Reporting Results
General
NAQT requests, but does not require, that hosts report any interesting or extraordinary circumstances that arise, such as extremely offensive behavior by teams or difficult protests. NAQT also requests that hosts forward information about any erroneous or misleading questions found in the set. Such information should be sent to errata@naqt.com.
NAQT strongly encourages the use of SQBS, a software program that makes organizing the information relatively easy.
Invitational Tournaments, Conferences, and Leagues for Schools
NAQT offers a $75 discount for reporting results from tournaments, conferences, and leagues run on its questions.
The following are required to claim the discount:
- A full list of participating teams, with clarifications to any questions NAQT asks about who schools are (e.g. in case of ambiguous names like “Central High School”).
- Enough information to rank the participating teams from top to bottom and determine which, if any, qualify for national championships. We strongly prefer to get the score of each game, but are willing to accept less information that satisfies the requirement (e.g., a ranking from top to bottom with information on which teams won at least one game).
- Contact information for each team’s coach or other leadership.
To make it easier for hosts to report these results, NAQT offers a template for entering game results, and also offers a guide to using SQBS (a quiz bowl statistics program). These are merely suggestions; hosts may report the results in any reasonable fashion they choose, as long as the data described above are provided.
The discount can be refunded as a check, used to purchase practice material, or be applied to future orders. The discount will be reduced to $37.50 if the results are provided more than two weeks after the end of the tournament.
The amounts quoted are for events using questions with NAQT’s standard base fee of $125. Events whose questions are priced differently may have different results discount amounts.
Sectional Championship Tournaments
Hosts running NAQT Sectional Championship Tournaments (SCTs, including Community College Sectional Championship Tournaments) are subject to additional reporting requirements. Within 72 hours of the end of the event, each host must provide a full statistics report, defined thus:
- The report must consist of SQBS data files (not HTML reports) or YellowFruit files. If the tournament has two divisions, each division’s data must be in a separate file; multiple divisions in one file is not acceptable (except in the case of combined divisions). Here “division” refers to the notions of Division I and Division II, not pools (which SQBS calls “divisions”). Using Neg5 or other software is not acceptable.
- Each file must have been created starting from the SQBS or QBJ file template from NAQT’s registration system. Team names must be left as-is from that file. Changes such as player name corrections and roster changes should be made in the registration system before generating the template if at all possible.
- The file(s) must contain every game played at the tournament, including preliminary, playoff, tiebreaker, and finals games. It is acceptable, though not desirable, for a division’s games to be split over multiple files (e.g., one file for the preliminary games and another file for playoff games).
- Each game must be completely filled out, including round number, tossups heard, full individual results (including individual games played), and overtime information if applicable.
- The files must be checked for errors, such as (but not limited to) numbers of bonus points not divisible by 10 and incorrect entry of overtime. NAQT will perform further checking, and any outstanding errors must be rectified promptly.
- Hosts must include a description of any unusual occurrences, if any, such as (but not limited to) participant behavior issues and problems with the questions.
We strongly prefer that SCT hosts use the NAQT paper scoresheet or NAQT electronic scoresheet. If a host wishes to use a different electronic scorekeeping method, they must receive permission in advance from NAQT. Scoresheets must consist of a contemporaneous spreadsheet record of all relevant aspects of each game, including part-by-part bonus conversion. TJ Electronic Scoresheets is not an acceptable system.
Hosts must retain all scoresheets while results are being checked. After that (when NAQT so instructs), they must be sent to NAQT (by mail or electronically).
Statisticians are advised to read NAQT’s guidelines for using SQBS. Some of the points in that guide are made unnecessary by the use of the NAQT registration system, and others may not apply to YellowFruit.
Though not technically part of reporting results, hosts of four-year SCTs have until 24 hours after the conclusion of their event to switch their Tier-3 hosting autobid from Division I to Division II. The number of hosts that are allowed to switch their bid is limited, and requests will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis.
Intramurals
No results need to be reported from intramural tournaments.
Other
For other tournaments, such as those for individual players or teams that don’t have to be from schools, requirements may vary. Please discuss your plans with us at hosting@naqt.com.