Vaccination Requirement

All participants must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19.

• This applies to everyone attending the championship in person—players, coaches, staff, and spectators.
• “Fully vaccinated” means, as of the beginning of the tournament, being vaccinated in accordance with the definition of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (If the CDC changes its definition after March 1, 2022, the definition from March 1 will be used.)
• Participants are furthermore very strongly encouraged to receive booster doses if eligible.
• The vaccine must be one approved or authorized for emergency use in the United States (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson/Janssen) or an approved multiple-dose mix thereof. Prospective participants who have received a different COVID-19 vaccine should discuss their situation with NAQT.

NAQT has prepared responses to frequent questions and comments about this policy as well as suggestions for coaches with challenges navigating this policy in the context of their school.

Implementation of Vaccination Requirement

Before the tournament, all participants must sign a participation agreement covering several topics, including an attestation that the participant meets the above requirements. For participants who are minors, the minor’s parent/guardian must also sign, and for high school students who have attained the age of majority, the student’s parent/guardian is still strongly encouraged to sign. This agreement includes specific penalties for misrepresentation of vaccination status. Participation agreements must be submitted electronically by Friday, March 18, 2022.

At the tournament, staff will examine each participant’s proof of vaccination (official vaccination card) and photo identification, verifying vaccination status and that the photo identification matches both the person presenting it and the person identified on the proof of vaccination. Photographs of proof of vaccination are acceptable, but other electronic “passes” are not, nor are documents other than official vaccination cards.

Once a participant’s documents have been checked, staff will place a wristband on the participant as evidence of completion of the verification process. The wristband must be worn throughout the tournament; no one without such a wristband (other than hotel staff) will be permitted in tournament areas. If a wristband must be removed, there will be a procedure for replacing it (including re-checking of documents), but it is expected that players should keep the same wristband throughout the weekend; wristbands will be safe to shower with.

Participants must complete the above steps (proving vaccination status and receiving a wristband) before partaking in any other tournament activities, such as scrimmages, or otherwise being in any other space used by the tournament.

If a participant is unable or unwilling to provide the requisite documents (participation agreement in advance; proof of vaccination and photo identification on-site), they will not be permitted to attend. If they are already on-site, they will not be permitted in areas of the hotel used by the tournament.

Mask Requirement

All participants must wear well-fitted masks that fully cover their nostrils and mouth at all times when in indoor spaces used by the tournament. The sole exception is when a participant is actively eating or drinking. Participants should not eat or drink during games or when in close proximity to others.

Tournament staff will be understanding of momentary, inadvertent lapses due to masks falling, with reminders issued as necessary. However, participants should be aware of their mask situation and adjust the mask promptly if it falls, without having to be reminded. (A well-fitted mask should not fall often.)

Players may want to wear the type of mask they plan to use in advance of the tournament to ensure it is comfortable, well-fitting, and easy to speak through. (Reusable masks should be laundered before use at the tournament if previously worn.)

Frequent or prolonged lapses in mask-wearing, or the failure to make a good-faith effort to comply with the mask requirement, will not be tolerated.

NAQT recommends N95, KN95, KF94, or similar masks. Surgical and cloth masks are acceptable but not preferred. Vented masks, bandannas, or other items not designed for the purpose of proper masking are not acceptable. Face shields are not acceptable on their own (but may be used in addition to a mask). Participants are expected to provide their own masks.

Other

NAQT will be able to support contact tracing with its records of what teams (and players and other participants) are involved with games at what times and with what other people, including scrimmage and consolation games. NAQT is not able to track locations and interactions that are not part of these records, such as specific paths of inter-game travel, people not being with their team, and informal interactions.

NAQT will adapt its ordinary procedures, such as opening meetings, to avoid the need for large, close gatherings.

All participants are encouraged to wash their hands frequently, cough or sneeze into their elbow, and maintain other standard hygienic practices.

Changes

NAQT reserves the right to modify these plans as conditions change closer to the tournament. However, in the interest of allowing for participants to plan with confidence, NAQT is unlikely to make changes unless absolutely necessary.

Friday Evening

Saturday Morning

Saturday Gameplay

Preliminary Rounds (1–7) and Tiebreaker (Round 8)

Teams will be initially divided into four pools of eight teams, each of which will play a round robin.

