2023 Community College Championship Tournament Logistics Information

The 2023 Community College Championship Tournament (CCCT) was held at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare Chicago in Rosemont, Illinois (near Chicago), on February 24–25, 2023.

Contents

    Date

    February 24–25, 2023 (Friday–Saturday).

    Location

    The tournament will be held at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare Chicago in Rosemont, Illinois (which is adjacent to Chicago and to O’Hare International Airport). A floor plan (PDF) is available.

    There are two Hyatt hotels in Rosemont; the one hosting the tournament is the Hyatt Regency O’Hare Chicago.

    The hotel is twelve stories tall, and games may be held on high floors. Many of the elevators provide a view into the tall atrium.

    COVID-19 Safety

    NAQT very strongly recommends that all participants (including spectators) receive all vaccinations for COVID-19 for which they are medically eligible.

    NAQT strongly recommends that all participants wear a well-fitting N95, KN95, or KF94 mask that properly covers their nostrils and mouth at all times while in tournament spaces. NAQT reserves the right to change this recommendation to a requirement that participants wear masks. Such a requirement might be instituted at any time, including during the tournament, and might apply to everyone present or only to specific people (e.g., in cases of close contact with someone who has tested positive). Such a requirement might include only certain kinds of masks being acceptable. Details such as what types of masks are acceptable, and whether NAQT will provide them or participants must provide their own, will be determined later if necessary.

    Any person showing symptoms of COVID-19 must immediately remove themself from tournament spaces unless and until they can provide proof of them testing negative for COVID-19 within the last 24 hours. NAQT reserves the right to make all judgments necessary for enforcing this policy.

    Schedule

    The general schedule for the tournament will consist of check-in and preliminary games on Friday night and playoff games on Saturday through the mid-afternoon.

    This schedule is final.

    All times are listed in Central time.

    Friday Evening

    Time Event Location Area
    4:00 – 6:00 p.m. Staff check-inJ.F.K. Lobby Level
    5:00 – 6:00 p.m. Team check-inConference Center foyer Lobby Level
    6:00 – 6:30 p.m. Team meetingO'Hare Ballroom Lobby Level
    6:00 – 6:30 p.m. Staff meetingJ.F.K. Lobby Level
    7:00 – 9:30 p.m. Preliminary rounds (1–5)Throughout the hotel
    9:40 – 10:00 p.m. Record confirmation meetingO'Hare Ballroom Lobby Level

    Saturday

    Time Event Location Area
    8:45 – 9:15 a.m. Tiebreaker (if necessary; round 6)Throughout the hotel
    9:20 – 9:30 a.m. Pick up schedulesConference Center foyer Lobby Level
    9:30 – 11:30 a.m. Playoff rounds 7–10Throughout the hotel
    11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. LunchOn your own
    1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Playoff rounds 11–12Throughout the hotel
    2:00 – 3:45 p.m. Tiebreakers and finals (rounds 13–15)O'Hare Ballroom Lobby Level
    After finals AwardsO'Hare Ballroom Lobby Level
    4:15 – 4:30 p.m. ACRONYM opening meetingO'Hare Ballroom Lobby Level
    4:30 – 10:00 p.m. ACRONYMThroughout the hotel

    Frequently Asked Questions

    NAQT has prepared answers to frequently asked questions about its national championships.

    Rules and Eligibility

    Gameplay will follow the Official NAQT Rules. Player eligibility is governed by the Community College Eligibility Rules.

    Qualification

    Schools qualified to send teams to the CCCT through their performances at Community College Sectional Championship Tournaments (CC SCTs) held in January.

    NAQT has computed D-Values to compare the performance of teams across CC SCTs. After inviting champions of CC SCTs with at least four teams, invitations are issued strictly in order of decreasing D-Values.

    The results of this year’s CC SCTs are now available (at the bottom, below the four-year SCTs). So are the D-Values used to determine the invitations and waitlist order.

    Field

    These teams attended the tournament.

    Format

    The tournament will use essentially the same format as in 2020 (the last 24-team and last in-person CCCT):

    Teams will be initially divided into four pools of six teams, each of which will play a round robin (Rounds 1–5) on Friday night. These teams will be repooled into three new groups of eight (the top two advance to the top pool, numbers three and four advance to the second pool, and so forth) for a second round robin (Rounds 7–12) on Saturday morning and afternoon. Advancement will be determined by overall record with any tiebreaker games required by NAQT’s tiebreaker policy being played during Round 6 (on Saturday morning).

    Teams who have a Round 6 tiebreaker must be back, ready to play, at 8:45 a.m. on Saturday. Those without a tiebreaker game will have their first game at 9:30 a.m.

