Test Site Test Site Sydney International Business Competition (SIBC)

The Sydney International Business Competition Rulebook

Updated 31 January 2025

Contents

  • 1.0Eligibility
  • 2.0General
  • 3.0The Cases
  • 4.0Advisor Rules
  • 5.0The Competition
  • 6.0Disputes

    • 1.0   Eligibility

  • 1.1The Sydney International Business Competition (SIBC) is open to full-time undergraduate students.
  • 1.2Students can be enrolled in any degree in any faculty at the participating universities.
  • 1.3Students from the participating universities must not be on exchange from another university.
  • 1.4Students who have participated in SIBC (previously known as USBSCC) in previous years are not eligible to compete again.

    • 2.0   General

  • 2.1There will be two (2) rounds: Case One and Case Two. Case One will run for six (6) hours. Case Two will run for twenty-four (24) hours.
  • 2.2Prior to the commencement of the competition, the university Faculty Advisors must submit the names of students in the teams participating and they cannot be altered (except as permitted under rule 2.6 or 2.7).
  • 2.3The competition has 16 teams, one from each participating university. The number of teams is subject to change without notice.
  • 2.4Teams are not to present under the name of their university, and at no time during the presentation or the question and answer session (Q&A), are they allowed to reveal which university they represent, their nationality, home country, city or any other identifying information, aside from their first names. Each team will be allocated a team name by which they are to be known to the judges.
  • 2.5Participating students and Faculty Advisors are not permitted to interact with judges from the time that judges’ names are released until the completion of their final round of the presentations, excluding the question & answer period.
  • 2.6All participating students must participate in the case preparation and presentations. Exceptions will be made for medical or personal emergencies, which must be communicated to the Organising Committee as soon as practicable. Should a participant withdraw due to a personal or medical emergency, they are prohibited from communicating with their team members or Faculty Advisor between the beginning and end of the Case Preparation period.
  • 2.7No substitutions of team members may be made after the Opening Ceremony. All team members must participate in all Rounds unless in the event of a medical or personal emergency. Teams may still perform without withdrawn team members.
  • 2.8The competition will commence with an opening ceremony on Sunday 6th October. Case One will be released on Monday 7th October, with submissions occurring 6 hours after the case release. Case One presentations will also occur on the same day. Case Two will be released on Wednesday 9th October, with submission occurring 24 hours after the case release, on Thursday 10th October. Presentations will occur on Friday 11th October. Refer to the Competitors Information Pack for further details and regarding allocated preparation times.
  • 2.9The competition will be held in-person in Sydney, Australia.
  • 2.10All materials produced in the course of SIBC (including, but not limited to presentations, videos, and photographs) become the property of the Organising Committee, Sydney Consulting Club, Case Partners and the University of Sydney.
  • 2.11Breaches of the Rules contained in this Rule Book may lead to penalties, including but not limited to point reductions. Breaches will be taken seriously and investigated by the Organising Committee and the SIBC Advisor.
  • 2.12Participation in SIBC will be taken as acceptance of the Rules and as a commitment to good faith compliance with the Rules.

