The Carleton College Academic Quiz Team is pleased to announce that it is working with National Academic Quiz Tournaments, LLC to host the 2008 NAQT North Sectional Championship Tournament for colleges and universities on Saturday, February 9, 2008. The top finishers in all three divisions (Division I Overall, Division I Undergraduate, and Division II) will qualify for the NAQT Intercollegiate Championship Tournament (ICT) to be held in St. Louis on April 11-12, 2008.
Location:
The exact rooms are TBA, but the tournament will be held in Olin Hall, Laird Hall, and the CMC building on the Carleton College campus.
A campus map is available, as are driving directions, and a list of restaurants.
Teams should park in the lots north of First and Nevada or First and Winona. Parking is free and abundant on weekends.
Divisions:
The field will be divided into Division I (more experience) and Division II (less experience) teams that will compete separately. Division I teams composed entirely of undergraduates who have competed in fewer than four SCTs are also eligible to win the Division I Undergraduate title. All Division I teams, regardless of undergraduate status, will compete against each other.
Institutions may enter teams in both divisions.
Qualifying for Nationals:
The top Division I and Division II teams will receive automatic bids to the ICT. The top Division I Undergraduate team will receive an automatic bid if there are at least four Division I Undergraduate teams in the field. The remaining spots at the ICT will be based on teams' statistical performance. A more complete description is available on the NAQT website.
Schedule:
Teams may check in between 8:00 and 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, February 9, in Olin 149. At this time they will pay (if they haven't sent a check in advance) and receive a copy of the rules (also available online on the NAQT website), a copy of their schedule for the day, and other pertinent information about the tournament.
From 8:30 to 9:00 there will be an introductory meeting (also in Olin 149) to go over the rules, format, and schedule. Coaches and players will have an opportunity to ask questions. Teams are also encouraged to ask questions in advance, over e-mail, to make the meeting go as smoothly as possible.
Game play will begin at 9:00. The exact format and schedule of the tournament will depend on the number of teams in attendance, but will guarantee each participant at least eleven games. There will be an hour-long break for lunch around noon.
Following the tournament, there will be an awards presentation . This will be kept brief and teams will be able to leave immediately thereafter.
Eligibility and Qualification:
All colleges and universities are eligible to compete in this event and no prior qualification is necessary. Teams may attend the North SCT even if they are physically closer to a different SCT. Multiple teams from the same institution are welcome.
Community colleges are welcome to compete, though this event is not specifically a Community College SCT, so no community college-specific titles (or community college-specific ICT bids) will be awarded. Community colleges are, of course, eligible to win any of the regular titles.
The complete NAQT Collegiate Eligibility Rules are available online; there is also a collection of frequently asked questions about eligibility.
If you have a special situation, feel free to e-mail the eligibility committee for a ruling, but you must do so at least seven calendar days in advance of the tournament.
Staffing:
The tournament will be staffed entirely by members of NAQT, current players on the Carleton quiz bowl team, alumni/ae, and members of the community. Coaches will not be required to assist with the running of the tournament and will be able to watch their team(s) throughout the event.
Registration:
Please e-mail R. Robert Hentzel if you are interested in attending or in receiving updates on the tournament.
The base registration fee is $120 for the first team from a school and $100 for each subsequent team. There is a $10 discount for a bringing a working lockout system. There is a $25 discount for bringing an experienced moderator. There is a $40 per-team discount for schools that haven't competed in an NAQT Sectional in the previous two years. There is a $10 penalty for waiting to register until after February 3.
The registration fee includes one printed copy of the questions used at the tournament (in the appropriate Division). Please note that the questions will not be distributed until the conclusion of the tournament; teams that opt to leave early may pay ($5) to have their sets shipped to them. Division I (II) teams that would like a copy of the Division II (I) questions may purchase them for an additional $15.
Teams will be able to pay when they check in at the tournament site. Please make checks out to "Minnesota Quiz Bowl Alliance."
Teams that want to send a check in advance, should address it to:
R. Robert Hentzel
Minnesota Quiz Bowl Alliance
9400 Columbus Ave. S.
Bloomington, MN
55420
There are cancellation penalties for teams pulling out within 72 hours of the start of the tournament.
Prizes:
The top three teams in Division I, the top three teams in Division II, and the top Division I Undergraduate team will receive team trophies. The top eight individual scorers in Division I and the top eight individual scorers in Division II will receive All-Star awards. The number and style of awards may be changed depending on the size of the final field.
Hotels:
Coming soon.
Preparing for the Tournament:
The NAQT format is a tossup-bonus format similar to the old "GE College Bowl" television show. NAQT is a national format that is played in 35 of the 50 states and drew the largest, most diverse, and strongest field to its 2007 national championship.
We recommend reading the rules, but the basics of gameplay are as follows:
NAQT sells practice questions for teams that would like to prepare more fully for the event. These are tournament questions from previous years so they are exactly like what you will be competing on at this event. We recommend the 2006-2007 Sectional (Division II) questions (scroll down to the red block) for new teams. There are also sample packets available that are identical in style and distribution to the questions that we will be using.
Teams may also be interested in checking out the free You Gotta Know articles that give brief overviews of answers that come up very frequently (for example, "You gotta know these French kings."). They may also be interested in frequency list study guides, which were NAQT's best-selling preparatory material last year.
Further Questions:
If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact R. Robert Hentzel by e-mail or phone (952.888.2277).