After Round 7, teams will be ranked within their pools by win-loss record. If there is a tie crossing the boundary between second and third place, fourth and fifth place, or sixth and seventh place within a pool, it will be played off according to standard tiebreaker protocols in Round 8. Other ties will not be played off.

Playoff Rounds (9–14)

Four playoff pools will be formed. The top pool will consist of the top two teams from each preliminary pool, and so on.

In the playoffs, teams will play the teams that are in their playoff pool and were in a different preliminary pool. Teams will then be ranked within playoff pools by their record among common opponents (carrying over one game from the preliminary rounds). Tiebreaker games from Round 8 are not considered in this ranking.

Finals (Rounds 15 and beyond)

For first place:

• If there is a single first-place team in the top playoff pool, and it is two or more games ahead of the second-place team(s), it will be declared the champion (without a final). If there is a tie for second place, it will be broken using standard tiebreaker protocols with full games substituted for half-games.
• If there are distinct first- and second-place teams in the top playoff pool with one win separating them, they will play an advantaged final. That is, the second-place team will need to win two games in a row to claim the championship, but the first-place team will only need to win one game.
• If two teams are tied for first place in the top playoff pool, they will play a one-game final.
• If three teams are tied for first place in the top playoff pool, the team with the third-highest points per tossup heard (PPTUH) (in the pool, including the carried-over game) will play one game against the team with the second-highest PPTUH; the loser of that game is the third-place team in the tournament, while the winner of that game will play the team with the highest PPTUH for the division championship.
• If one team is in first place in the top playoff pool and there is a tie for second place, the second-place tie will be resolved using standard tiebreaker protocols, the winner of which will play an advantaged final against the first-place team.

If there is a tie for third place in the top playoff pool among teams not involved in the finals, it will be broken using standard tiebreaker protocols with full games substituted for half-games. A third-place game will also be played if there were teams tied for second place whose final order among themselves was implicitly determined by PPTUH in tiebreaker seeding rather than a tiebreaker game.

Undergraduate Finals (Division I only)

If exactly one team eligible for the Undergraduate title is involved in a playoff for the overall title, it will be declared the undergraduate champion. If two or more teams eligible for the Undergraduate title are involved in a playoff for the overall title, then the game(s) played to determine the overall ranks will also be used for the Undergraduate ranks.

Otherwise, if the top Undergraduate team is more than six (overall) places ahead of the second-place Undergraduate team (treating tied teams as having the highest rank for which they are tied), then the top Undergraduate team will be declared the Undergraduate champion.

Otherwise (i.e., if the top Undergraduate team is not involved in a playoff for the overall title and is six or fewer places ahead of the second-place Undergraduate team), the Undergraduate teams that are tied for second place or higher among Undergraduate teams will play finals according to the same scheme as for the overall finals, ignoring the “two games ahead” case and with the stipulation that teams in a higher playoff pool are always considered to be ranked higher than teams in a lower playoff pool (even if teams in a lower playoff pool have an equal or better record).

If there is a tie for third place among Undergraduate teams, it will be broken using standard tiebreaker protocols with full games substituted for half-games. A third-place game will also be played if there were teams tied for second place whose final order among themselves was implicitly determined by PPTUH in tiebreaker seeding rather than a tiebreaker game.

Other Format Matters

In rare combinations of situations, the above rules may require more than three rounds to determine the top three teams. In such cases, NAQT reserves the right to adjust the finals format so that no more than three rounds are required.

Teams not involved in finals and third-place games will be ranked by playoff pool and record in the playoffs (including one carried-over game). Ties in record will be left unbroken.

Situations not covered above will be addressed at the discretion of NAQT.

Buzzer Discounts

Teams who bring a working buzzer system to the tournament will be eligible for a $20 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 two buzzer-system discounts.

Cancellation

Teams who cancel on or after March 1 will owe a cancellation fee equal to 50% of the base registration fee. Teams who cancel on or after March 21 (including no-shows) will owe the entire base registration fee. Those deadlines notwithstanding, teams will always have a one-week grace period after they register in which they can cancel without incurring a fee. Failure to submit participation agreements on time may be treated as a cancellation, including incurring a cancellation fee, at NAQT’s discretion.

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.

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 $15/day, 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.)