    In the playoffs, teams will play the six teams who are in the same playoff pool and whom they haven’t yet faced (Rounds 7–12). At the conclusion of Round 12, the top two teams will advance to the finals. This will be determined based on playoff record, including the games “carried over” from the preliminary rounds (i.e., games between teams who were in both the same preliminary pool and the same playoff pool). Ties for the top two spots will be broken during Round 13, if necessary. Tiebreaker games do not count in final records.

    If the top two teams have identical records, they will play a one-game final for the championship. If one team has an advantage, it will need to win one game while the other team will need to win two.

    Tiebreaker games will also be played during Round 13 if necessary to decide additional places that earn trophies.

    Fees and Payment

    Registration has closed.

    The registration fee is $475 per team.

    The registration fee only covers participation in the tournament. It does not cover transportation, lodging, food or other expenses.

    Buzzer Discounts

    Teams who bring a working buzzer system to the tournament will be eligible for a $30 discount on the registration fee if it meets NAQT’s national-championship standards. There may be some surprises in that policy! Please read it in advance to make sure your system qualifies.

    Unless otherwise approved by NAQT, no team may receive more than three buzzer-system discounts.

    Timing

    NAQT will only award the discount for buzzer systems that it may keep until the completion of the awards ceremony; if you cannot commit to those times, do not register to bring a buzzer system!

    Cancellation

    Teams who cancel between February 15 and February 18 (inclusive) will owe 50% of the base registration fee as a cancellation penalty. Teams who cancel on or after February 19, including tournament no-shows, will owe the entire base registration fee. Failure to submit participation agreements on time may be treated as a cancellation, including incurring a cancellation fee, at NAQT’s discretion.

    Cancellation due to COVID-19

    NAQT expects all prospective participants to follow the recommendations of the CDC (and any other applicable health agencies) with regard to isolation, quarantine, not traveling, etc., based on testing positive for COVID-19, having symptoms thereof, or having been exposed to people who are symptomatic or who have tested positive, etc.—even if that means they are unable to participate in the tournament.

    NAQT will waive cancellation fees for any team on which any player (or the coach, if applicable) is unable to participate due to following such recommendations, though NAQT strongly prefers affected teams to play without the affected people. For a cancellation fee waiver, notice should be given to NAQT as early as possible, supporting documentation or information may be required, and the offer is only available to teams who are in full compliance with other requirements pertaining to payment, submission of participation agreements, etc.

    Payment

    Payment is due by the beginning of the tournament. NAQT strongly prefers payment prior to tournament check-in but also accepts payments at check-in. Schools that will be unable to pay by this time (typically for reasons related to school bureaucracies) should discuss their situation with NAQT well in advance.

    NAQT may specify earlier payment deadlines for specific teams, especially those for which the school is not paying.

    NAQT will send invoices well in advance of the tournament. If you would like to pay or request an invoice earlier, once you have entered all the information that can affect costs (but not necessarily entered your roster), at the bottom of your registration page, click “View Cost.” Verify that the listed information is correct, and if so, follow the instructions to request an invoice so that we have the proper billing information. You will also be offered the opportunity to pay by credit card.

    Checks, payable to “NAQT,” should be sent to

    National Academic Quiz Tournaments, LLC
    11521 W 69th St
    Shawnee, KS 66203–3749

    Please send questions about billing to billing@naqt.com.

    Questions

    This tournament will use the 2023 NAQT Division II Sectional Championship Tournament set. This is the same set that will be used for the Division II competitions at the four-year Sectional Championship Tournaments (SCTs), so community college teams who choose to participate in that tournament will not be allowed to compete in the CCCT (even with different players).

    Participation Agreements

    Players and coaches must sign a participation agreement covering expectations, media coverage, etc. All agreements must be submitted to participate@naqt.com by Saturday, February 11, 2023.

    Download Agreement Form

    The signature(s) on the participation agreement must be handwritten, not typed. The agreement may be submitted by sending a scan or photo to participate@naqt.com. Only the last page is required unless the participant is indicating a preference not to be recorded (in which case the page with the checkbox to indicate that preference must be included).

    Checking In

    The check-in period will be from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. in the Conference Center (Lobby Level) on Friday, February 24. During this period NAQT will distribute information folders, answer questions, process payments, verify rosters, and take care of other administrative matters.

    To check in, each team should send only one coach to the check-in area. That person will be given the team’s information folder. Others should not enter the check-in area.

    Awards

    The top six teams will receive trophies, and the members of those teams will receive medals (up to five per team).

