2003 High School
National Championship
National Academic Quiz Tournaments, LLC is pleased to provide additional information about its fifth High School National Championship Tournament. The tournament is being hosted by the City of Myrtle Beach at the brand new Myrtle Beach Convention Center attached to the Radisson Plaza Hotel.
Date:
May 31-June 1, 2003 (Saturday/Sunday). Registration is May 30, 2003 (Friday). Teams will have an opportunity to meet each other and practice on Friday night.
Site:
The Myrtle Beach Convention Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Introductory meetings and awards ceremonies will be held in Ballroom E.
Schedule:
| Friday (evening) | ||
| 7:00-10:00 | Registration | TBA |
| 7:00-10:00 | Practice Rounds | TBA |
| 7:00-10:00 | Social activities | TBA |
| Saturday | ||
| 9:00-9:30 | Player meeting | Ballroom E |
| 9:00-9:30 | Moderator meeting | Meeting Room 105 |
| 9:30-12:00 | Rounds 1-5 | various |
| 12:00-1:00 | Lunch (not provided) | - |
| 1:00-2:05 | Rounds 6-7 | various |
| 2:05-2:30 | Break | - |
| 2:30-4:00 | Rounds 8-10 | various |
| 4:00-4:15 | Break | - |
| 4:15-4:45 | Playoff Announcement | Ballroom E |
| 4:45-5:30 | Tiebreaker matches (if needed) | various |
| Sunday | ||
| 9:00-12:30 | Rounds 11-17 | Meeting Rooms 101-105 |
| 9:00-12:30 | Scrimmage Rounds | Ballroom E |
| 12:30-12:45 | Break | - |
| 12:45-1:45 | Finals | Ballroom E |
| 1:45-2:15 | Awards | Ballroom E |
On Saturday morning teams should be in Ballroom E in the Convention Center by 9:00 a.m. Moderators and other staff should go to Meeting Room 105 to review game procedures and hear any last-minute announcements.
Qualification:
Schools qualify to send teams to the HSNCT through their performance at NAQT invitational events and NAQT State Championships held throughout the year.
Field:
The current field is listed here.
Format:
The format will be a ten-round power-matched tournament on Saturday. All teams will play ten rounds; those with three or fewer losses after the tenth round will advance to Sunday playoffs. The Saturday phase of the tournament is thus quadruple elimination. In the unlikely event that more than twelve teams have three or fewer losses, tie-breaker rounds will be played late Saturday afternoon to determine who advances.
The format for the playoffs will depend on the expected number of teams to have three or fewer losses (and thus on the size of the field). Exact details will be announced later. The playoffs will conform to NAQT's Elimination Policy.
Scrimmages:
Teams that do not qualify for the playoffs are encouraged to return on Sunday to play against any other teams they want (or to mix-and-match from across the country) on the playoff questions. These scrimmage rounds will be held in various game rooms in the Convention Center and will be moderated by NAQT staff and other volunteers. Teams wishing to participate in the scrimmage rounds should arrive in Ballroom E by 9:00 a.m. and check in with NAQT Executive Director Dwight Kidder who will be organizing the scrimmage rounds. Please note that all students, even alternates or observers, are welcome to take part.
Registration:
The registration fee is $325 per team if paid before April 18, 2003. The fee is $350 per team if paid after April 18, 2003. Schools whose first qualifying event occurred after April 1, 2003, have until May 16, 2003 to register at the $325 rate. Copies of the questions may be purchased for an additional $25 (the price is $40 if they are ordered from NAQT after the conclusion of the event). The deadline to accept an invitation is May 23, 2003.
Teams should register online to ensure that NAQT has their information. After NAQT receives that registration information, an electronic invoice will be generated. Teams that need paper invoices may request them in the "additional information" box on the registration form. Please note that team rosters may be changed at any time before the start of the HSNCT so it is neither necessary (nor desirable) to wait to register until a team's composition has been definitively decided. Register as soon as possible and, if necessary, re-register when the composition of a team changes.
