Wayzata High School is pleased to announce that it is working with National Academic Quiz Tournaments, LLC to host the 2009 NAQT Minnesota State Championship on April 25, 2009. The top finishers, including the Top Small School, will qualify for the NAQT High School National Championship Tournament (HSNCT) to be held May 29-31 in Chicago.
Location:
The tournament will be held on the second floor of Wayzata High School. The room numbers of the game rooms and the initial meeting room will be announced later.
Schedule:
Teams may check in between 8:30 and 9:00 on Saturday, April 25. At this time they will pay 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 9:00 to 9:30 there will be an introductory meeting to go over the rules, format, and schedule. Coaches, players, and parents 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.
From 9:30 to 12:30 each team will play six preliminary rounds. The teams with the best overall records will advance to the playoffs.
From 12:30 to 1:30 teams will have a lunch break. Teams that have been eliminated may depart, or they may stay to watch the playoffs, scrimmage against each other, or explore the campus.
From 1:30 to 3:30 the top teams from the preliminary rounds will meet each other in the playoffs.
At 3:30 there will be an awards presentation. This will be kept brief and teams will be able to leave immediately thereafter.
Eligibility and Qualification:
All high schools (public, private, magnet, charter, religious, etc.) are eligible to compete in this event and no prior qualification is necessary. Teams from home school collectives are also welcome. If you have a special situation, feel free to e-mail the eligibility committee in advance for a ruling.
Schools are encouraged to enter multiple teams, but please note that players must play for the same team throughout the tournament.
Nationals Berths:
According to NAQT's qualification policy, the top 15% of the field will qualify for the High School National Championship Tournament. In addition, the top small school (by NAQT's definition) will qualify if it finishes in the top half of the field. Furthermore, the highest-finishing team that had not yet received an invitation will qualify (even if it falls outside the top 15%) and the winner will received a reserved berth (in case the field has filled).
Staffing:
The tournament will be staffed entirely by teachers at Wayzata High School, its quiz bowl alumni/ae, local residents, and collegiate players. 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 (or grade papers, etc.).
Format:
The format of the tournament will be determined by the number of teams that register, but all participants are guaranteed at least six games.
Scrimmages:
Teams that do not qualify for the playoffs after the first six rounds may return after lunch for more games played on a "for-fun" basis. These will be organized starting at 1:30. Teams may mix-and-match for the scrimmage rounds, play against their coaches, play against staff, or play in any other combination that they find enjoyable.
Registration:
To register, please e-mail R. Robert Hentzel with the number of teams your institution will be bringing and contact information for their coach.
The base registration fee is $80. There is a $10 discount for a bringing a working lockout system (one discount per team). There is a $10 per-team penalty for waiting to register until after April 22, 2009. The registration fee includes one printed copy of the questions used at the tournament.
Teams may pay at the tournament site or they may send a check in advance to:
R. Robert Hentzel
Minnesota Quiz Bowl Alliance
9400 Columbus Ave. S.
Bloomington, MN 55420
Please make checks out to "Minnesota Quiz Bowl Alliance."
Prizes:
The top four teams overall will receive team trophies and the members of the winning team will receive individual trophies. The top team from a small public school (with a non-selective admission policy and fewer than 500 total students in grades 10-12) will receive a trophy. The top eight individual scorers will receive All-Star awards, as will the top freshman and sophomore scorers.
Note that players must play at least three complete games' worth of tossups (i.e., 60 tossups) to be eligible for individual prizes.
Question Security:
This tournament will use questions provided by National Academic Quiz Tournaments, LLC. We are using Invitational Series #85 and have purchased geographic exclusivity for Minnesota. It is the responsibility of participating teams to make sure that they have not attended (and do not plan to attend) another tournament anywhere in the country that is using the same packet set. Teams can find explanations of geographic exclusivity and their responsibility in maintaining question security on NAQT's website. Teams can also look up the sets assigned to past and future tournaments. Teams with questions about exclusivity or security should contact NAQT at naqt@naqt.com.
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 32 of the 50 states and drew the largest, most diverse, and strongest field to its national championship in 2006. This format predominates at the college level, so if your players enjoy the game and would like to continue playing after they graduate, familiarity with it will stand them in good stead.
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 Invitational Series #69A, #71A, #73A, and #75A 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).