Set Used
We will be using NAQT Invitational Series Packet 188, a standard-difficulty set for high school teams. We hope that all teams planning to attend Princeton University's PHSAT and Delaware Valley's Tri-State Tussle, as well as any MasterMinds events in Upstate NY will consider competing in this tournament, as the set will not conflict with any of these events.
Registration
Registration for this tournament will be handled through the tournament registration page on the NAQT website. You will need to log in to the NAQT site in order to register; if you do not already have an account, you can quickly create one on that site. On initial registration, please provide your school name, number of teams intended (this can be changed later), your name/contact information, the number of buzzer systems and staffers you are bringing, and any other information we should know. You can complete registration without listing a roster; that step can come later. Payment will be due upon arrival at IHS on the 9th, but feel free to mail checks ahead of time to Ithaca High School Brain Team, 1401 N Cayuga St, Ithaca, NY 14850. Registration will close on Friday, November 1st
Fee Structure
The base price is $85 for the first team and $75 for each additional team. We are also offering the following discounts:
- -$5 per functional buzzer system, capable of support four players per side (please bring extension cords if you have them!)
- -$10 per staffer provided by the school
- -$10 per 150 miles traveled to IHS (one way, according to Google Maps).
- -$20 for any new school/program (a school that has never played at either a BrainBusters Fall or Spring event in the past)
On-site Contact Information
This tournament will be directed by IHS Quizbowl team coach and adviser Benjamin Kirk. He can be reached for questions at [email protected] or contacted via department phone at (607) 274-2191. An emergency cell phone contact will be provided to registered teams, or to those who request it via email.
Lunch
We expect that the IHS International Club will continue their tradition of offering a pizza or sub sandwich lunch and ala carte International Tasting Bar on-site for lunch in the IHS Cafeteria. We recommend staying at the school for lunch or bringing your own, since the nearest restaurants are 2+ miles away in heavy and unpredictable Ithaca weekend traffic. You may leave for lunch at your own risk, but with the warning that we will restart the tournament promptly at the announced restart time, and will start reading packets to whomever is in place at that time.
Tournament Format
Games will consist of 20 tossup/bonus pairs, read in untimed matches. During play, we will use ACF five second timing rules (five seconds to buzz in after tossup completion, five seconds to start answer to tossup after buzz, five seconds to start answer to bonus after bonus completion). The exact bracketing format used will depend on the final number of registered teams, but we expect to run a quasi-seeded round robin format in the morning, followed by a rebracketing and another round robin after lunch, with a single final match to determine tournament champion if needed.
Top finishers will qualify for the 2020 NAQT High School National Championship in Atlanta and the 2020 NAQT Small School National Championship Tournament in Chicago, and we anticipate they will also qualify for the 2020 PACE National Scholastic Championship, also in Chicago
Field List (Teams/Buzzers/Staffers)
Adirondack Central*, NY (3/3/1)
Berwick, PA (2/1/0)
Bishop Ludden*, NY (3/0/1)
Brighton, NY (1/0/0)
Cooperstown*, NY (2/2/0)
Delaware Valley, PA (2/2/1)
Detroit Catholic Central, MI (3/1/0)
Geneva*, NY (2/3/2)
Lakeland*, PA (3/1/1)
Laurens Central, NY (1/1/0)
Marcus Whitman, NY (1/0/1)
Moravia*, NY (1/0/0)
Troy, NY (1/0/0)
Union Springs*, NY (1/1/0)
Wallenpaupack, PA (2/3/1)
Whitney Point*, NY (1/0/0)
Total: 28/28
*Qualify as small schools per NAQT guidelines
We look forward to hosting this tournament, and we hope to see a great turnout of local and regional teams!