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by **Dan-Don** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 7:38 pm

The sixth annual Midwest Championship, normally hosted at Culver Academies, will be hosted at Northwestern University on May 19, 2012. It will be a mirror of NAQT's Division II Intercollegiate Championship Tournament. I, Dan Donohue, will be serving as co-Tournament Director with Coach Philip Blessman from Culver.

Northwestern will also be hosting Wildcat XIV the following day, and teams can earn a discount by attending both tournaments. Midwest Championship is primarily intended as a warm-up for teams attending HSNCT and/or NSC. Any A team may register, but B teams (and so on) must be qualified for HSNCT or NSC to register.

Getting here: There is a large NATO summit happening in Chicago during the tournaments. As such, there will be many road closings, which you can read about here. The best way to circumvent the closings will be to take 294 North and exit at Dempster. Allow yourself plenty of extra time to get here because I do not want to delay the start of the tournament. If you are running late, please call my mobile phone, (847) 915-1013, and I'll see what I can do.

Checking in: The tournament will occur entirely in Kresge Hall (sometimes called Kresge Centennial Hall), which is located at 1880 Campus Drive. There is free parking in the Lakeside Parking Structure, which is located at 1 Arts Circle Drive. Please come to Kresge 4-365 (that's room 365 on the 4th floor) and check in between 8:00 and 8:30 am. My goal is to start by 9:00 (or sooner, if everyone's there).

Tournament rules: We will be following all intercollegiate NAQT rules, including 10-minute timed halves. The 13 teams will play a full round robin, followed by finals if necessary. This guarantees 12 matches and 1 bye. Ties for advancement into the finals will be played off.

Lunch: I'm currently planning on taking an hour-long lunch break after Round 7. Lunch is not provided for teams, but there are many restaurants you can walk to from Kresge. When you check in, I will give you a map of nearby food options.

Saturday night: On Saturday evening, Loyola Academy will be hosting a pop culture tournament in Kresge following the conclusion of Midwest Championship. You can find more info here. (Note: I am not in charge of this in any way. If you want to play, you need to register with them.)

Hotels: If you are staying overnight, the Hilton Orrington, Hilton Garden Inn, and Best Western University Plaza are all within walking distance of Kresge. If these are outside of your price range, try looking at the Skokie Comfort Inn or other neighboring suburbs.

Registered field (13 Teams)
Belvidere North
Culver x 2
Dorman
IMSA x 2
Kaneland
Loyola Academy x2
New Trier
North White
Something Ambiguous
St. Joseph's

by **David Riley** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 8:37 pm

I can read for Midwest and maybe for Wildcat. Laird can claim me as Loyola's moderator.

by **Dominator** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 11:57 pm

IMSA will be there with 2 teams, at least one staffer, and whichever of our two buzzer systems Adam has managed to not break.

by **Eric Huff** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 9:31 am

Dorman is tentatively "expressing interest"

by **Dan-Don** » Fri Jan 06, 2012 1:35 pm

Just wanted to let everyone know: this tournament will now be using NAQT's Division II ICT--not SCT--set. This is because IMSA and prospective attendees like Seven Lakes, Dorman, and Loyola will have heard the SCT set at Texas Invitational. The Division II ICT set is only one level harder than HSNCT on the NAQT difficulty scale (Division SCT is one level easier), so I think it should still make excellent HSNCT prep.

by **bt_green_warbler** » Fri Jan 06, 2012 2:12 pm

Dan-Don wrote:prospective attendees like Seven Lakes

Just to clarify: Seven Lakes is not a prospective attendee for this tournament; they will have heard the DII ICT in Texas on May 5th (TQBA's championship/nationals-prep event).

by **Dan-Don** » Fri Jan 06, 2012 2:41 pm

bt_green_warbler wrote:
Dan-Don wrote:prospective attendees like Seven Lakes

Just to clarify: Seven Lakes is not a prospective attendee for this tournament; they will have heard the DII ICT in Texas on May 5th (TQBA's championship/nationals-prep event).

Oh, sorry. Chad noted this in the email, but I forgot.

by **SoLegit12** » Mon Jan 09, 2012 3:31 pm

duPont Manual (x2) expresses much interest.

by **Dan-Don** » Mon Jan 09, 2012 4:45 pm

This tournament has been platinum-certified by PACE, so the top 25% of the field will qualify for PACE. This could be a great last-minute way to get a platinum qualification for PACE, so register as soon as possible to guarantee your spot.

by **Dan-Don** » Thu Jan 26, 2012 6:41 pm

New Trier has joined both fields. Keep registering!

by **Weighted Companion Cube** » Tue Feb 21, 2012 1:22 pm

Myself and a group of DCC kids are expressing interest in this.

by **Dan-Don** » Tue Feb 21, 2012 2:22 pm

DCC officially registered, so there's 11 spots left in this field, as well as the Wildcat field.

by **Euler's Constant** » Tue Feb 21, 2012 9:25 pm

Saint Joseph's High School (IN) is expressing interest for both tournaments.

by **Weighted Companion Cube** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 11:16 pm

Dan-Don wrote:DCC officially registered, so there's 11 spots left in this field, as well as the Wildcat field.

