CWSF Awards

1 Purpose

1.1 The purpose of the CWSF Awards is to reward outstanding scientific and technological achievement and excellence by Canada’s young scientists at the national level and to recognize those national finalists at the Canada-Wide Science Fair whose achievement places them above the rest. The awards include the Divisional Awards, Interdisciplinary Awards, Special Awards and Grand Awards associated with the Canada-Wide Science Fair.

2 Awards Policy

2.1 Youth Science Canada establishes the criteria for awards, sets the judging standards, approves the CWSF Chief Judge, trains key members of the CWSF judging team, recruits award sponsors and organizes the presentation of the awards.

2.2 The CWSF Host Committee recruits and trains judges and coordinates the judging process that selects the Special, Interdisciplinary and Divisional Award recipients.

2.3 A special Youth Science Canada-appointed panel, that includes members of the NJAC, selects the Grand Award recipients.

2.4 Awards are assigned to the best eligible project on the basis of ranking projects relative to others at the current CWSF.

2.5 Award recipients are selected based on the quality of their projects and presentations. Neither formal nor informal selection criteria based on gender, language or ethnocultural heritage are permitted in the National Awards Program or at the Canada-Wide Science Fair

3 Division Awards

3.1 Division Awards recognize excellence in a particular discipline or interdisciplinary field of science and technology. Within each division projects are judged in three school grade categories: Junior (Grade 7/8), Intermediate (Grade 9/10) and Senior (grade 11/12 or equivalent). Division Awards consist of gold, silver and bronze medals and Honourable Mentions with corresponding cash awards and certificates.

4 Interdisciplinary Awards

4.1 Interdisciplinary Awards recognize excellence across scientific disciplines. They are open to projects in any CWSF division and provide significant cash or experiential prizes, such as trips, research placements and summer internships, for outstanding projects that meet specific criteria established by the sponsor(s) in consultation with Youth Science Canada.

5 Special Awards

5.1 Special Awards recognize excellence in a specific aspect of a scientific discipline or in the scientific/design/innovation process within a single CWSF division. Award criteria usually reflect the special interests of the sponsoring organization, in consultation with Youth Science Canada, and the awards provide cash prizes of standard values specified by Youth Science Canada.

5.2 When two or more projects are considered tied for an Interdisciplinary or Special Award, preference is given to the project with the lower total number or value of awards, to distribute awards over as many recipients as possible.

6 Scholarships

6.1 Universities and colleges may provide entrance or other scholarships to specific groups of Division Award recipients (e.g., all senior gold medal recipients) in consultation with Youth Science Canada.

7 Grand Awards

7.1 Grand Awards recognize the top projects at the CWSF. The Gold Medal winners from each age category are eligible for the Platinum Awards—the best Junior, Intermediate and Senior projects. Each Platinum Award provides a significant cash prize and a distinctive presentation award.

7.2 From the three Platinum Award recipients, one project is awarded the Best-in-Fair Award. This is the pinnacle of achievement for young Canadian scientists, capping the entire local, regional and national science fair program. The Best-in-Fair Award includes a major cash prize and a distinctive presentation award.