    The top twelve individual scorers (determined by points per tossup heard in the preliminary rounds) will receive All-Star medals. Players must be active for at least 70 tossups to be eligible for the All-Star award.

    Qualifying for the Intercollegiate Championship Tournament

    The top four teams from this tournament will qualify for the Division II collegiate championship at the 2023 Intercollegiate Championship Tournament (ICT) on April 1, 2023 in Rosemont, IL.

    These are guaranteed Tier-4 invitations under NAQT’s qualification system for the ICT.

    CCCT teams that don’t receive an automatic invitation to the ICT will have their (SCT) D-Values computed as if the CCCT were a (four-year) Sectional Championship Tournament, and they will be inserted into the waitlist for Tier-7 invitations. It is thus possible for more than four CCCT teams to earn invitations to the ICT. If one of the automatically invited CCCT teams declines its ICT invitation, the spot will go to the next team in the overall (SCT-plus-CCCT) invitation order, not necessarily the next team from the CCCT.

    Popular Culture Side Event (ACRONYM)

    Play Quiz Bowl will host a mirror of its ACRONYM popular culture tournament as a “side event” on Saturday evening. This event is not officially part of the championship and is entirely optional.

    The mirror is open to the general public (including current players at any level). In particular, all people at the national championship (including players, coaches, and staff) are encouraged to play. People affiliated with different schools may play together.

    There is a separate registration fee ($100 per team) for the ACRONYM mirror.

    There will be short breaks in the ACRONYM schedule, but teams planning to compete in it should plan ahead to bring dinner or order delivery to eat between the end of the CCCT and the opening meeting of ACRONYM. This will be tight, but there will not be time to leave the tournament site between the end of the CCCT and the end of ACRONYM.

    Please direct questions about ACRONYM to Danny Vopava (dkristianvopava@gmail.com).

    Registration for ACRONYM is separate from registration from the CCCT. Unless you are registering a team that consists of players who are all students at the same school and will play under that school’s name, you may need to create a new organization, affiliate yourself with it as a “Club President,” and then register under its name.

    Transportation

    Flights

    Participants are strongly encouraged to fly into Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), which is extremely close to the hotel. They may also fly into Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW), but it is much less convenient.

    Ground Transportation

    The hotel runs a free shuttle every 15 or 30 minutes (depending on time of day) to transport people from O’Hare to the hotel (and vice versa). As of 2024, the shuttle pickup location has changed; it is now outside of Door 2A on the Arrivals Level of Terminal 2. There is also a pickup location by Door 5E in Terminal 5, but that is much less convenient for most domestic arrivals.

    There is no such shuttle for Midway. A taxi between Midway and the hotel will cost $35 or more, or you can take the CTA’s Orange and Blue Lines for $3 per person (getting on at the Midway Orange Line station, transferring to the Blue Line downtown, and getting off at the Rosemont Blue Line station, which is about one block from the hotel).

    Driving Directions

    The hotel’s address is 9300 Bryn Mawr Avenue, Rosemont, Illinois.

    Parking

    Parking standard vehicles at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare costs $18/day plus tax, including in-and-out privileges. Participants traveling to the tournament in buses should contact the hotel in advance to discuss parking options.

    To receive the discounted parking rate, participants staying at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare should mention when checking into their guest rooms (not the tournament) that they have parked at the hotel and validate their ticket. Participants not staying at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare should use the manual validator box outside the control room to validate their parking ticket. (Do not use the manual validator box if you are staying overnight at the hotel.)

    Hotel

    The official hotel for the tournament is the Hyatt Regency O’Hare Chicago. (There are two Hyatt hotels in Rosemont; the one hosting the tournament is the Hyatt Regency O’Hare Chicago.)

    Rooms with one king bed are available for $121 per night, and rooms with two double beds are available for $129 per night. To receive the group rate, rooms must be booked using the group reservation link by Thursday, February 9, 2023 (and before the block fills). It is also possible to book by calling 800-544-9288 and mentioning the group code “XTCQ,” but hold times are often long.

    Between the CCCT and the other events scheduled to take place at the hotel, it is expected that the hotel will run out of rooms. NAQT strongly recommends that teams book their rooms as early as possible, particularly if they want rooms with two double beds.

    Guests with concerns about rooms on high floors should discuss that with the hotel as early as possible. The hotel may be able to assign sleeping rooms on lower floors. However, games may still be held on high floors.

