Page 1 of 2

2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Sat Sep 26, 2015 5:49 pm
by Mewto55555
This is a preliminary announcement for HSAPQ's National All-Star Academic Tournament, which will be held on June 18-19 at the University of Kentucky. A more detailed post will come soon. EDIT: This is now below

High School Academic Pyramid Questions announces that it will be holding the sixth HSAPQ National All-Star Academic Tournament on June 18-19, 2016 at the University of Kentucky. The tournament will convene at 8:00 AM on Saturday, June 18 and run until about 6 PM, then conclude from 8:30 AM to about 3:00 PM on Sunday. We will announce details as soon as possible regarding the specific buildings on campus that will be used.

This tournament will once again be open to all-star teams representing all states, the District of Columbia, all US territories, and all Canadian provinces and equivalents (as well as state or province-equivalent divisions of any other countries). Each state or equivalent may enter up to one team, with up to six players on its roster, up to four of whom may be playing at any one time. Any player who was enrolled in the 12th grade or below in a school physically located in that state during the 2015-2016 academic year is eligible to play on his or her state's team. Generally speaking, home school students are also eligible; any questions about eligibility will be answered by HSAPQ as needed. This tournament is intended for states seeking an all-star event. We encourage single-school teams looking for national championships to investigate two such championships run by groups that are unaffiliated with HSAPQ: the National Scholastics Championship run by the Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence and the High School National Championship Tournament run by National Academic Quiz Tournaments.

Teams travelling by air are advised that the closest airport is Lexington's Blue Grass Airport. Airports in Louisville (Louisville International Airport) and Cincinnati (Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport) are within an hour and a half drive from Lexington and may offer better rates. We are not doing any sort of deal with a hotel this year.

We will continue to keep cost under control; in line with that, the tournament will not be held at a resort, but rather on a college campus, much like many other high school quizbowl events held throughout the year. Furthermore, we will use a normal format comparable to regular-season events: games will consist of twenty tossups, with a thirty-point bonus being played after each correct tossup answer. Teams will play head-to-head, two at a time. "Performance-based," multimedia, calculation, and pop culture questions will not be used. Teams will play twelve to sixteen games, in line with other national championship events, over the two days of the tournament. Because this event will be played by highly skilled all-star teams, the question difficulty will be higher than that used at existing national championships such as the NSC and HSNCT. The style and subject distribution of the questions will be quite similar to existing HSAPQ sets. The entry fee is $560 per team with a $20 discount for bringing up to one buzzer system per team and a further $20 discount if we receive your payment by May 15, 2015 at HSAPQ's mailing address. You may pay on-site but you will not receive the early payment discount if you do so.

All teams must submit an application to HSAPQ for entry into the tournament. In the vast majority of these cases, applications will be accepted outright. However, if more than one contingent from a state seeks to enter this tournament, HSAPQ will evaluate applications from each potential team and determine who may represent their state at the National All-Star Academic Tournament. The only criterion that will be used in this decision is our assessment, based on a review of the players' achievements in the 2015-16 competition year, of which team is likely to perform the best at the tournament. Therefore, GPA, test scores, and non-academic extracurricular activities should not be included on any application; other academic extracurricular activities (e.g. Science Bowl) should only be included if there were limited opportunities for teams in the state to compete at quizbowl. HSAPQ plans to continue consulting with a regional network of advisors who will consult with HSAPQ on these decisions.

HSAPQ will once again use a rolling application procedure: teams who submit applications to HSAPQ on or before March 5 will be notified of HSAPQ's decision no later than March 12. We may also approve an application submitted from this point onwards as soon as "immediately" if we find it unlikely that a stronger team from the state could be assembled. Teams who submit applications to HSAPQ between March 12 and June 1, inclusive, will be notified no later than one week after the application is received. In other words, March 5 is not a hard deadline, and you may still enter the tournament afterwards, though you are encouraged to start forming and fundraising as soon as possible so that a logistical problem does not cause an interested team to miss the tournament. Once a team from a state or state-equivalent has been approved by HSAPQ, HSAPQ will no longer accept alternate applications from that state, but will accept roster changes made by the official team contact (in most cases, the individual that submitted the application). Team applications and recruitment will be handled by Jacob O'Rourke ([email protected]).

The tournament will be directed by Cody Voight, who has assistant tournament-directed previously at NSC and ACF Nationals. If you have any questions, please email him at [email protected]

We look forward to a diverse field and another excellent event this year!

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2015 3:24 pm
by Dominator
Will NASAT 2016 allow coaches to call timeouts?

