Act Play and the academic meet. If you have not received notification of this information, check with your campus administration or contact another coordinator in your UIL district.
Next, you will need to plan your itinerary for the trip. Districts are highly encouraged to follow the UIL Academic Conflict Pattern at the district contest. The conflict pattern is strictly enforced at the region and state meets.
The itinerary should include anything you plan to do throughout the year from conferences to invitational practice meets to the schedule at the district contest. The Legislative Council has asked the academic staff to gather information and feedback about the conflict pattern for the Academic Spring Meet. If you have a recommendation for changing the conflict pattern, or if you feel that the schedule is fine as it is, please email your comments. The Council and the Academic Committee will meet in October, and your comments on any aspect of the academic program are welcome.
After the itinerary is set, you will want to book your accommodations for the trip. We ask all academic coordinators to register every year online. It is a quick process and allows us to capture your updated email address and send critical reminders and information throughout the year. High school coordinators register online at http://www.uiltexas.org/academics and A+ elementary/middle/jr. high school coordinators can register at http://www.uiltexas.org/aplus.
The best option for a successful vacation is a travel guide. The UIL Academic Coordinator’s Manual will give you step-by-step directions on what you need to see, do and tips on making it the best trip ever. The digital copy of the manual can be located at http://www.uiltexas.org/academics/resources/coordinators. We have a limited number of hard copies for purchase. We will not mail out manuals to every high school like we have done in the past.
There exists a wealth of online resources for efficient travel and necessary gear for the trip for those of you who like to research your vacation online. UIL is making a strong effort to offer many of our study materials and resources electronically as digital downloads. It is a work in progress, and I assume there will be a few hurdles, but please check out the Online Store on the UIL website. We will continue to add materials as we proceed, including previous years tests. Please be patient. This will be like taking an electric car on vacation for the first time and trying to find a charging station.
The most exciting part is that we will be able to release the invitational, district and region tests immediately following the testing window. This will allow you to utilize them as study materials for students advancing to region or state competitions.
I also encourage coordinators and coaches to join the UIL Academic Coordinator’s Facebook page and learn updates via social media for travel planning. There is a great exchange of materials, ideas, tournament information and questions for amateurs and veterans alike. If you cannot find the page, email me and I will send you the link.
Another opportunity for the UIL traveler is the vast number of resources for sneak peeks at what you may see throughout this journey. Each year, the UIL staff organizes Student Activities Conferences throughout the state for both students and coaches to prepare for the upcoming contest season. This year’s SACs include UT Arlington on Sept. 14, Texas Tech on Sept. 28, UT Austin on Oct. 5 and Sam Houston State on Nov. 9.
General information about this fall’s Student Activities Conferences is posted on the UIL website. We’ll post the tentative schedules at http://www.uiltexas.org/academics/student-activity-conferences. These conferences are a great opportunity to get a head start on preparing for spring meet competition and to hear state contest directors discuss the specifics of most academic contests. Speech, debate and theatre sessions are presented by experienced coaches and directors, in addition to those conducted by the state directors. Some workshops even include student performances. Mark the date of the closest conference on your school calendar to let coaches and potential competitors know what’s available. It’s free, no registration is needed and it will be well worth your time.
The adult-only version of this trip is the Capital Conference held each July. Not unlike Vegas, this past summer’s conference was a tremendous success with more than 700 attendees and nearly 130 workshop sessions. I need to extend many accolades to the entire academic staff for the many hours of preparations to make the event a success. We also could not make it happen without the many presenters, including contest directors and successful coaches and administrators sharing what works best for them.
Mark your calendars for July 11-12, 2014 for another great Capital Conference that will include magic, merriment and learning.
Travel calls for flexibility, and sometimes it is necessary to make itinerary changes. Please note that this year’s regional contests will be held May 1-3, with a majority of the sites holding the competitions on Friday and Saturday. Making a schedule change is never easy. We have avoided as many conflicts as possible, but please be aware that UIL Wind Ensemble and state golf and tennis could create some potential problems for academic competitors. We will do the best we can to help resolve problems, but regional meet competition must occur during the scheduled time. Also, many of the college/university sites will have to amend previous schedules to accommodate the changes on the campus. We will get those schedules posted as quickly as possible.
While you are marking your calendar for tourist sites not to miss, the State Meet dates will be May 19-21, with a bulk of the academic competitions happening on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Every vacation cannot be without a few complications. However, with proper planning, most problems can be diverted or at least have minimal impact on the fun and memories that will be created.
As usual, do not hesitate to contact the academic staff by email or phone if we can ever be of assistance. Best wishes on a wonderful school year and a memorable UIL vacation.