District Conferences – Michigan DECA

For new and returning DECA members, the District Conference is their first chance of the year to put their marketing and business knowledge to the test in the competitive events. Aside from the competitions, students also get to meet and network with DECA members from neighboring schools and chapters.

Each of the eight Michigan districts holds a one-day conference where the top performers in each category earn the right to compete at the DECA State Career Development Conference (SCDC) in downtown Detroit.

District 1 Conference – December 14, 2023 at Saginaw Valley State University

District 2 Conference – December 18, 2023 at Grand Valley State University

District 3 Conference – January 19, 2024 at Western Michigan University

District 4 Conference – January 11, 2024 at Eastern Michigan University

District 5 Conference – January 12, 2024 at Eastern Michigan University

District 6 Conference – TBA at (TBA – Location to be announced)

District 7 Conference – December 16, 2023 at Lake Orion High School

District 8 Conference – December 20, 2023 at Wayne County Community College, Taylor Campus

September 2023: We've made a couple changes to some chapter's districts, so please check the list at the bottom of the page to confirm your district assignment. So please check the list at the bottom of the page to confirm your district assignment.

General times for all District Conferences:

7:00-8:00 a.m. – Chapter Advisors text your student attendance information to Michigan DECA
8:30 a.m. – Chapters arrive and Check-in with signed copies of COVID-19 Waiver Forms for everyone
9:00 a.m. – Judges Arrive and Check-in for Orientation Meeting
9:00 a.m. – Student Opening Session
9:00 a.m. – Advisor Meeting
9:30 a.m. – Competition starts
Noon – Most competition finished – students go to lunch, Advisors and Judges tally scores and turn in to Michigan DECA before going to lunch
1:30 p.m. – Awards Ceremony starts – may be delayed if events are still competing
3:00 p.m. – Approximate conclusion of Conference

Code of Conduct Form

Each delegate, student and adult, must sign the Code of Conduct Form. This form must be hand-carried to the conference and kept by the Chapter Advisor. Do not send them to the Michigan DECA office.

Competition Information

Competition will take place at the District Conference for Individual Series Events, Team Decision Making events, Principles events, Personal Financial Literacy event, Financial Consulting event, Hospitality & Tourism Professional Selling event, and the Professional Selling event.
Seniors may not enter the four (4) Principles Events.
Competition will not be held at the District Conference for any written events. These events will start competition at the State Career Development Conference.
The comprehensive exam (taken online prior to the conference) is worth one-third of your overall score.
The judged portion (role-play) of your District Conference competitive event is worth two-thirds of your overall score.
Each participant is expected to have a pen or pencil and a calculator for each event. Other items (workbooks, notebooks, handouts, etc.) are not allowed.
Cell phones, smartphones, smartwatches, iPads, iPods, AirPods/wireless or wired earbuds, PDAs, programmable calculators, and graphing calculators may not be used or worn during competition, which includes during online testing, prep-time, waiting for judges, and during competition.

Comprehensive Exam

The comprehensive exam (taken online prior to the conference) is worth one-third of your overall score.
District Conference online testing of the Comprehensive Exam will be held November 29 to December 7, 2022.
All testing must take place at school, in the presence of a Proctor. Testing from home will NOT be allowed. Any virtual students will need to make arrangements to test at the school.
No textbooks, notes, or electronic devices will be allowed during testing.
An on-screen calculator is provided in the testing website.
Students will have 100 minutes to complete 100 questions.

Awards

Bronze Merit Award Participants will be recognized at the District Conference, and receive a Bronze Merit Award Program certificate mailed after the State Career Development Conference
Medallions will be presented to the top comprehensive exam scores, the top judged role-play scores, and the top overall finalists in each event.
Bronze medallions with red, white, and blue ribbons will be presented to the top overall finalists in each event. These individuals will be eligible to represent your district at the State Career Development Conference. The number of finalists attending the State Career Development Conference will be set according to the paid memberships for each district, received by November 30. This number will be communicated to chapter advisors with your conference confirmation.
All decisions of the judges are final. Michigan DECA will not re-evaluate the judges’ decisions. Michigan DECA will investigate, and if necessary, correct any tabulation errors.

Registration Information

All students must be submitted DECA members and registered for the conference prior to the registration deadline to meet requirements to participate.
All students must be registered by the registration deadline set by Michigan DECA.
There are no refunds of registration fees after the registration deadline.
If an individual registered for a conference does not attend or drops out of the marketing education program prior to the conference for which they are registered, they are still required to pay the membership and conference registration fees.
All Advisors and Chaperones attending the conference will also be responsible to assist with conference management and supervision and pay the conference registration fee.
At least one (1) adult must attend and pay the registration fee for every twenty (20) student delegates attending. Advisors and Chaperones must attend and be seated with their students during all sessions to assure proper dress and conduct during the sessions.

Event Changes or Substitutions

Event changes are allowed for the District Conference from registration through the morning of the District Conference.
Once a student has taken the Comprehensive Exam, and they need to change events, they can only change to an event that takes the same exam that they have taken.
Team Decision Making Events are required to have two students, so an individual student may not compete alone. Prior to the District Conference at the morning of the District Conference, if one member of a team does not attend, the attending student will be automatically moved into the corresponding individual event: Please note: after the District Conference, in the Team Decision Making events, if one member cannot attend the next level of competition (State or International Career Development Conference), no one may be substituted in their place, and the remaining team member CANNOT move into another event. The student team qualified as a team, so they must either compete as a team, or cancel as a team – and not advance to the next level of competition.
Once a student has been named a qualifier in an event at the District (or State Career Development Conference), event changes are not allowed.

Judges

Judges are an integral part of the conference.
Former students must have been out of high school for at least three (3) years before being allowed to serve as a judge.
Teachers from your school may NOT serve as a judge.
Each District Conference sets a minimum number of judges that each chapter must secure to offer a quality experience for every student. This minimum number is communicated on the conference information memo that is sent for your district.
If a chapter does not fulfill their minimum number of judges for the conference two (2) weeks prior to the conference date, the chapter will be charged $50 for each judge they are short. This fee includes judges that are no-shows at the conference.
It is the chapter’s responsibility that your recruited judges attend and assist at the conference.