I.C.B.C.’s competitive qualification process for I.C.B.C. Final Weekend begins with the Preliminary Round towards the end of October. The results from this round will determine which competitors will qualify for the Final Weekend in January.

The Preliminary Round consists of a business case that must be submitted two weeks after its release, this year’s format being shifted into a video submission. Once submitted, the cases for each competitive event will be evaluated by industry professionals. The top six successful teams in each stream will be invited to Final Weekend, with the exception of Business Policy, from which the International Invitational will be invited. Following the Preliminary Round, all teams will also be sent their respective rubrics and judges’ feedback.

Preliminary Round cases are generally 10 to 20 pages in length. These comprehensive cases provide competitors with background information about organizations, the business environment, and issues at stake. Cases for this round are typically written by Queen’s Smith School of Business professors or industry professionals.

Each case is unique to I.C.B.C. Preliminary Round judges are Queen’s University professors and industry professionals who volunteer to read and assess over 160 case submissions across the seven events. Many of these judges have been involved with I.C.B.C. for numerous years and are experts in their respective disciplines. Preliminary Round judges meet to discuss the case and their approach to solving the issues at stake.

The judges then read and mark the case submissions and provide comprehensive feedback. They then rank the submissions so that the top six schools are invited to compete at Final Weekend.