Eligibility
The Bay Area Science and Engineering Fair is a competition open to all grade seven through twelve students from Hamilton, Halton Region , Six Nations, Brant County, Haldimand County, Norfolk County. Students may attend any public, separate or private school or be home schooled. Participants must be under the age of 21 before June of the BASEF year.
Consent/Permission:
Each student’s Parent/Guardian must consent to the student’s participation in the Fair.
BASEF Trip Awards – Consent and Travel Documents Requirements:
The BASEF Grand Awards include trip awards to travel to and compete in the Canada Wide Science Fair. Intermediate/Senior Students (Grades 9-12) are also eligible to win a trip award to the International Science and Engineering Fair. Each winner’s Parent/Guardian must consent to allow him/her to journey to these fairs with delegates/chaperones of the BASEF organizing committee’s choosing. International Trip award winners must have valid travel documents (passport and any other documents the student may require to travel by air to the US). More information is on our Trip Awards page.
Entries
Number of Entries:
All registrations from any source are subject to the maximum number of entries per school. Each year the BASEF committee will determine the maximum number of projects allowed based on expected registration and the available space at the fair venue.
- The 2023 fair limit is 14 projects per school for each level.
This limit is applied per level:
Elementary Schools, Junior Level, Grades 7/8,
Secondary Schools, Intermediate Level 9/10 and Senior Level 11/12.
BASEF no longer requires signed consent from a school representative for a student to take part. However there are limits to the number of projects per school. If more than the maximum number of projects register from a single school at the close of registration, the BASEF Registrar will work with the school and school board to determine which projects will qualify to participate in BASEF.
Total registrations are also limited by the fair’s host site capacity. In the case of over-registration, the BASEF Registrar will determine which projects will be permitted to participate. The decision of the BASEF registrar is final.
Students may only exhibit the project they registered, using the same project title: no substitutions of projects or students are permitted. A student may not exhibit more than one project each year.
Team Projects:
Team projects are allowed with the following constraints:
- Team projects may consist of a maximum of two students.
- If students are from two grades, the age division of the most senior student is used.
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Team membership cannot be changed during a given research year. This includes converting to or from an individual project. Team membership but may be altered in subsequent years.
- The final work should reflect the coordinated efforts of all team members and will be evaluated using the same rules and judging criteria as individual projects.
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Each team must complete one online registration form for their project (not one per student).
- The team must also ensure that all required Forms are completed for their project. In addition, EACH team member must provide a completed, signed BASEF Consent form when they arrive for registration and setup.
Forms and Rules
Required Forms:
Projects involving Human Participation, Animals, Hazardous Materials, or work at an Institution may require additional forms and permissions. Grade 7 & 8 Students are eligible for the CWSF (Canada Wide Science Fair) and must complete all required YSC (Youth Science Canada) Forms. High School students are eligible for both the CWSF and the International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF), and must comply with both sets of Rules. To meet both CWSF and ISEF requirements, high school students are asked to complete any required ISEF forms instead of the YSC forms. See the Forms Required page, and the relevant Rules sections for more details.
Students, parents, and adult supervisors are expected to be familiar with the project rules for ther grade level. The Registrar may request required forms to be faxed or emailed in advance of the fair, and if those forms are requested and not received then the project will be disqualified and not be permitted to display.
Continuation or Duplicate Projects:
A student may not present a project identical to a previous year’s project at BASEF. An improved project may be entered again into competition, however only research completed since the last BASEF fair may be displayed. Any continuing research must document substantial expansion of investigation and students will be judged on the current year’s work only. If you are entering a project which is a continuation of previous years work, you must complete a Continuation Projects Form, and submit it with your project registration.
Consent/Permissions:
All consent/permission forms must be signed by the student and a parent/guardian. Some Scientific Review forms require additional signatures.
Team Canada – YSC Competition:
High school students who enter BASEF and indicate they have the appropriate travel documents are automatically considered to be eligible for ISEF; it is also possible for students to instead apply to Youth Science Canada for consideration in their “Team Canada” competition, though this is less common. Details are on our ISEF Competition page.
Make sure that Students Register for BASEF on time – Check the Events Page for the start of Online Project Registration.