For background, I called timeouts in close to 10 rounds of NASAT 2015 before Daniel Hothem realized it and informed the moderators that there were no timeouts. From a coaching perspective, if I cannot call a timeout midround, there is very little reason for me to be there; teams would need supervisors, not coaches. If that is still the case, then I will not coach Team Illinois this year.

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2015 2:15 pm
by Cheynem
Hello.

I am speaking on behalf of HSAPQ; this statement is intended to reflect the views of its board of directors and editors.

For the last six years, HSAPQ has produced NASAT, a set acclaimed for its logistics and question quality. This is a set that we are always justifiably proud of and that is generally well liked by the quizbowl community at large. We are committed to producing this set at the level you have been accustomed to receiving.

However, we, as an organization, are also faced with constraints that need to be addressed. NASAT is an expensive tournament, in terms of both logistics and costs. It is a product that requires a very large number of packets and is usually produced at a time of year in which writers and spare time are thin. Furthermore, the cost of running a two-day tournament with a national field is high. Last year, with twelve teams, we basically just broke even.

This is not a sustainable course for HSAPQ. We are not a large corporation that can afford to run such a project and not make a profit. Our estimates are that a bare minimum. twelve teams will be needed to break even and that it is more likely that around twenty teams or more will be needed to turn a profit of any sort.

We are making this announcement not to cancel NASAT out of hand, but rather to make it very clear that this project will be field dependent. We will require at a minimum twelve registered teams by the end of January to proceed, along with the feeling from our outreach director and our board that enough other teams are a possibility to make this project work. In other words, we need teams to register firmly, concretely, and early.

What does this mean?
1. NASAT teams that are absolutely certain about going must register as soon as possible. You do not need to set rosters or hold tryouts but the team must register with intent. Such registrations should not be a random high schooler saying "we'd like to go," but contain some semblance of an institutional plan (i.e., a coach or authority figure is registering).
2. If we do not obtain our minimum number of teams by the end of January, NASAT will be cancelled for this year. HSAPQ regrets this reality, but we cannot afford as an organization to run a 10, 11, or really even a 12 team tournament. Doing so would hurt our organization's ability to promote good high school quizbowl in its many other ways.
3. HSAPQ is doing everything it can to make NASAT a reality. Our outreach representatives are promoting the tournament and encouraging early registration.

More information about early registration will be forthcoming. Any questions about NASAT for this year can be posted in this thread or directed to members of HSAPQ, particularly our outreach coordinator Jacob O'Rourke.

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2015 6:20 pm
by Irreligion in Bangladesh
In an earlier meeting, the IHSSBCA had expressed some internal doubt as to whether NASAT was an effective use of our resources. The questions have always provided a great experience for the kids, but the lack of some expected strong states and issues like the initially proposed playoff format last year made our registration not the formality it had been in previous years. We resolved to commit our resources to NASAT if and only if a field worthy of the entry fee materialized. Essentially, we share HSAPQ's concerns.

We will not register a team for NASAT until a sufficient number of teams have registered - in our eyes, 12 or more, with a significant number of title-contending teams. Further, we will not register prior to the selection of Team Illinois in February.

We hope NASAT runs; it's a great experience and it would be a shame to lose it. I hope that this thread is the start of a public discussion of the value of NASAT so that states without central selecting bodies or other historically consistent organizing forces realize the importance of early planning for the event.

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2015 7:18 pm
by Urech hydantoin synthesis
it's great and all that people are starting to reevaluate whether NASAT is a good use of their resources, but I'm starting to get a little worried about "we won't register until at least X number of teams register" or "we won't register until NASAT is confirmed" attitudes. Perhaps HSAPQ can keep track of such teams, and publicize them?

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2015 9:46 pm
by Irreligion in Bangladesh
christino wrote:it's great and all that people are starting to reevaluate whether NASAT is a good use of their resources, but I'm starting to get a little worried about "we won't register until at least X number of teams register" or "we won't register until NASAT is confirmed" attitudes. Perhaps HSAPQ can keep track of such teams, and publicize them?
I'd appreciate that -- our position only actually satisfies us if it starts an openly discussed, highly transparent system. The worst possible thing that could happen here is people in 10 states silently think "meh, I'd go if there were 12 of us, but the only state that's said anything is Illinois, and we'd only be 2 out of 12."

The thing that has worried me over the years is how many states had no organization officially setting up their bid and coordinating the team, and how many of those "discussions" about whether to make a team petered out. Players, if you want to attend this tournament, start talking now -- in particular, start looking for a coach now.

