How it worked
Two days, two scenarios.
Entry has been open to rescue and EMS agencies in North Carolina and South Carolina that provide paramedic-level care, paid or volunteer, air or ground. A team is two people from the same agency, in the same uniform. At least one must be a paramedic, or in paramedic school. Physicians and physician assistants do not compete.
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1
Friday afternoon
Check-in
Teams confirm arrival at the competition desk and at the hotel. Each team brings an ambulance or emergency vehicle stocked with its own equipment, supplies, and medications, and competes out of that truck.
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2
Friday evening
Meeting, then sequester
Dinner is served for teams, staff, and judges. The meeting covers rules, equipment, and scoring. Teams then move to a sequester location so they cannot see the scenario or hear it from a team that has already run.
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3
Friday night
Scenario one
One team at a time. The problem is meant to be realistic and hard, often about ten to twelve minutes, and it may have more than one patient. Families watch from a marked area. A lecture is often taught while the scene is reset.
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4
Saturday morning
Written exam
Optional, and individual. Seventy-five questions, forty-five minutes. The score is not added to the team’s scenario score. First, second, and third receive their own awards.
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5
Saturday
Scenario two
Same pattern as Friday night. The two scenario scores become the team score. The top four teams are recognized. Places below that have usually not been announced.
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6
Saturday evening
Awards banquet
A ticketed dinner. Rankings stay secret until then. Plaques go to the top finishers, and a guest speaker and door prizes have been part of the night in recent years.
Who may watch
Spectators stay outside the competition boundary, in a viewing area. Bring a folding chair, and a cooler if you want one. Directions go out only after the teams have been sequestered.
The field
For many years as many as twelve teams could enter, one from a service, and the two scenario scores were averaged. Later the field was the first ten teams, and the two scores were combined.