NAQT is pleased to announce that its 2007 High School National Championship Tournament will return to Chicago's Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare on Memorial Day Weekend (May 25-27).

Date:

May 25-27, 2007 (Friday to Sunday).

Teams will check in on Friday, May 25, and have the opportunity to meet each other and practice on official questions. The preliminary games will take place on Saturday, and the playoff games will take place on Sunday. Teams may stay through Monday (or longer!) to explore Chicago. Teams that cannot arrive on Friday night will have a chance to check in on Saturday morning if they notify NAQT of the situation in advance.

Site:

The Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare. This building contains both the official hotel and the competition rooms. Additional guest rooms are available at the overflow hotel.

Schedule:

This schedule is tentative.

On Saturday morning teams should be in the Grand Ballroom by 9:00 a.m.

Qualification:

Schools qualify to send teams to the HS NCT through their performance at NAQT invitational events and NAQT State Championships held throughout the year. Qualified teams may now register online.

The field was originally capped at 128 teams, but demand and the availability of more resources (rooms, moderators, etc.) allowed NAQT to expand the field to 160 teams.

Field:

The field will be limited to 160 teams.

The current field is listed here.

Format:

The precise format will be determined by the final size of the field. Teams are guaranteed ten preliminary matches on Saturday. The playoffs will take place on Sunday. The format will likely be similar to last year's in which 128 teams played 10 preliminary games (over the course of 12 rounds) on Saturday and every team with a winning record advanced to double-elimination (10 rounds) on Sunday.

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 of the hotel and will be moderated by NAQT staff and other volunteers. Please note that all students, even alternates or observers, are welcome to take part.

Registration:

The registration fee is $475 per team if payment is received on or before April 28. The fee is $495 per team after April 28. Schools whose first qualifying event occurred after April 1, 2007, have until May 12, to register at the $475 rate. The deadline to accept an invitation is May 19, or when the field fills, whichever comes first.

Please note that the registration fee only covers entrance to the tournament. It does not cover transportation, lodging, food, or other expenses.

Teams supplying a qualified, experienced scorekeeper for the tournament will be eligible for a $75 discount on the registration fees. This scorekeeper will not necessarily scorekeep for his or her school's matches; he or she will be assigned at the tournament director sees fit. Also, a team claiming this discount must still have at least one adult coach/chaperone with the team at all matches.

Every competing school will receive a complete copy of the question set used at this tournament; this represents a change from previous years in which participants had to pay for the questions. Please note that teams that do not pick up their questions at the tournament itself will be charged a shipping fee ($10) by NAQT to mail them.

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 HS NCT 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 6:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. at the hotel on Friday, May 25. When teams arrive at the hotel on Friday night, the coach should check in. He or she will receive a folder containing a copy of the official rules, the schedule for the tournament, and information on local attractions. Team members are encouraged to take advantage of the social and practice opportunities on Friday night.

Friday Night:

Between 6:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., rooms will be set up near the check-in area for teams to scrimmage against each other on questions from previous NAQT HS NCTs. 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 6:00 p.m. to 9:30 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 twenty teams will each receive a team trophy, and the members (and coach) of the top twelve teams will receive individual awards. In addition, the top three small schools (by NAQT's definition) will receive a team trophy and individual awards. The top twenty-five individual scorers as well as the top five sophomores and top five freshmen will receive All-Star awards. All individual awards will be based on the results of the preliminary rounds.

Flights:

Teams will want to fly into one of the two major Chicago airports, either O'Hare International (airport code ORD) or Midway International (code MDW).

Hotel (Official):

The official hotel for the tournament is the Crowne Plaza O'Hare itself. Quadruple-occupancy rooms were available for $95 per night. Use group discount code NQ7 to receive this discounted price. The last day to reserve rooms at this special price is May 8.

As of April 30, 2007, the Crowne Plaza hotel is full. Teams should make reservations at the DoubleTree hotel, the official overflow hotel.

Teams can book their stay online.

Parking is $10/day (discounted from the usual rate of $14/day) and includes in-and-out privileges.

The hotel has a complimentary shuttle to O'Hare. The cost of a taxi from Midway is approximately $35. For public transportation between Midway and O'Hare (via the Orange and Blue "El" train lines), the cost is $1.75 per person.

Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare
5440 North River Road
Rosemont, IL 60018

Telephone: 847.671.6350
Fax: 847.671.5406
E-mail: chiok@ihrco.com

Hotel (Overflow):

Should the Crowne Plaza O'Hare fill to capacity, teams still needing rooms should contact the tournament's overflow hotel, the DoubleTree O'Hare Airport-Rosemont. Quadruple occupancy rooms are available for $95 per night. Use group discount code QZB to receive this discounted price. The last day to reserve rooms at this special price is May 5.

The DoubleTree is next door to the Crowne Plaza and can be reached via a two-minute walk from front desk to front desk.

Teams can book their stay online.

Parking is $11/day and includes in-and-out privileges. Busses cannot be easily parked in their ramp, but the hotel is willing to help make special arrangements with a nearby open lot. Teams planning to arrive in busses should contact Jimmy Smith at 847.292.3281 or jsmith2@destinationhotels.com.

The hotel has a complimentary shuttle to O'Hare. The cost of a taxi from Midway is approximately $35. For public transportation between Midway and O'Hare (via the Orange and Blue "El" train lines), the cost is $1.75 per person.

DoubleTree O'Hare Airport-Rosemont
5460 North River Road
Rosemont, IL 60018

Telephone: 1.800.222.TREE (registration)
Fax: 847.292.9295 (registration)
Online: Registration

Transportation:

The Crowne Plaza operates a complimentary shuttle between O'Hare airport and the hotel. Since the official hotel is also serving as the competition site, NAQT will not be providing additional shuttle or bus services.

Teams that want to explore Chicago are encouraged to rent a car and/or use Chicago's public transportation, including the famed El.

Practice Questions:

Teams that have been invited to compete at the 2007 High School National Championship Tournament may be interested in purchasing the questions from previous years to prepare for the event. All 67 of NAQT's past regular-season sets are available as are the sets from all eight past national championships.

Teams may also want to purchase NAQT study guides listing the works of literature, art, music, and non-fiction (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 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 HS NCT, please contact us:

1. by e-mail at hsnct@naqt.com
2. by phone at 888.411.6278 ("NAQT")
3. by fax at 413.473.1617
4. by postal mail at:

   NAQT
   11521 W 69th Street
   Shawnee, KS 66203
   

We look forward to answering any and all questions, no matter how expansive or trivial, in the hopes of eliminating any possible confusion or mistakes in teams' plans. If something's not clear, let us know!