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2015 1:48 am
by 1992 in spaceflight
Due to a question I was just asked, I want to remind everybody that you do NOT need to have your roster finalized or have tryouts before you register a team for NASAT. It does need to come from an authority figure (so a coach or someone who represents the organization picking the team would be perfect).

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2015 10:10 pm
by ScoBo
The Missouri Quizbowl Alliance will once again be sponsoring Team Missouri at the 2016 NASAT. As we have at every NASAT to date, we look forward to rewarding Missouri's All-Stars with a weekend of exceptional quizbowl competition between each state's finest students.

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2015 10:55 am
by Rococo A Go Go
I talked to Jacob last night, but the Kentucky Quizbowl Alliance is going to sponsor a Team Kentucky for 2016 NASAT. Considering the location this shouldn't come as much of a surprise, but we hope to see lots of great all-star teams from across the country this year, just like at every NASAT held in previous years.

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2015 1:24 pm
by 1992 in spaceflight
Here is a list of the states that have confirmed with me that they will be attending NASAT. I'll update this post as more states get back to me.

-California [*Roster: Kion You (Senior, Rancho Bernardo); Vincent Doehr (Senior, La Jolla); James Malouf (Junior, La Jolla); Rahul Keyal (Junior, Westview)]
-Missouri [*Roster: Alex Harmata (Senior, Hickman); Parth Parikh (Senior, Hannibal); Tim Quintanilla (Senior, Hannial); Joe Stitz (Junior, Washington)]
-Kentucky [*Roster: Carly Taylor (Campbell County); Sam Roberts (Simon Kenton); Andrew Valentine (DuPont Manual); Thirushan Wigna-Kumar (Paul Laurence Dunbar); Luke Allen (Woodford County)]
-Pennsylvania A [*Roster: Jack Chaillet (Winchester Thurton); Jake Deerin (Manheim Township); Gianni Maginelli (Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School); Brandon Roe (Lancaster Mennonite School); Alex Schmidt (Lehigh Valley Academy)]
-Pennsylvania B [*Roster: Jaya Alagar (Alagar Homeschool); Rajan Alagar (Alagar Homeschool); Ahan Patel; Andy Halza; Colton Sanden]
-Maryland [*Roster: Alex Ecikson (Senior, Richard Montgomery); Ho-Jung Yang (Senior, Walter Johnson); Logan Feingold (Junior, Quince Orchard); Siri Neerchal (Junior, Centennial); Jason Li (Junior, Centennial)]
-Oklahoma [*Roster: Thatcher Chonka (Jenks); Yash Kumar (Booker T. Washington); Aniket Dehadrai (Norman North); Tyler Morrison (Drummond)]
-Ohio A [*Roster: Hunter Wotruba (Fisher Catholic); Clark Smith (Dublin Scioto); John Xiang (Solon); Simon Zhuang (Dublin Jerome); Rohin Devanathan (Solon); Koh Yamakawa (Dublin Scioto)]
-Ohio B [*Roster: Laurel Spangler (Tippecanoe); Hanley Ma (Olentangy Liberty); Rebekah Gibby (Olentangy Liberty); Daniel Guo (Solon)]
-Georgia A [*Roster: Ben Wise; Jake Levin; Andrew Liang; Garrett Johnston; Ashwin Ramaswami (Chattahoochee)]
-Georgia B [*Roster: Alejandro Lim (Westminster); Jessica Lao (Westminster); Justin Htay (Centennial); Akaash Para (Northview)]
-Alabama [*Roster: Venu Reddy (Springwood School); Adam Williams (Buckhorn); Sharath Narayan (James Clemens); Chandler West (Good Hope); Joshua Jun (Hoover)]
-Illinois [*Roster: Cole Timmerwilke (Rockford Auburn); Matt Lehman (Barrington); Ankush Bajaj (HInsdale Central); Sunny Chen (Hinsdale Central); Jakob Meyers (Naperville North)]
-New York [*Roster: Luke Tierney; Eric Kilgore; Joe Feldman]
-Delaware [*Roster: Rohan Narayan; Mohan Malhotra; Shrayus Sortur; Jared Saquing (all Seniors; all of Wilmington Charter)]

Updated 6/13/2016

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2015 9:36 pm
by Antrobus63
I run my own business and understand that HSAPQ must watch its bottom line. I agree that it is reasonable to alert the QB community that next year’s NASAT is not a forgone conclusion and that you require commitment from a certain number of individual states well in advance (mid-March seems reasonable) in order to make the tournament viable for HSAPQ and worthwhile for the teams that attend.

