Maintaining Question Security
In order for quiz bowl tournaments to be fair, it is necessary that the questions used be completely new (in jargon, “secure” or “pristine”) to all competitors. The responsibility for ensuring that this happens at events that use NAQT questions is divided among NAQT itself, the host, and the participating schools as follows:
- It is NAQT’s responsibility to not make questions available to competing schools through other channels, to let hosts know as quickly as possible which packet set (e.g. “Invitational Series #128”) they will be using, to maintain an accurate list of packet set assignments on its website, to promptly answer questions from hosts and attendees (and potential attendees) about this policy, and to communicate hosts’ responsibilities to them.
- It is hosts’ responsibility to prominently indicate in all of the publicity for their events which packet set (e.g., “Invitational Series #128”) they will be using and to communicate to participating schools their share of the responsibility for maintaining security. This pertains to both high school and collegiate hosts.
- It is coaches’ and schools’ responsibility to make sure that they attend only one event using each set of questions. Here “coach” should be understood to mean all forms of leaders of quiz bowl programs. Coaches (etc.) should read hosts’ announcements to learn which packet sets each tournament will be using (or find the information on NAQT’s website). If there is any question about the packet set assignment, write to NAQT at naqt@naqt.com for help. This applies to all types of schools.
- For tournaments that do not require school affiliations to participate, the aforementioned “schools’ responsibility” falls on the attending teams and/or players themselves.
NAQT recommends that hosts include the following text in their invitations and other publicity materials:
This tournament will use questions provided by National Academic Quiz Tournaments, LLC. We are using Invitational Series #XX. It is the responsibility of participating schools to make sure that they have not attended (and do not plan to attend) another tournament anywhere that is using the same packet set. Schools can find a complete explanation of their responsibility in maintaining question security at https://www.naqt.com/hosting/security-responsibility.html. Schools who don’t know which packet sets were used at previous tournaments may find this information at https://www.naqt.com/schedule/assigned-packet-sets.jsp. Anyone with questions about question security should write to NAQT at naqt@naqt.com.
Neither hosts nor players, coaches, or anyone else may exchange, show, discuss, or otherwise reveal or suggest the content of NAQT questions from the current academic year in any public forum or in any private conversation. At the end of an academic year, tournament questions from that year may be discussed unless otherwise announced by NAQT. Note that parties remain unable to distribute copies of NAQT sets, packets, or questions for any purpose, at any time, including after the end of the academic year in which they were written.
Please send any concerns about various entities’ responsibilities for maintaining question security to naqt@naqt.com.