The National YES Competitive Conference

Annual highlight where for three days each September/October, the best YES Programme students from around the country gather to compete against each other for top honours.

YES Societies and Members interested in attending the annual Competitive YES Conference must first qualify via competing against other Societies/Members within their immediate community (if any), their YES region and finally be selected to represent their Province. At the conference YES Members compete in these fourteen events:

Grade 9 (Std. 7)/YES Pioneers

Enterprising behaviour
Business documents


Radio Advertising Grade 10 (Std. 8)/YES Champions

Business promotion campaign
Business operations competency series
+ Placing equipment in a retail store
+ Training a new employee
+ Completing a sales invoice
Public speaking

Grade 11 (Std. 9)/YES Entrepreneurs

Sales competency series
+ Create an advertisement
+ Dealing with a customer query
+ Explain a warranty to a customer
+ Complete business documents
Business plan
Loan application
Sales demonstration

Team events

Management decision making
Outstanding fund-raising event
Organising a business
Outstanding YES promotional project

Each event has a business sponsor, with the award for that event identified by the sponsor's name. The YES Annual Awards are also sponsored.
Panels of three suitably qualified business people adjudicate each event against clear criteria.
All participants receive a copy of their completed adjudication form/s as well as verbal feedback.
YES Societies that perform well during the year are in line to receive one or more of the following major YES Annual Awards presented at this conference.

+ LP of the year
+ YES Team of the Year (Pioneer, Champion or Entrepreneur)
+ YES Society of the Year
+ YES Advisor of the Year
+ YES Member of the Year

ANNUAL NATIONAL COMPETITIVE YES
CONFERENCE EVENTS & AWARDS
Individual Events - YES Pioneers Grade 9 (Std.7)
EVENT/NO CHALLENGE ADJUDICATION CRITERIA
Enterprising Behaviour/9.1 Participants given a situation outline providing a number of business opportunities. Individually they then present those they have identified to an adjudication panel who also ask them questions. + Self confidence + Independence + Initiative + Problem identification + Innovative ability + Goal setting + Risk taking + Tolerance of uncertainty
Business Documents/9.2 From information given, participants are required to complete an Order Form. a Cheque and a Petty Cash Voucher, which are then evaluated by an adjudication panel. + Ability to understand and interpret information correctly. + Ability to identify relevant vs. Irrelevant information. + Calculations accuracy + Correctness + Neatness
Radio Advertsing/9.3 Participants receive information on three products, from which they must choose one. They then have 45 minutes to conceptualise a 30 second radio commercial and then a further 10 minutes to produce it on available recording equipment. Adjudicators judge each submission. + Attention grabbing + Maintains interest + Stimulates a need for the product + Motivates action + Focus on strongest selling features + Good grammar and expression + Creative originality
Individual Events - YES Champions Grade 10 (Std.8)
Business Promotions Campaign/10.1 Participants are briefed on a business venture in bad need of marketing support and are given a small budget. They must then devise and outline their recommended promotional campaign in two written pages as well as develop one promotional item. + Target market identification + Suitability of the recommended approach + Spread of promotional ideas + Product/service identity + Pricing strategy + Message clarity + Creative originality
Business Operations Competency/10.2

PART ONE: SHOP Participants receive shop plan into which they must then place various equipment and fixtures.

PART TWO: TRAINING A NEW EMPLOYEE Role-playing as Supermarket supervisors, participants train a "new employee" to bag groceries at the till.