However, if you think that the decreased attendance last spring was the result of high school apathy and that the solution is to push all states to give firm commitments by January—or else—I think that you are drawing the wrong conclusions from the 2015 NASAT experience.

To recap: last March, the Weiner Near-Extinction Level Event threw the entire QB community into chaos. Naturally, NASAT was not the primary focus of HSAPQ, since it affects far fewer participants (even if half of the United States were to send teams) than any of its other events. Thus, while HSAPQ was scrambling to keep PACE on-track and to write solid questions for other events, NASAT posts and communications were given short shrift, which made high school coaches and players uneasy about committing money and time to the tournament. This was the reason that NASAT suffered a decline in participation.

As Pennsylvania’s coach last year, I was nervous all the way up till June that the event might not come off. It may look different from your perspective, but these are the things that caused me concern:

- The person in charge of the event appeared to change several times.

- The hotel arrangements fell through.Yes, the hotel contact person had a medical emergency in mid-April, but the booking arrangements for other national tournaments are typically resolved earlier than two months ahead.

- On March 6 and 9, Matt B. and Ryan R. assured us via post and e-mail that the tournament was definitely going to happen. On April 18, Ryan posted that “Additional logistical information about the 2015 NASAT will be made available in the coming week.” But nothing was posted or e-mailed until June.

This alone would have been enough to cause many states to drop. Indeed, twelve states wasn’t at all a bad number, given that we were sending in registration fees and booking hotels (and flights, in some cases) based mostly on our faith in HSAPQ, rather than on solid information.

****

I am not blaming anyone—it was a tough situation and I commend you all for keeping your word and running a thoroughly enjoyable tournament—but surely you can understand why several states could not attend the tournament given this sort of uncertainty.

So, since last year was clearly an outlier, it should be treated as such by both HSAPQ and by the states. Setting a drop-dead date in January will only serve to make your worry—an anemic list of committed states—a reality.

Therefore, I suggest that we should return to the normal registration procedure and see what happens in 2016. If you get fewer than 15 teams, then by all means, change things up for 2017. But if you give everyone the time and space they were expecting to have to assemble a team, I think your trust will be validated.

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2015 3:39 pm
by Cheynem
Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it.

It's no secret that HSAPQ's time and resources were spread thin last year and to some extent, continues to be. It's one of the reasons why we adopted a more aggressive position this year to ensure we were using our time wisely and that we would make a profit from it. We'll have more to say once we finalize some internal discussions, but rest assured, we are listening, we appreciate the feedback we get from states/schools/coaches about how much they like our questions and tournament, and we want to ensure that good quizbowl continues.

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2016 10:50 pm
by Mewto55555
The initial post has been updated with a more full announcement.

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2016 4:42 pm
by Stained Diviner
Cheynem wrote:Hello.

I am speaking on behalf of HSAPQ; this statement is intended to reflect the views of its board of directors and editors.

For the last six years, HSAPQ has produced NASAT, a set acclaimed for its logistics and question quality. This is a set that we are always justifiably proud of and that is generally well liked by the quizbowl community at large. We are committed to producing this set at the level you have been accustomed to receiving.

However, we, as an organization, are also faced with constraints that need to be addressed. NASAT is an expensive tournament, in terms of both logistics and costs. It is a product that requires a very large number of packets and is usually produced at a time of year in which writers and spare time are thin. Furthermore, the cost of running a two-day tournament with a national field is high. Last year, with twelve teams, we basically just broke even.

This is not a sustainable course for HSAPQ. We are not a large corporation that can afford to run such a project and not make a profit. Our estimates are that a bare minimum. twelve teams will be needed to break even and that it is more likely that around twenty teams or more will be needed to turn a profit of any sort.

We are making this announcement not to cancel NASAT out of hand, but rather to make it very clear that this project will be field dependent. We will require at a minimum twelve registered teams by the end of January to proceed, along with the feeling from our outreach director and our board that enough other teams are a possibility to make this project work. In other words, we need teams to register firmly, concretely, and early.

What does this mean?
1. NASAT teams that are absolutely certain about going must register as soon as possible. You do not need to set rosters or hold tryouts but the team must register with intent. Such registrations should not be a random high schooler saying "we'd like to go," but contain some semblance of an institutional plan (i.e., a coach or authority figure is registering).
2. If we do not obtain our minimum number of teams by the end of January, NASAT will be cancelled for this year. HSAPQ regrets this reality, but we cannot afford as an organization to run a 10, 11, or really even a 12 team tournament. Doing so would hurt our organization's ability to promote good high school quizbowl in its many other ways.
3. HSAPQ is doing everything it can to make NASAT a reality. Our outreach representatives are promoting the tournament and encouraging early registration.