    • 3.0    Cases

    3.1   General
  • 3.1.1The cases are multi-disciplinary, and strategy focused. They may cross-cover any of these topics: finance, accounting, marketing, human resources, and entrepreneurship.
  • 3.1.2There will be two (2) cases: Case One and Case Two. The solutions and presentations for each Case must be prepared in the prescribed Preparation Time as outlined in 3.2 and presented in accordance with the Presentation Time outlined in 3.4.
  • 3.1.4The SIBC Advisor is the authority overseeing the selection, distribution, and preparation of the cases prior to the competition.
  • 3.1.5The cases will be distributed to each team via the emails provided upon registration. Additional paper copies may be distributed at the discretion of SIBC.
  • 3.1.6No participant or Faculty Advisor may read any of the cases or otherwise gain knowledge about the cases (including, but not limited to the Case Partner or the direction of the case) prior to the beginning of their Preparation Time. Failure to observe this condition will result in penalty and/or disqualification, at the discretion of the Organising Committee and SIBC Advisor.
    • 3.2   Preparation Time
  • 3.2.1The Preparation Time for Case One is six (6) hours. The preparation time for Case Two is twenty-four (24) hours.
  • 3.2.2Teams are not allowed to consult with external parties or obtain or seek any outside assistance until the competition’s completion.
  • 3.2.3Teams are not permitted to interact with other competitors or their Faculty Advisor during each Case’s Preparation Time.
  • 3.2.4Teams may communicate with the Organising Committee during Preparation Time to discuss various topics including, but not limited to (1) technical, personal, medical or other emergencies or (2) clarification regarding the competition.
  • 3.2.5Competitors are only allowed to access publicly available information – no password protected databases, or online databases provided by schools (e.g. subscriptions to IBISWorld, Statista, etc.) may be used.
  • 3.2.6Team Preparation will occur in assigned rooms, communicated to teams by the Organising Committee.
  • 3.2.7The team is not permitted to leave their room during the preparation time without being accompanied by a SIBC representative or with the express permission by the SIBC Organising Committee.
  • 3.2.8If a team progresses from a Preliminary Round to a Final Round, they must use their existing slide deck, without any adjustments.
    • 3.3   Submission
  • 3.3.1Submission of teams’ slide decks for Case One must be provided within six (6) hours after their allotted Preparation Time begins (at the end of their Preparation Time). Submission of teams’ slide decks for Case Two must be provided within twenty-four (24) hours after their allotted Preparation Time begins (at the end of their Preparation Time). Precise deadlines for each team, based on relevant staggered Preparation Times will be communicated to teams prior to the Preparation Time.
  • 3.3.2Late submissions of slide decks are prohibited. Teams are responsible for alerting the Organising Committee of any potential technical issues prior to submission time. Penalties for late submission may be incurred, to be determined at the discretion of the Organising Committee and the SIBC Advisor.
    • 3.4   Presentation Time
  • 3.4.1For Case One, each team will have ten (10) minutes to present and ten (10) minutes of question & answer time from the judges. For Case Two, each team will have fifteen (15) minutes to present and fifteen (15) minutes for question & answer from the judges.
  • 3.4.2There will be a signal indicating the remaining five (5) minutes and one (1) minute of presentation time and a signal indicating the remaining five (5) minutes and one (1) minute of question & answer time. At the end of the allotted presentation time, the presentation will be stopped. No further questions will be asked by the judges when less than thirty (30) seconds of question and answer time is remaining.
  • 3.4.3Failure to observe the time restrictions outlined in 3.4.2 may result in penalties against the team, to be determined at the discretion of the judging panel.
  • 3.4.4All presentations must be in English
    • 3.5   Judging Panel
  • 3.5.1There will be between two (2) and six (6) people on the Preliminary and Final Rounds judging panels for both Case One and Case Two presentations.
  • 3.5.2The judging panels will be selected from business practitioners, full-time academic staff, representatives from the case companies, former competitors at case competitions, SCC executive members, or others with appropriate relevant experience and knowledge, to be determined by the Organising Committee and the SIBC Advisor.
    • 3.6   Judges’ Feedback
  • 3.6.1Once all the teams have presented within their Preliminary Pools and the judges have deliberated, judges will provide the initial feedback and announce the progressing teams in the Preliminary Rounds.
  • 3.6.2The timing of the feedback process will be controlled by the Organising Committee.
  • 3.6.3No feedback will be provided to teams following the final round presentations.
    • 3.7   Attending Presentations
  • 3.7.1Teams are not permitted to watch other teams’ presentations for the Preliminary presentations.
  • 3.7.2Teams which have not progressed to the Final Rounds will have the opportunity to watch the Final Presentations. Teams competing in Final Rounds will have the opportunity to watch the remaining presentations after presenting.
  • 3.7.3Faculty Advisors are permitted to watch any team during the Preliminary Rounds and Final Rounds of both Case One and Case Two (noting the prohibition on their communication with their team, outlined in 4.2).
  • 3.7.4Faculty Advisors are permitted to record the presentations of their own team only.
  • 3.7.5No team may take photos or videos of other teams during the presentations.

    • 4.0   Advisor Rules

  • 4.1All teams are to be accompanied by a Faculty Advisor.
  • 4.2Advisors may not contact their team, from the start of their Case Preparation time until they have finished their Presentations. Where a team progresses to the Final Round of either Case One or Case Two, no contact may be made until after the Final Presentation. Teams may have contact with their Faculty Advisors between the conclusion of their last presentation for Case One (whether in Preliminary Round or Final Round) and the beginning of their preparation time for Case Two.
  • 4.3The Organising Committee is the sole intermediary for any communication between the Advisors and the teams during the case period.
  • 4.4Feedback from the Advisors is only permitted once each case round is completed.
  • 4.5Issues of interpretation and competition conduct must be brought to the attention of the Organising Committee and the SIBC Advisor in the first instance and may be subsequently escalated to the Appeals Committee (see 7).

