Jackson, MS - Dec 6 - NAQT Qualifier

[MurrahMS]

Mustang Invitational (3.0)
Academic Quiz Tournament
Murrah High School
1400 Murrah Drive
Jackson, MS

Quiz Bowl and Academic Team Coaches/Sponsors,

You are invited to attend Murrah High School's third Mustang Invitational tournament on December 6, 2014 at Murrah High School in Jackson, Mississippi.

Update, Oct 24 - Our NAQT question set has changed from IS 140 to IS 138. See below in post for more info.

Nota bene - This date conflicts with both the December SAT administration and the MHSAA Football Championship games at MSU. I know that may affect the ability of some students/teams to compete, but it was one of the only open dates we could arrange with our own school's schedule. We hope this will not prevent many teams from attending.

Here's a reminder of our top teams and individual scorers from the last two years, in case you need a refresher: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/943 ... arison.pdf.

Registration
The tournament will consist of one open division for students in grades 9-12. Teams should consist of four members with up to two alternates. Entries will be capped at 36 total teams. Team slots will be reserved for teams in the order that registration is received. Initially we will guarantee one spot per school. After November 15th, we will open up slots for second teams based on availability and order of registration. Please indicate with your initial registration whether you would like to be put on the waiting list for second teams. (There will almost certainly be plenty of room for second teams, but we want to make sure everyone has the opportunity to sign up at least one before opening the field.)

Please register via the attached form, sent with a check to Murrah Debate Quiz Bowl Boosters for your first team. If you end up able to bring a second, you may pay for that team the day of the tournament.

The Booster Club's mailing address is 4318 Council Circle, Jackson, MS 39206. (Send w/ attn: Murrah Quiz Bowl.)

Please also notify Micah Everson via e-mail ([email protected]) or phone (601.376.9214) once you’ve sent a check so that we can let the Booster Club treasurer know to look out for it.

Also, to ensure your spot right now, you may register immediately via online form: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/vie ... c6MA#gid=0

(Unfortunately, we do not have a way to accept online payments, so you'll still need to mail a check.)
The cost per team is $45.00, with a $10.00 discount for each working buzzer set that you bring.


Five round-robin style matches will be held before lunch. Teams will be divided into pools for round-robin play, and the best-performing teams from each pool (based first on Win-Loss record, second on Points Per Game) will advance to elimination rounds after lunch. Each round will consist of two timed halves. (We've experimented with a few timing strategies in the past, and we're still deciding how exactly to run it this year, but rounds will be 30-40 min each.)

There will be pizza, snacks, and hot dogs available for purchase at lunch, along with a coaches vs captains match. We’ll then announce the advancing teams and the top-scoring individual Junior/Senior and Freshman/Sophomore, who will each receive awards.
(Teams are welcome to leave during lunch, but please do not bring outside food back onto campus with you.)
Depending on numbers, up to sixteen teams will advance to an octa-final round after lunch, and we'll follow single-elimination from there on out.

There shouldn't be a JSU football game to compete with this year, so hopefully the traffic and parking situation will be a bit less hectic.
Tentative Schedule
8:00am – Registration and coaches' meeting
8:30am – Round I
9:15am - Round II
10:00am – Round III
10:45am – Round IV
11:30am - Round V
12:15pm – Lunch, Coaches vs. Captains
1:45pm - Octa-Final Round
2:30pm [or ASAP] - Quarter-Finals
3:15pm [or ASAP] - Semi-Finals
4:00pm [or ASAP] - Finals / Third-place match

Awards
Trophies will be awarded to the top three teams.
We'll also have awards for the top Junior/Senior individual scorer and the top Freshmen/Sophomore individual scorer – those scores will be based just on the preliminary rounds.

NAQT
The top 15% of teams will qualify for a spot to the NAQT National tournament held in Atlanta May 29-31, 2015. (So if we have 20 teams – the top 3 qualify, 30 teams – top 4, 36 teams – top 5.)
See all the ways to qualify here: http://www.naqt.com/hsnct/qualification.html

We will be using an official question set from NAQT - #IS-138. (Previously we were assigned IS-140. This has been changed in order to avoid conflicts with tournaments at Hoover High School in AL and White Station in Memphis.) Coaches, it is your responsibility to ensure that your teams have not seen or heard this question set. No tournament in Mississippi should be using it, but tournaments in other states may have the same set. (There are still tournaments in Alabama and Louisiana using the same question set. If your team attends one of those tournaments, they may not compete at the Mustang Invitational.)

PACE NSC

The top 15% of teams will also qualify for a spot to the PACE National Scholastic Championship to be held at the Hyatt Regency Reston in Virginia (near Washington, DC). You can read more about the tournament and qualification here: http://www.pace-nsc.org/2015-nsc-team-q ... uidelines/

Directions
Murrah High School is located near the Woodrow Wilson exit from I-55 (exit 98A). If you are coming to Jackson from the east or west on I-20, take I-55 north. Once you are on Woodrow Wilson, take the first available left. You may park in front of the school on Murrah Drive or in the parking lots around the back (south) side of the school. Please enter the building through the front entrance (facing Woodrow Wilson).

Paper Form - for mailing: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/943 ... 202014.doc

Any questions or concerns – contact Micah Everson at 601.376.9214 or [email protected]

[MurrahMS]

Here are all the results from last year, by the way.
http://mdebate208.blogspot.com/2013/11/ ... sults.html

A list of participating schools and comparison of top teams and top individuals for the last TWO years can by found here.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/943 ... arison.pdf

[douglass]

We at St. Andrew's are looking forward to it! We should bring 2-3 teams.

[MurrahMS]

Holy cow! People actually read these posts! Thanks, Sara!

[aeteacher]

Itawamba is down for 2 teams. I've sent the e-mail and will send the check this week.