More information about early registration will be forthcoming. Any questions about NASAT for this year can be posted in this thread or directed to members of HSAPQ, particularly our outreach coordinator Jacob O'Rourke.
What decision was made?

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2016 1:18 am
by 1992 in spaceflight
Yellow-throated Honeyeater wrote:
Cheynem wrote:Hello.

I am speaking on behalf of HSAPQ; this statement is intended to reflect the views of its board of directors and editors.

For the last six years, HSAPQ has produced NASAT, a set acclaimed for its logistics and question quality. This is a set that we are always justifiably proud of and that is generally well liked by the quizbowl community at large. We are committed to producing this set at the level you have been accustomed to receiving.

However, we, as an organization, are also faced with constraints that need to be addressed. NASAT is an expensive tournament, in terms of both logistics and costs. It is a product that requires a very large number of packets and is usually produced at a time of year in which writers and spare time are thin. Furthermore, the cost of running a two-day tournament with a national field is high. Last year, with twelve teams, we basically just broke even.

This is not a sustainable course for HSAPQ. We are not a large corporation that can afford to run such a project and not make a profit. Our estimates are that a bare minimum. twelve teams will be needed to break even and that it is more likely that around twenty teams or more will be needed to turn a profit of any sort.

We are making this announcement not to cancel NASAT out of hand, but rather to make it very clear that this project will be field dependent. We will require at a minimum twelve registered teams by the end of January to proceed, along with the feeling from our outreach director and our board that enough other teams are a possibility to make this project work. In other words, we need teams to register firmly, concretely, and early.

What does this mean?
1. NASAT teams that are absolutely certain about going must register as soon as possible. You do not need to set rosters or hold tryouts but the team must register with intent. Such registrations should not be a random high schooler saying "we'd like to go," but contain some semblance of an institutional plan (i.e., a coach or authority figure is registering).
2. If we do not obtain our minimum number of teams by the end of January, NASAT will be cancelled for this year. HSAPQ regrets this reality, but we cannot afford as an organization to run a 10, 11, or really even a 12 team tournament. Doing so would hurt our organization's ability to promote good high school quizbowl in its many other ways.
3. HSAPQ is doing everything it can to make NASAT a reality. Our outreach representatives are promoting the tournament and encouraging early registration.

More information about early registration will be forthcoming. Any questions about NASAT for this year can be posted in this thread or directed to members of HSAPQ, particularly our outreach coordinator Jacob O'Rourke.
What decision was made?
We're meeting about NASAT soon and expect to make an announcement next week.

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2016 9:39 pm
by 1992 in spaceflight
The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi wrote:
Yellow-throated Honeyeater wrote:
Cheynem wrote:Hello.

I am speaking on behalf of HSAPQ; this statement is intended to reflect the views of its board of directors and editors.

For the last six years, HSAPQ has produced NASAT, a set acclaimed for its logistics and question quality. This is a set that we are always justifiably proud of and that is generally well liked by the quizbowl community at large. We are committed to producing this set at the level you have been accustomed to receiving.

However, we, as an organization, are also faced with constraints that need to be addressed. NASAT is an expensive tournament, in terms of both logistics and costs. It is a product that requires a very large number of packets and is usually produced at a time of year in which writers and spare time are thin. Furthermore, the cost of running a two-day tournament with a national field is high. Last year, with twelve teams, we basically just broke even.

This is not a sustainable course for HSAPQ. We are not a large corporation that can afford to run such a project and not make a profit. Our estimates are that a bare minimum. twelve teams will be needed to break even and that it is more likely that around twenty teams or more will be needed to turn a profit of any sort.

We are making this announcement not to cancel NASAT out of hand, but rather to make it very clear that this project will be field dependent. We will require at a minimum twelve registered teams by the end of January to proceed, along with the feeling from our outreach director and our board that enough other teams are a possibility to make this project work. In other words, we need teams to register firmly, concretely, and early.

What does this mean?
1. NASAT teams that are absolutely certain about going must register as soon as possible. You do not need to set rosters or hold tryouts but the team must register with intent. Such registrations should not be a random high schooler saying "we'd like to go," but contain some semblance of an institutional plan (i.e., a coach or authority figure is registering).
2. If we do not obtain our minimum number of teams by the end of January, NASAT will be cancelled for this year. HSAPQ regrets this reality, but we cannot afford as an organization to run a 10, 11, or really even a 12 team tournament. Doing so would hurt our organization's ability to promote good high school quizbowl in its many other ways.
3. HSAPQ is doing everything it can to make NASAT a reality. Our outreach representatives are promoting the tournament and encouraging early registration.

