| abstract | - The high (or low, depending on your viewpoint) point of the Fall and Spring terms is the Combat Finals. These are done in two sections: Freshmen and Sophomores are the first week, followed by Juniors and Seniors the second week. Academic finals alternate. Finals for each term have a specific theme. For Spring 2006, the theme was "rescue an unconscious victim, a dummy, from a piranha-filled lake." For Fall 2006, it was "disable the infernal device in the city." Students are paired (mostly) randomly, and only one can get to the device and take the 30 or so seconds to disable it (enter their information and answer a couple of questions) without the other student interfering. Grades are assigned on how well they did against a set list of criteria, such as taking the initiative and avoiding collateral damage, as well as the relative capabilities of each student. This means that a low-powered student can "lose" and still get a high mark if he performed better than expected under the circumstances, or a high-powered student can get a low grade even after winning, if she performed poorly. Most pairings are random. Some aren't, for reasons either of safety or to teach a lesson. Then there's the Crash where one or two teams are selected for high profile tests. In Crash tests anything goes. The opponent may be another student, but it may just as well be a Junior, Senior, an instructor, a team or (gasp) the Dragonslayers simulation. The Combat Final is not optional - it does not matter whether the student is taking combat classes, the Survival sequence or just a regular Gym class. However, there are a few (very few) circumstances that will sometimes allow the student to postpone or avoid entirely the Combat Finals, such as health issues or significant power changes close to the Finals. Seniors may opt out of the Spring Term Combat Finals. Freshmen are usually not told about the Combat Final until a couple of weeks before Fall Term finals. This can sometimes result in a rush to create a costume, since costumes (or at least a disguise) are an absolute requirement for Arena 99.
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