    • 5.0   The Competition

    5.1   Rounds
  • 5.1.1For each Case (Case One and Case Two) there will be two (2) rounds: a Preliminary Round and a Final Round. There will be four (4) rounds in total.
  • 5.1.2Each of the Cases will have separate Preliminary and Final rounds, with separate Champions and Runners-Up. Each Case’s team rankings will operate independently. Scoring and performance in one Case will not affect the other.
  • 5.1.3Teams who have been successful in moving forward to the Final Rounds will present using their existing slide deck and will not have the opportunity to make any new changes. The Final Round presentations will be under the same time constraints for presentation and question & answer as the Preliminary Round.
    • 5.2   Pools
  • 5.2.1For each Case (Case One and Case Two) teams will be divided into separate Pools. Each Pool will consist of up to four (4) teams.
  • 5.2.2Pool assignments will be assigned randomly.
  • 5.2.3Presentation orders within Pools will be assigned randomly.
  • 5.2.4Progression to the Final Round for each case will be based on each pool. The top-ranking team from each pool in the Preliminary Round will progress to the Final Round.
  • 5.2.5Should a team be forced to withdraw due to extraordinary circumstances and no replacement team may be found and this occurs before the drawing of Pool assignments, one Pool can continue with three (3) teams. Where this occurs after the drawing of Pool assignments, the Pool from which the team withdrew, will continue with three (3) teams. In both cases the rankings will be determined in accordance with the rules in 5.3 (from the top).
  • 5.2.6Each Pool will be judged by a different set of judges. Moderation of scores will be managed with comprehensive score-sheets, guidance and discussion between judges in the judge deliberation period.
    • 5.3   Scoring And Ranking
  • 5.3.1All presentations will be judged against a score sheet.
  • 5.3.2Judges will receive a judging briefing prior to watching and scoring presentations. This will include the case and a guideline regarding the evaluation of the presentations. Judges will be provided a recommended evaluation criteria and weighting – however judging will be at the discretion of the judges.
  • 5.3.3Four (4) teams will be selected as Finalists for each Final Round of each Case – one from each Pool.
  • 5.3.4For each of the four pools in the Preliminary Round presentations, the judging panel will rank each team first, second, third and fourth. The panel is not permitted to award equal placings.
  • 5.3.5In the event of teams being equally scored, a review will be undertaken by the judges.
  • 5.3.6The Finalists for each Final Round will be eligible to be named Case Champion or Runners-Up for each Case.
  • 5.3.7The Case Champions and Runners-Up for each Case will be announced at the Closing Ceremony.
  • 5.3.8The SIBC Competition Champion will be determined by the combination of the teams’ scores across the two Cases, based on the Scoring System outlined in 5.3.11. The following weightings will be applied to the scores: Case One — 40% and Case Two — 60%. The team with the highest overall score will be named the Competition Champion; the team with the second highest overall score will be named the First Runner-Up; the team with the third highest overall score will be named the Second Runner-Up.
  • 5.3.9The SIBC Competition Champion and Runners-Up will be announced at the Closing Ceremony.
  • 5.3.10In the event of a tie under the method outlined in 5.3.8. the team with the higher score for Case Two will be named the Competition Champion.
  • 5.3.11Scoring System
  • Preliminary Round (for both Case One and Case Two)
  • *       1st place in Preliminary Round – Advances to Final Round
  • *       2nd place in Preliminary Round – 3 points
  • *       3rd place in Preliminary Round – 2 points
  • *       4th place in Preliminary Round – 1 point Final Round (for both Case One and Case Two)
  • Final Round (for both Case One and Case Two)
  • *       1st place in Final Round – 7 points
  • *       2nd place in Final Round – 6 points
  • *       3rd place in Final Round – 5 points
  • *       4th place in Final Round – 4 points

    • 6.0   Disputes

    6.1   General Principles
  • 6.1.1SIBC is intended to be a positive and professional developmental experience for undergraduate students. It is to be guided by the principles of fair play, respect for fellow competitors and other members of the SIBC community, and general rules of fairness.
  • 6.1.2The Rules contained herein are not intended to be exhaustive.
    • 6.2   Dispute Determination
  • 6.2.1In the event that a dispute as to Rules, interpretation or other disputes between Competitors arises (other than a dispute as described in 6.2.3), the Organising Committee and the SIBC Advisor will make a good faith determination and orders, subject to the Rules and the General Principles highlighted in 6.1.1.
  • 6.2.2In the event that a situation arises that is not contemplated by the Rules, the Organising Committee and the SIBC Advisor will make a good faith determination and orders, guided by the General Principles outlined in 6.1.1.
  • 6.2.3If an appeal regarding the judges’ decisions in a Round is sought, the matter will be progressed immediately to the Appeals Committee, whose procedures and powers are outlined in 6.3.
  • 6.2.4Appeals regarding judges’ decisions in a Round must be emailed to a member of the Organising Committee no later than 30 minutes after the judging panel’s decision has been announced.
    • 6.3   Appeals Committee
  • 6.3.1All Faculty Advisors will be members of the Appeals Committee. The Appeals Committee will be chaired by the SIBC Faculty Advisor.
  • 6.3.2Where appropriate, and where there is dispute as to the decision or orders made by the Organising Committee and SIBC Advisor under 6.2.2-3 or otherwise under these Rules, the Appeals Committee may be convened to assist in the determination of matters submitted to them.
  • 6.3.3The Appeals Committee will be guided by:
  • *       The letter and spirit of the rules of the competition; and
  • *       The norms of fair play and good sportsmanship; and
  • *       The principles identified in 6.1.1.
  • 6.4  The Appeals Committee has the power to:
  • *       Take no action;
  • *       Issue a reprimand
  • *       Alter placings for a round; and/or
  • *       Disqualify a team from the competition.
  • 6.5  If a member of the Appeals Committee is involved in an appeal, they must disclose their involvement and withdraw from the committee for the duration of that appeal.
  • 6.6  The Appeals Committee’s decision is final.