U. of Michigan Autumn Classic (12/13/08)--Ann Arbor, MI

[Quantum Mushroom Billiard Hat]

Hi all - It's that time of year again! Michigan Academic Competitions is pleased to invite your team to the 2008 Autumn Classic to be held on Saturday, December 13 2008, on the Central Campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Since 1995, Michigan Academic Competitions has hosted several tournaments for high schools throughout the state of Michigan. This year's Autumn Classic promises more of the same, as we hope to draw some of the finest schools from throughout the region and beyond. This event will be run with questions provided by NAQT (IS-79). As a result, teams entering the 2008 Autumn Classic will be able to qualify for the 2009 NAQT High School Championship.

Each match will consist of two 9-minute halves or 24 tossup questions, whichever comes first. Players who first answer a question correctly will be rewarded with points and a chance for the entire team to answer bonus questions, all of which are worth a maximum of 30 points. Questions come from all areas: science, math, history and government, literature, current events, geography, popular culture, fine arts, sports, mythology and religion, social science, and general knowledge, with the academic areas heavily emphasized. In an attempt to ensure that teams have the opportunity to compete against teams of equal skill, the schedule will incorporate a pooled round robin for preliminary play. In addition, we guarantee that each team will play a minimum of six matches (probably at least seven), with the top teams playing head-to-head to determine the tournament champion. Our goal is that each team plays as many matches as possible. We will also attempt to ensure that teams from the same school will not play each other during the preliminary rounds.

NAQT has made some changes to its official rules this year. Most notably, tossups do not stop when the half ends, and will be read to completion. The full list of changes can be found at http://naqt.com/2008-rules-changes.html, and full NAQT rules can be found at http://naqt.com/rules.html.

We will begin registration at 8:15 a.m. and hold a mandatory meeting for players and coaches at 8:45 a.m. Rounds will begin at 9:00 a.m. and continue through the morning and early afternoon with a lunch break around 1:00 p.m. Playoffs and a brief awards ceremony will follow, and we expect to finish no later than 6:00 p.m. The location of the tournament is still to be determined, though we plan to hold it in Mason and Angell Hall (where we've held it in the past few years). Specific information will be sent out as the tournament date approaches.

Registration for this event will be limited to 32 high school teams, and we will initially allow each school to register only 2 teams. All other teams from that school will be placed on a wait list, which will be used to complete the tournament field on a first-come, first-served basis after the registration deadline of November 28, 2008. Teams may consist of an unlimited number of players, only four of whom may play at once. It is our hope, however, that all the students attending the tournament will receive a good deal of playing time. We will accept teams on a first-come basis until 5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 28, 2008, unless we first reach the tournament maximum (if this happens, we will place these teams on a waiting list).

To register, send an e-mail to hamichae@umich.edu that includes your name, school, number of teams, number of buzzers you can bring, a phone number, and a confirmation e-mail address. Please note that the registration forms on the team website are no longer valid. If your registration e-mail does not include ALL of this information, you will not be officially registered and thus will not be guaranteed a spot in the field.

The entry fees for the 2008 Autumn Classic are:

First team from a school* $90
Each additional team from a school $70
Discount for a fully functional buzzer system (max 2 per school) -$10
Early bird discount for registering by 5:00 PM, November 17 -$5/team
New program discount** -$10/team
Online registration discount -$5/team
Distance discount (100-275 miles)*** -$10/team
Extreme distance discount (over 275 miles)*** -$50/team
Minimum entry fee per team $0

* Canadian dollars are accepted from Canadian high schools at par.
** If your school has not participated in a University of Michigan tournament within the past two years, then you are eligible for this discount.
*** Distances are determined as based on distance one way from your school to the tournament site according to maps.google.com.

Checks should be made out to "Michigan Academic Competitions." While we prefer that you bring them to the tournament and hand them in at registration, if this is not possible, you can mail the check to:

Michigan Academic Competitions
C/O The University Activities Center
4002 Michigan Union
530 S State St
Ann Arbor MI 48109-1349

When I receive your registration, I will send you an e-mail calculating your fee. If you note an error in my calculations, or if I fail to send you this notice promptly, please e-mail me and let me know. Once we receive your school's entry, we will send you a confirmation, area maps and directions, tournament rules, and other useful information. Our web page (http://www.umich.edu/~uac/mac/) contains a Frequently Asked Questions section that we hope will answer any questions you have regarding the tournament.

If you have specific questions about the tournament, please do not hesitate to contact me (Michael Hausinger) by e-mail at hamichae@umich.edu.

We look forward to seeing you on December 13!

Sincerely,

Michael Hausinger
Tournament Director & Assistant Internal Director, Michigan Academic Competitions

[Quantum Mushroom Billiard Hat]

This post will be updated as teams register

Current field as of 11/20.
32 teams

Culver Academies (2)
Grosse Pointe North
Brighton (2)
DeWitt (2)
Quincy
Novi (2)
Ann Arbor Huron (2)
Detroit Country Day (2)
Chelsea
Detroit Catholic Central (2)
East Lansing
Saline
Kalamazoo Christian (2)
Sand Creek (2)
Standish-Sterling Central
Farmington (2)
Churchill
Firestone
Ottawa Hills
St. John's Jesuit (2)
Hartland
-------------------------------------------
Waitlist (in order of registering)

DeWitt (third team)
Ann Arbor Huron (third team)
St. John's Jesuit (? extra teams)
Hartland (second team)
Troy (2)
Firestone (second team)
Mercy High School
Homer
Huron (New Boston)

[Quantum Mushroom Billiard Hat]

The Autumn Classic is now PACE-affiliated, meaning that the top teams qualify to PACE nationals as well as NAQT ones. Thanks, Fred.

[Quantum Mushroom Billiard Hat]

As of today, the field for the Autumn Classic is now full. If there is sufficient interest, we will try to expand the field. However, I cannot make any guarantees.

[Quantum Mushroom Billiard Hat]

Unfortunately, we will not be able to expand the field this year. We were not able to guarantee enough moderators to run a larger tournament efficiently. Hopefully we will have enough moderators to support larger tournaments in the future.

[Quantum Mushroom Billiard Hat]

Thanks to everyone for helping to make this tournament go smoothly. Thankfully, nothing went seriously wrong.
DCC won over DCD, with GPN and Ottawa Hills making it to the semis.
Stats for combined round robin and playoffs are here.