Checking In:
NAQT will be checking teams in, disbursing information folders, answering questions, and handling outstanding administrative matters between 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. at the Radisson Plaza Hotel on Friday, May 30, 2003. When teams arrive at the hotel on Friday night, the coach should check in. He or she will receive an information folder containing information about local attractions and the rules and schedule for the tournament. Team members are encouraged to take advantage of the social and practice opportunities on Friday night.
Friday Night:
Between 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., rooms will be set up at the Radisson Plaza Hotel for teams to scrimmage against each other on questions from previous NAQT HSNCTs. This scrimmaging is free and will be moderated by tournament staff. We encourage all teams to come by to play a practice game or two.
Also from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., there will be an open room for students to chat with tournament staff, meet teams from across the country, or talk with seniors who will be attending the same college. Attendance is not mandatory, but we hope to see most of the teams there.
Prizes:
The top four teams in the field will each receive a team trophy and their members (up to five) and coach will each receive an individual medal. In addition, the top non-selective, public school with fewer than 500 students in grades 10-12 will receive a team trophy and individual medals for its members and coach. The top eight individual scorers in the non-playoff rounds and the top three non-senior individual scorers will receive All-Star medals.
Flights:
Teams will want to fly into Myrtle Beach International Airport (airport code MYR). The airport is only a few minutes' travel from the Convention Center.
NAQT and the City of Myrtle Beach have arranged a group discount with US Airways for the tournament. Teams will receive 15% off their ticket prices with 60 days' advance notice and 10% off with no notice on unrestricted (B8US or B4AUS) fares. The discount is available between May 28 and June 11. The code number for this discount is 96192571. It may be necessary to book the flights using US Airways group sales phone number (1-877-USGROUPS or 1-877-874-7687) as the code may not be accepted when using the online reservation system.
Teams are encouraged to check the fares of Spirit Airlines, a discount airline that serves the airport.
Hotels:
The official hotel for the tournament is the Radisson Plaza Hotel, which is attached to the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. Four-star, quadruple-occupancy rooms are available for $99 per night. The registration code to get this discounted price is QUIZ03.
Parking is free to overnight guests.
The hotel is in the process of establishing a shuttle service to and from Myrtle Beach International Airport. The details will be listed here as soon as they are available.
Radisson Plaza Hotel @ Myrtle Beach Convention Center
P.O. Box 1828
2101 North Oak Street
Myrtle Beach, SC 29578
Tel: 843.918.5003
Fax: 843.918.5001
Results:
Full results of the tournament are now available here.
Transportation:
Since the Radisson Plaza Hotel is attached to the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, NAQT will not be providing shuttles or buses to or from the tournament site. The Radisson operates a complimentary shuttle to and from the airport from 7am-10:30pm seven days a weeks. The contact phone number for the shuttle once you arrive at the airport is 843-918-5000. Most attractions in Myrtle Beach can be easily reached by public transportation or walking from the hotel.
Local teams that are driving to the tournament may park for free at the Convention Center.
Practice Questions:
Teams that have been invited to compete at the 2003 High School National Championship Tournament may be interested in purchasing the questions from previous years in order to prepare for the event. Sets are available for all past championships as well as all 36 of NAQT's regular season sets.
Teams may also want to purchase the various NAQT study guides listing the works of literature, art, and music (and their creators) that have been mentioned most frequently in NAQT questions from 1996 to the present. These are also available on our practice questions page.
Finally, teams will almost certainly want to look at the information contained in NAQT's free You Gotta Know articles before the tournament. These detail the most frequently asked about question topics in a wide variety of areas.
Further Questions:
To ask specific questions about the HSNCT, please contact us:
- by e-mail at hsnct@naqt.com, or
- by phone at 888.411.6278 ("NAQT") , or
- by postal mail at:
NAQT
PO Box 130613
Ann Arbor MI 48113-0613
888.411.6278