More information about early registration will be forthcoming. Any questions about NASAT for this year can be posted in this thread or directed to members of HSAPQ, particularly our outreach coordinator Jacob O'Rourke.
What decision was made?
We're meeting about NASAT soon and expect to make an announcement next week.
On behalf of the HSAPQ Board, I'm pleased to announce that NASAT has been confirmed to be happening. We'll be sure to keep the community updated as the date approaches.

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2016 9:43 pm
by 1992 in spaceflight
Just a reminder: if a state's team has a question, they should feel free to contact me. Anyone interested in staffing NASAT should contact Cody Voight.

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2016 7:39 pm
by Antrobus63
Great news. Thanks for working to make this happen, HSAPQ folks!

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Fri Feb 19, 2016 11:55 pm
by Joshua Rutsky
At this time, I feel confident enough to say that Alabama is looking into forming a team for NASAT this year with a serious intent to compete, not just pay lip service to the process. I hope to be able to say something former about this in the near future.

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2016 12:25 am
by 1992 in spaceflight
Joshua Rutsky wrote:At this time, I feel confident enough to say that Alabama is looking into forming a team for NASAT this year with a serious intent to compete, not just pay lip service to the process. I hope to be able to say something former about this in the near future.
Awesome. I know we've talked about this over email, but please keep me in the loop about this!

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2016 10:02 am
by dhswise
Georgia will be bringing a team. I will contact you for details on submitting an application.

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2016 4:30 pm
by dhswise
Field update? And any progress with hotel?

Thanks, Rand Wise

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 10:44 pm
by 1992 in spaceflight
dhswise wrote:Field update? And any progress with hotel?

Thanks, Rand Wise
The field is current as I await on updates from people attempting to organize teams.

I'm pleased to announce the hotels we've been recommended by members of the Kentucky Quiz Bowl Team.

The Clarion Hotel Lexington is fairly cheap and is a straight shot to campus. The only drawback, however, is that there are only rooms with king-sized beds available.

The Hyatt and Hilton in Lexington are also excellent hotels and close to campus, but they are much more expensive. Embassy Suites is also a nice hotel, but it's also pretty expensive.

Hope this helps teams as NASAT approaches.

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 1:05 pm
by Ciorwrong
Michigan will field a team.
Players will be:

Tuhin (Troy)
Sujai (Troy)
Tommy (UAIS)
Chris (Detroit Country Day)

These players were selected after the Michigan NAQT State tournament. We used MLK 2016 for tryouts.

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Thu May 12, 2016 7:42 am
by ashwin99
What is the subject distribution for this year's NASAT?

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Fri May 20, 2016 2:39 am
by 1992 in spaceflight
HSAPQ is pleased to announce that we will be opening the NASAT field to second (or "B") teams from a state for entry. The fee for a second team from a state will be $400 (along with any other discounts that a state team would like to claim).

Any questions about registration, or any other field related questions, may be directed to me. Tournament related questions can be directed to Cody.

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Fri May 20, 2016 12:03 pm
by dhswise
Is there a deadline for the B teams to register?

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Mon May 23, 2016 12:50 pm
by 1992 in spaceflight
ashwin99 wrote:What is the subject distribution for this year's NASAT?
It is basically ACF distribution, with some minor tweaks made by the HSAPQ editors to make the set more playable for a high school audience. Max also posted a pretty detailed breakdown of the NASAT distribution in last year's NASAT thread.

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Wed May 25, 2016 1:49 pm
by 1992 in spaceflight
dhswise wrote:Is there a deadline for the B teams to register?
We'll be taking registration for teams until Monday, June 13th.

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Tue May 31, 2016 2:10 pm
by 1992 in spaceflight
Due to an extremely generous donation by Harry White, HSAPQ is pleased to announce that all teams attending 2016 NASAT (excepting B teams) will receive a $100 discount to their entry fee. The base entry fee for the first team is thus $460. If you have any questions or would like further details, please contact either Harry or HSAPQ.

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2016 12:30 pm
by Cody
A small note for teams, so that nobody is surprised:

I do not recall how HSAPQ has done this in past years, but we'll be awarding plaques to the top 2 teams at NASAT. However, I will not be ordering them before the tournament because I think it would be much nicer to personalize the plaques with the team name and the team members, and plan to do so. I'll chat with the top 2 teams sometime after the tournament / by e-mail about how they want this handled. (Part of the reason I'm announcing this beforehand is that I'm willing to order unpersonalized plaques if teams really hate this idea! -- so get in touch with me if that's the case! [email protected]. Ordering is rather time-sensitive so don't wait!).