Please note that this isn't the DCC A team. This is a scab team of people who can go because they don't have to participate in DCC's graduation.

by **Charles Martel** » Thu Mar 01, 2012 1:10 am

Graduation is optional.

by **David Riley** » Thu Mar 01, 2012 2:41 am

Make that statement to your family and other relations and gauge their reaction :grin:

by **Weighted Companion Cube** » Thu Mar 01, 2012 9:51 pm

whitesoxfan wrote:Graduation is optional.

I might be able to convince our Science player Brandon to skip, he's my year's valedictorian, and for some reason required to be at graduation.

by **Broad-tailed Grassbird** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 7:30 pm

whitesoxfan wrote:Graduation is optional.

High school graduation is overrated, but if you miss it for something that isn't a big deal, you'll probably regret it for the rest of your life.

by **Horned Screamer** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 8:53 pm

Yeah, honestly, the only time I'd consider skipping graduation is if I was on a team that had a chance of winning nationals and that was the conflict.

by **Weighted Companion Cube** » Wed Mar 14, 2012 10:18 pm

Could you change the name of the cc team to something ambiguous? I'm getting some heat from DCC for signing up as the school, when we aren't going as the school.

by **MorganV** » Mon Mar 26, 2012 5:17 pm

Loyola Academy is pleased to announce that they are hosting an open trash tournament on the night between Midwest Championship and WildKat.

For more information see here.

by **Yeah, that's a thing** » Mon Mar 26, 2012 8:00 pm

I will be moderating for "Something Ambiguous A."

by **Dan-Don** » Mon Mar 26, 2012 10:35 pm

Yeah, that's a thing wrote:I will be moderating for "Something Ambiguous A."

Ok, I will give them the discount then.

Teams "expressing interest" should register as soon as possible. I got the room reservations today, and we definitely won't be increasing the field size because we only have enough rooms for 18 teams. Same goes for Wildcat. There are only 10 spots left in each field.

by **Dan-Don** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 5:17 pm

With the registration of North White, the field is exactly half-full. Again, we will not be able to increase past 18 teams, so get your registration in ASAP.

by **Euler's Constant** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 5:36 pm

Two things: first I know that Saint Joseph's is coming to both tournaments in some form but I don't know exactly what yet, so either my coach or myself will be registering within the week. Second is North White an Indiana team, or something else?

by **Dan-Don** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 5:52 pm

Euler's Constant wrote:is North White an Indiana team, or something else?

It is North White the Indiana team.

by **Dan-Don** » Wed Apr 25, 2012 5:45 pm

I've just updated the field list. Just 6 spots left in each tournament.

by **Dan-Don** » Wed May 09, 2012 11:24 am

Kaneland has joined both fields as the thirteenth team. This Friday (the 11th) will be the last day I accept registrations.

by **Dan-Don** » Sat May 12, 2012 2:31 pm

The field is closed at 14 teams. I've updated the the original announcement post with important logistical information that you should read, including info about the big NATO summit that will be happening in Chicago during the tournament.

With 14 teams and 18 packets, I'm considering two options for the tournament format:

Option A
Full round robin. This guarantees 13 matches in 13 rounds with no byes. The benefit is that every team gets to play every team. Finals will follow, and ties to get into the finals will be played off.

Option B
We start with two preliminary pools of 7 teams each, which play a full round robin. This guarantees 6 matches in 7 rounds with 1 bye. (We may add a cross-pool match that wouldn't count, which guarantees 7 matches in 7 rounds with no byes.) Then, we re-seed the teams into a championship pool of 6 teams and two consolation pools of 4 teams each. We play off any ties for advancement into the top bracket. The championship teams have their records wiped clean, and they play a full round robin. The consolation teams carry over one match and play a double round robin (minus the one match that carries over). This guarantees an additional 5 matches in 5 rounds, for a total of 11-12 matches in 12 rounds. Finals will follow, and ties to get into the finals will be played off. The benefit of this forman is that every team gets to play more matches against teams of similar skill.

I don't have a preference, so I'm leaving it up to you! Vote in the poll at the top of this thread by Thursday night. I will do whatever you decide. If you have other suggestions, I'm open to hearing them, but I probably won't consider formats that need wild cards (e.g. 2 x 7 into 2 x 7) or take more rounds than a full round robin (e.g. 2 of 7 into 8/6).

by **Weighted Companion Cube** » Sat May 12, 2012 2:47 pm

The only reason I'm paying out of my own pocket to come as a scab team is to get a chance to play these good teams, so myself and the entire Something Ambiguous vote for round robin.

by **Eric Huff** » Mon May 14, 2012 8:58 am

Dorman votes for pools followed by round robin playoffs (Option B).

by **sssssssskkkk** » Mon May 14, 2012 9:18 am

something ambiguous wrote:The only reason I'm paying out of my own pocket to come as a scab team is to get a chance to play these good teams, so myself and the entire Something Ambiguous vote for round robin.