    Under Illinois law, otherwise tax-exempt organizations are still required to pay hotel occupancy taxes. (Title 86, chapter 1, section 480.101, subsection b.4 of the Illinois Administrative Code; see also question and answer on the Illinois Department of Revenue’s website)

    Food

    There is a food court with a variety of typical food-court-style restaurants at the Fashion Outlets of Chicago mall at 5220 Fashion Outlets Way. To get to the Fashion Outlets from the hotel, walk west on Bryn Mawr, turn left onto River Road, then turn right onto Balmoral Avenue until you get to Fashion Outlets Way. The food court is a 15-minute walk from the hotel.

    There are also several restaurants offering more formal dining at the Parkway Bank Park Entertainment District. These are more suited for evening meals and are a twelve-minute walk away.

    Participants can also order carry-out or delivery from local restaurants.

    Advocate Program

    Because NAQT believes that quiz bowl is an activity for everybody, and in which all participants should feel welcome and respected, we have established the Advocate Program to make sure select tournament staff are available to hear reports about problematic behavior and comments by anyone at the tournament.

    Staff wearing blue ribbons that say “Advocate” have been specifically selected to receive reports about inappropriate behavior (as opposed to run-of-the-mill questions about the quiz bowl aspects of the tournament). Advocate Program staff will be available in many places around the tournament site.

    Feedback about problematic behavior can, of course, always be sent to NAQT by email (advocate@naqt.com) or other channels such as the Misconduct Reporting Form, but the Advocate Program is intended to allow for in-person reporting of sensitive complaints on-site so they can be handled immediately.

    Reports are confidential to the extent permitted by law and NAQT’s agreements to share critical information with other quiz bowl organizations.

    Practice Material

    Participants may be interested in practicing on questions from previous years to prepare for the event. All of NAQT’s past regular-season sets are available, as are the sets from previous championships.

    Participants may also want to study frequency lists, Power Up study guides, and/or Thumbs Up! question anthologies. These are also available on our practice materials page.

    Finally, participants may 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.

    Spectators

    Spectators are welcome to attend any part of the tournament (though some areas may have limited capacity).

    No registration or tickets are required for spectators.

    Spectators are required to comply with all COVID-19 safety measures.

    Sightseeing

    Chicago has a variety of world-class attractions that should appeal to anybody, especially to quiz bowlers!

    The easiest way to reach most of Chicago’s downtown attractions is to ride the Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA’s) ‘L’ trains, for which there is a stop within easy walking distance of the hotel: Exit the hotel and walk west on Bryn Mawr; turn right on River Road and pass under I-190 and the CTA tracks. The entrance to Rosemont station on the CTA Blue Line will be on your right. Board trains bound for “Loop” or “Forest Park” (not for O’Hare!) for the 35-minute ride into downtown Chicago.

    Once you’re downtown, the Art Institute of Chicago (Blue Line to Monroe, walk 1 block south to Adams and 3 blocks east) features dozens of tossup-worthy works, including Nighthawks and American Gothic, and adjoins both Millennium Park and Grant Park, home to Cloud Gate (“The Bean”) and Buckingham Fountain, respectively. Just a bit further south is the Museum Campus (Blue Line to Jackson, walk 1 block east to State Street and Jackson and catch bus 146 toward Museum Campus), which is home to three major institutions: the Shedd Aquarium, the Field Museum of Natural History, and the historic Adler Planetarium, which was the first planetarium in the Americas.

    The Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower; Blue Line to Jackson, walk 4 blocks west) offers stunning views of the Chicago skyline; so does 875 North Michigan Avenue (formerly the John Hancock Center; Blue Line to Chicago station, bus 66 toward Navy Pier), located on Michigan Avenue in the heart of famed Magnificent Mile. Further afield are the Lincoln Park Zoo (Blue Line to Western, bus 73 to Clark/North), the Chicago History Museum (5 minutes walk from the zoo), and the Museum of Science and Industry (Blue Line to Jackson, walk 1 block east to State Street and Jackson and catch bus 6 toward 79th/South Shore), which is housed in a structure originally built for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition.

    Social Media

    The official hashtag for the tournament is ccct; please use this tag for all posts about the tournament.

    Remember that question content for the championship cannot be posted online (or shared through other channels)! This means that players, coaches, spectators, and moderators should not discuss clues, answers, or even overall themes (e.g., “Lots of opera”) with people on other teams (even those from the same school).

    NAQT Nationals app logo

    Companion Mobile App

    NAQT has created a companion mobile app for attendees. The app includes the tournament schedule (with the ability to set reminders for various events, on iOS), links to results, maps of the venue, connections to social media, and other important documents related to the tournament.

    Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play

    Further Questions

    To ask specific questions about the CCCT, write to ccct@naqt.com.

    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 participants’ plans. If something’s not clear, let us know!

    2023 Community College Championship Tournament

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