Other awards will be at the tournament as expected: (nice) books & medals for top individual scorers, and medals for the members of the top-finishing teams.

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2016 11:27 pm
by Cody
An addendum to registration, which as noted above closes June 13 at 11:59 PM eastern: this is also being set as the no-penalty drop date. As this is less than 5 days before the tournament, any drops after this time will come with a $100 penalty. Our hope is to not have to assess this penalty.

This restriction only affects withdrawing a team from the tournament; for example, you can change your roster(s) after June 13th as needed.

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2016 9:56 am
by Joshua Rutsky
If there is a coach for either of the Ohio teams, would you please PM me? Thanks!

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2016 9:43 pm
by crbirdx
Ohio B is:
Laurel Spangler/Tippecanoe
Hanley Ma/Olentangy Liberty
Rebekah Gibby/Olentangy Liberty
Daniel Guo/Solon

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 9:47 am
by Cody
Information will go out by e-mail shortly, but here it is on the boards:

The tournament will be held in the University of Kentucky's White Hall Classroom Building, which is located at 140 Patterson Dr, Lexington, KY 40506. Team check-in (i.e. confirmation of presence, buzzer drop-off, etc.) and the opening meeting will be in room 118 (a large auditorium). An official campus map is available here. (note that White Hall Classroom Building is just called "Classroom Bldg" on this map). Team check-in will run from 7:45 AM until 8:15 AM.

The closest visitor parking garage to White Hall Classroom Building is Parking Structure #5 (409 S Limestone, Lexington, KY 40506), which is located at the confluence of S Limestone and the outlet of Administration Drive. More information about parking is available on the UK website, which notes that, from 3:30 PM Friday until 5:00 AM Monday, most employee and student commuter lots are available without a permit. The closest lots I can see are the Scott Street Lot, the Whalen Building Lot, the Sturgill Building Lot, the Taylor & Dickey Building Lots, and the Coliseum Lot. The campus map backs up the assertion that they are not patrolled for permits on weekends, but please double-check any relevant signage before parking. Street parking may be available, but will certainly be limited—do not rely on it.

There are 15 teams for NASAT this year. Assuming no drops, our packet situation constrains us to a single RR, followed by an ACF-style finals (with any necessary tiebreakers to get into the finals occurring beforehand). Since we have enough packets for this number of teams, I am committing to a full packet tiebreaker in the case of a three-or-more way tie to get into the finals. The 15-round, 14-game round robin will be split into 12-13 rounds on Saturday and 2-3 rounds on Sunday, after which any tiebreaks / finals will occur. If you have opinions on whether to 2 or 3 games should be played on Sunday, please contact me at [email protected].

I hope this paragraph is moot, but: if a team drops, we will have 14 teams. The schedule in this case is a 13-round, 13-game round robin conducted entirely on Saturday. Tiebreakers will occur either Saturday or Sunday to split the field into 4/4/3/3 (half-packet in the case of a three-or-more way tie). A round robin in each of the new brackets is conducted, followed by an ACF-style finals in the top bracket (with any necessary tiebreakers to get into the finals occurring beforehand, also on a half-packet basis for a three-or-more way tie). The same basic format will be used for 13 teams (except a split into 4/3/3/3). If, for some reason, we drop to 12 teams, the format will be an 11-round, 11-game round robin followed by a 6/6 split (half-packet TBs as needed), round robin in the new brackets, and ACF-style finals (plus tiebreakers beforehand as necessary).

The lunch timing will be announced at the tournament, and is likely to be after round 7. Confirmation of Saturday's lunch will occur by round 5, at latest. There are a number of lunch places along S Limestone St and the surrounding environs between Prall St and E Maxwell St; a list of suggestions will be posted online and handed out at the tournament.

In the case of 15 teams, we will meet back in 118 after the conclusion of the round-robin. At this point, individual scorer awards will be awarded and announcements for tiebreakers/finals will take place. Finals will take place in 118. For a 2 or 3 team tiebreaker to get into the final, the tiebreaker will also occur in 118; tiebreaker formats requiring 2 or more rooms will use 118 and a TBD room. Individual scoring awards as well as awards for final placement (top 4) will be conducted after the finals.

Important information regarding rules: we will be using the 2016 PACE ruleset, with the following changes:
  • Addendum DY is included. Negs are a 5 point penalty (i.e. -5). No other addendums are included.
  • For 2016 NASAT, rule A6b shall read: "A team may also declare one or more assistant coaches before a match begins. Assistant coaches shall be treated the same as a coach in all respects."
Please let me know if I've forgotten anything!