If your intended goal is to play "good teams," presumably ones that are close to your team in skill level, I believe that playing the bracketed round robin and not the full round robin would actually give you more games against "good teams."

by **Weighted Companion Cube** » Mon May 14, 2012 10:12 am

sssssssskkkk wrote:
something ambiguous wrote:The only reason I'm paying out of my own pocket to come as a scab team is to get a chance to play these good teams, so myself and the entire Something Ambiguous vote for round robin.

If your intended goal is to play "good teams," presumably ones that are close to your team in skill level, I believe that playing the bracketed round robin and not the full round robin would actually give you more games against "good teams."

No, we're coming as a scab team without a science player, we don't intend to win games, but to just play these teams who will be our competition next year, so getting stuck in a consolation bracket is not what we want to do.

by **Charles Martel** » Mon May 14, 2012 1:24 pm

I voted for rebracket, but I've changed my mind to round robin.

by **Boeing X-20, Please!** » Mon May 14, 2012 6:01 pm

Eric Huff wrote:Dorman votes for pools followed by round robin playoffs (Option B).

Also preferring the second option, I suggest this counts for 4 votes, 1 for each of Dorman's players.

by **Dan-Don** » Mon May 14, 2012 6:08 pm

Boeing X-20, Please! wrote:
Eric Huff wrote:Dorman votes for pools followed by round robin playoffs (Option B).

Also preferring the second option, I suggest this counts for 4 votes, 1 for each of Dorman's players.

Yes, that's fair, and in addition to this, two other teams have contacted me privately to tell me that their whole teams would also prefer 2x7 into 6/4/4. So, it's looking pretty likely that we'll go with Option B.

Two teams have also contacted me to tell me that they might be dropping. If one of them drops, it will obviously be a full round robin among 13 teams. If both drop, I will assume--unless I hear differently--that people would similarly prefer 2x6 into 2x6 instead of a full round robin.

by **Weighted Companion Cube** » Mon May 14, 2012 6:31 pm

Well add three to round robin for the people on something ambiguous then.

We strongly prefer the round robin option, if it's not clear.

by **Euler's Constant** » Mon May 14, 2012 6:39 pm

If each team gets 4 votes add 3 more to full round robin.

by **Charles Martel** » Mon May 14, 2012 6:41 pm

This is like the soviet union claiming that each constituent republic should get a UN seat.

by **Euler's Constant** » Mon May 14, 2012 6:43 pm

And who doesn't love the Soviets?

by **Weighted Companion Cube** » Mon May 14, 2012 6:46 pm

Charles Martel wrote:This is like the soviet union claiming that each constituent republic should get a UN seat.

Well two of my team members have multiple personality disorders, so can I cast votes for their personalities? That should give about 252 votes for Round Robin.

by **Boeing X-20, Please!** » Mon May 14, 2012 6:53 pm

Was joke. Also perhaps shows the inherent stupidity in having an online poll where you can't even see who voted?

by **Dan-Don** » Mon May 14, 2012 7:02 pm

Yeah, this is getting pretty dumb. Here's what's happening if the field stays at 14: we're doing 2x7 into 6/4/4. Wildcat is still at 13, and it will be a full round robin. The teams that have expressed a strong preference for pool play will get one tournament that's pool play, and the teams that have expressed strong preference for a full round robin will get a full round robin.

If teams drop and we have to change formats, I alone will decide what that format will be.

by **Dan-Don** » Wed May 16, 2012 9:44 pm

DCD is out. We'll do a 13-team round robin.

by **Dan-Don** » Sat May 19, 2012 10:33 am

Stats are now being updated after every round.

by **Weighted Companion Cube** » Sat May 19, 2012 6:20 pm

I must say this was very well run, the biggest break we had between rounds was 5 minutes.

by **Golden-bellied Starfrontlet** » Sat May 19, 2012 8:35 pm

This was really well run and I had a great time. Thanks to Northwestern and Coach Blessman for running this, and good luck to all teams tomorrow at Wildcat!

by **sssssssskkkk** » Sat May 19, 2012 9:03 pm

Just a minor correction in the stats...for IMSA A's Round 6 game against "Something Ambiguous," I believe Webster and Eric's stats are switched according to my own records.

Good tournament all-around. It ran smoothly and we got 14 rounds done by 5, which was pretty nice.

by **in on these shenanigans** » Sat May 19, 2012 10:10 pm

A great tournament; from a directing standpoint, you guys did all the little things right, like rotating teams in and out of rooms (that is, as a reader, I saw each team at least twice), had prompt staaats, etc.

Looking forward to tomorrow!

by **MorganV** » Sun May 20, 2012 12:24 am

The score for our game against Belvidere North is off - I have it as 320-235, which Dylan Minarik's twitter updates seem to corroborate.

Thanks to Dan-Don for running a great tournament, and, of course, for letting us use his rooms afterward for trash.

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