Younger players

[tiwonge]

Lately, I've been trying to establish a middle school circuit in Boise, so I've been contacting schools in the area. A lot of them have no experience with quiz bowl, so they have lots of questions. One question they asked, though, I wanted to see what others felt about it.

For schools that are K-8, is it appropriate for 4th and 5th graders to play? I went ahead and gave them the green light to play (it means better, more experienced players when they get to 7th or 8th grade, or in high school), but I was wondering what the policy was on this elsewhere.

[Important Bird Area]

It is absolutely fine for younger students to play. Just make sure that you warn them about difficulty ahead of time (as they will certainly encounter material taught in 7th and 8th grades).

[alexdz]

In Missouri, there's a formal system of 7th and 8th grade competition regulated by MSHSAA (state HS activities association), and no students from other grades may compete in competition against any teams registered with MSHSAA junior high scholar bowl programs.

Students in the 6th grade and under have no formal, regulated system of competition. In the most organized competitions on good questions so far for elementary students, at Tuscumbia hosted by Jason Loy, he has allowed any student in 6th grade or younger.

[Dirty Water]

As long as the younger players are interested, they should have no trouble in enjoying quizbowl, which of course is the most important first step.
What also can be very helpful is persuading the parents of the kids to be involved in QB; the younger they are, the more their parents will be able to help them grow. Also, they're a big help when you need rides and funding and such

If you are planning on using NAQT MS-sets, then the difficulty shouldn't be too bad- we've had one elementary school come to various tournaments in the region, and they've been able to put up points and wins against middle school teams.

[tiwonge]

If you are planning on using NAQT MS-sets, then the difficulty shouldn't be too bad- we've had one elementary school come to various tournaments in the region, and they've been able to put up points and wins against middle school teams.

We'll be using NAQT MS sets. Are there any other MS sets available? The CMST doesn't look like it's being done this year.

[the return of AHAN]

Pyramidal sets? NAQT is the only game in town. If you're willing to lower your standards where reverse pyramidal, transparent, and hose questions are sprinkled in, then there are other vendors.