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2016 11:11 pm
by Cody

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 3:26 pm
by Cody
Attached is a preliminary team program and schedule. Details are subject to change, especially if I messed anything up! (but most of the big picture stuff should be set)

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 11:31 pm
by Cody
this post is moot!

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 12:31 am
by Cody
The final schedule is now available @ https://goo.gl/cGrQs5 (minor changes from previous, such as fixing a typo).

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 6:45 am
by AKKOLADE
With Avenue of Champions closed, the easiest bet for parking (if you're not carrying anything heavy/bulky!) is probably going to be parking in garage #5. Go down South Limestone, turn left onto Winslow St (to the right will be Avenue of Champions), then turn left onto South Upper Street and almost immediately turn left into the garage. Go to whatever floor has the tunnel/gerbil tube that takes you across South Limestone and then walk on up to White Hall. You should be walking towards Patterson Office Tower, aka the tallest building in front of you as you exit the gerbil tube from the garage.

This does involve a little bit of walking, but it's not a death march or anything, and UK seems to not understand the importance of parking near all of their buildings...

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 7:20 am
by AKKOLADE
Of course, I just pulled into this garage and they're closing it for resurfacing for the whole weekend.

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 9:58 am
by Cody
In about ten minutes, stats for round 2 will be finished and up under the running stats tab of the NASAT hsqbdb entry. Running stats will be kept up-to-date; a short link directly to the stats is: http://goo.gl/8cfXe4.

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 12:33 pm
by Cody
Round 6 stats are up at the above link. Round 7 is starting, after which we will break for lunch -- round 8 starts at 2:22 PM. Round 7 stats will make their way online sometime before 2:52 PM.

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 5:12 pm
by Adventure Temple Trail
Given the relatively small number of matches which occur on Sunday, the team attendance record over the past few years, and the large registration and travel costs which teams often have to raise themselves to attend NASAT, has thought been given to making it a one-day event, akin to ICT? Given that both school-bound HS nationals are full weekends, that might help more on-the-fence players and states decide to invest in the event (and perhaps save on lodging costs while doing so).

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2016 7:21 am
by Cody
Adventure Temple Trail wrote:Given the relatively small number of matches which occur on Sunday, the team attendance record over the past few years, and the large registration and travel costs which teams often have to raise themselves to attend NASAT, has thought been given to making it a one-day event, akin to ICT? Given that both school-bound HS nationals are full weekends, that might help more on-the-fence players and states decide to invest in the event (and perhaps save on lodging costs while doing so).
I just don't see why you would, or what the benefit would be? Even if NASAT were a 14-team round robin + TBs & finals (which I would feel really bad for offering to teams paying $500+ to play this tournament, if a more extensive format existed), no one could possibly leave and get home that evening unless they were already close enough that they could drive back and forth to the tournament instead of staying in a hotel.

It seems to me that you would gain nothing from trying to cram everything in to one day (NASAT doesn't have timed rounds), and the downsides are, frankly, large—finals at or after 8 PM (because you'd definitely need a dinner break), teams that are tired after a long day of quizbowl, etc.

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2016 9:43 am
by Cody
Round 14 is up @ http://goo.gl/8cfXe4.

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2016 11:26 am
by Cody
Final stats are up! Please e-mail me if you have any stats errors that need to be corrected.

The top 4 were Illinois (cleared the field with 20.99 PPB), California (12-2), Ohio (11-4), and Georgia A (10-5). (Ohio A beat Georgia A in a one-game tiebreaker for 3rd place).

A much deserved shout-out goes out to your awesome staffers: Mike Sorice, Alison Tomchik, Auroni Gupta, Sam Rombro, Naveed Chowdhury, Cory Smith, Casey Bindas, Hannah Wang, Ophir Lifshitz, Austin Smith, Sarah Angelo, Rahul Annabathula, Kurtis Droge, Ryan Essinger, Athena Kern, Fred Morlan, and Neelav Dutta.

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2016 11:29 am
by Cheynem
I will set up a private discussion forum later. Do not discuss the questions publicly because there are many late mirrors.

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2016 1:34 pm
by Andruwxnsa
John Xiang lost his wallet. It should have some amount of money and his ID. If anyone found it please let me know. Thanks!

Re: 2016 NASAT: June 18-19 @ University of Kentucky

Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2016 3:11 pm
by Antrobus63
Thanks very much to HSAPQ for running a great tournament. And congrats to Illinois on running the table: 20+ PPB on THESE questions?! Ridiculous.