+ Backing and equipment safely secured + Ease of customer movement and selfserviceability + Positioning and security of small valuable stock items + Ease of cleaning + Product display + Restocking ease + Clear exit access in case of emergency

+ Friendly, courteous attitude + Being organized + Demonstrating proper bagging method + Method explanation, including key point emphasis + Proper grocery sorting technique + Customer service orientation + Trainee practice/guidance


EVEN T/NO. CHALLENGE ADJUDICATION CRITERIA
Business Operations Competency/10.2 PART THREE: COMPLETING A SALES INVOICE Role-playing a shop owner participants receive an order for various products. They must then complete a Sales Invoice, calculating the total amount and the discount they would allow. + All necessary information included + Accuracy of the calculations + Overall completeness of invoice + Neatness
Public Speaking/10.3 Participants are briefed on a business related topic on which they then prepare and deliver a 4 to 6 minute speech to an adjudication panel. + Opening + Voice + Personal presentation + Topic focus + Language usage + Imaginative content + Convincing argument + General content + Overall impression
Individual Events - YES Entrepreneurs Grade 11 (Std. 9)
EVENT/NO. CHALLENGE ADJUDICATION CRITERIA
Sales Competency Series/11.1

PART ONE: CREATE AN ADVERTISEMENT After receiving the necessary information participants create a magazine advertisement, including: headline, main selling text, slogan and a rough layout specifiying what sort of photograph/s are to be used where.

PART TWO: DEALING WITH A CUSTOMER QUERY Role-playing a sales person, participants receive a copy of the store's return policy and then handle a "customer" who wants to return a product bought a few weeks earlier.

PART THREE: EXPLAIN A WARRANTY TO A CUSTOMER Role-playing a sales person participants receive detailed information on the warranty on a given product and must then explain it to a "customer".

PART FOUR: COMPLETE BUSINESS DOCUMENTS Role-playing a big company's sales representative, participants are successful in obtaining an order from a supermarket. Now they must complete an Order Form, Invoice and a Credit Note - taking into account any discount, the urgency and method of delivery.

+ Attention grabbing + Maintain interest + Create a need + Motivate action + Key selling points clearly explained + Language usage + Appropriateness of headline and written message + Layout + Overall creativity

+ Ability to clearly explain the return policy as it relates to this situation + Maintaining good customer relations

+ Clarity of warranty explanation + Clarity of response to customer queries + Maintaining good customer relations

+ Use of correct forms + Accurate understanding and interpretation of information + Identification of relevant information + Correct completion of relevant forms + Accuracy of all calculations + Neatness


EVENT/NO. CHALLENGE ADJUDICATION CRITERIA
Business Plan/11.2 Participants bring and hand in a Business Plan document they have completed before the start of the conference. They were briefed in advance on how to go about it and were allowed to seek out as much help and advice as they could get in its development. + Introduction/sceneset + Business situation analysis + Planned operations + Planned financing + Conclusion + Bibliography + Appendix + Language usage + Presentation + Overall rating
Loan Application/11.3 Participants are each given an imaginary person's role and armed with their personal details they must complete a loan application form. + Completeness of all relevant details + Completed only those sections called for + Correctness of details written + Overall neatness
Sales Demonstration/11.4 Having selected their product/service and prepared prior to the conference, each participant then attempts to "sell" it to an adjudication panel during the conference. + Sales approach + Standard of presentation + Treatment of the customer's questions and objections + Approach to suggestion selling
Team Events
EVENT/NO. CHALLENGE ADJUDICATION CRITERIA
Management Decision Making/T1 After receiving, reviewing and discussing a case study, competing Teams then present their findings and recommendations to an adjudicating panel. + Clear problem identification + Assessment of the broader context + Decision making + Organising the presentation + Effective communications + Overall rating
Outstanding Fund Raising Event/T2 Each Team presents details on their Society's most successful fund raising event held during that calender year and supports this with a written summary thereof. + Originality of the approach + Clarity of purpose + Planning + Execution + Publicity received + Level of involvement of whole Society + Impact/value assessment for the Society + Standard of oral presentation + Standard and neatness of supporting documentation
Organising a Business/T3 Prior to the conference, 3-member teams from a specific YES Society prepare new venture Business Plans which are brought to the conference for adjudication. + Introduction + Business situation analysis + Planned operations + Planned financing + Conclusion + Bibliography + Appendix + Presentation + Language usage + Overall rating


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