Michigan Autumn Classic (12/05/09)
Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 10:54 pm
Hello everyone,
It’s that time of year again! Michigan Academic Competitions is pleased to invite your team to the 2009 Autumn Classic on Saturday, December 5, 2009, at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Since 1995, Michigan Academic Competitions has hosted numerous tournaments for high schools throughout the state of Michigan. We continue this tradition in this year’s Autumn Classic, where we hope to draw some of the finest schools from the region and beyond.
This event will be run with questions provided by NAQT (IS–90). Teams entering the 2009 Autumn Classic will be able to qualify for the 2010 NAQT High School Championship.
OVERVIEW
Matches will consist of two nine-minute halves. In each half, the moderator reads questions until either time runs out or all 24 questions are exhausted. Players who answer correctly receive a bonus for their team worth up to 30 points. Questions come from all areas: science, math, history and government, literature, current events, geography, popular culture, fine arts, sports, mythology and religion, social science, and general knowledge. Academic knowledge is emphasized heavily.
We guarantee each team a minimum of six matches. The preliminary rounds will take the form of a pooled round robin to ensure that all teams have an opportunity to play against teams of equal skill. Top teams will play additional matches head-to-head to determine the tournament champion. Our goal is to maximize the number of matches each team plays. We will do our best to keep teams from the same school from playing each other in the preliminary rounds.
This tournament follows NAQT rules, which can be found in full at http://naqt.com/rules.html.
Schedule & Location
Registration begins at 8:15 a.m. There will be a mandatory meeting for players and coaches at 8:45 a.m. Rounds will start at 9:00 a.m. and continue through the morning and early afternoon with a lunch break around 1:00 p.m. Playoff rounds will follow, along with an awards ceremony at the end. The tournament should finish no later than 6:00 p.m.
The tournament will be held at Mason Hall on the University of Michigan’s Central Campus, just like in years past. More specifics on this will be sent out as the tournament date approaches.
REGISTRATION
Deadline: 5:00 p.m. Friday, November 20, 2009.
Registration for this event will be limited to 32 teams. We will accept teams on a first-come, first-served basis until the registration deadline. The first 32 teams to register are guaranteed slots; any teams who register after that will be place on the wait list.
Schools will initially be limited to two teams. Third teams and beyond will be placed on a separate wait list, also first-come, first-served, which will be used to complete the tournament field after registration closes. Teams may consist of any number of players, but only four may play at once. It is our hope, however, that every student who participates in the tournament gets a fair share of playing time.
To register, send an e-mail to [email protected] that includes the following information. (Note: Do not use the obsolete registration forms from our website.)
Survey
This is a survey of your preferences on tournament layout, and your opportunity to help us decide how the tournament is structured. For both questions, please talk with your teams about their preferences, and if teams and coaches have different opinions, please describe both.
1. The Autumn Classic playoffs have been run in the past as a single elimination tournament, with the top half of the field reaching the playoffs. Many tournaments have recently switched to other formats which allow teams to play more games. We know that some teams would like to play as many games as possible, but others want to leave immediately after lunch. Which of the following playoff formats appeal to you? Do you have any other suggestions? Multiple answers are fine, and please explain your choices.
a. Single elimination, as done in the past
b. Double elimination, which could more fairly determine a champion but takes extra rounds and allows teams eliminated from contention to leave.
c. Playoff brackets, where the top teams play each other in a round robin to determine a champion or reach a final
i) If you prefer these playoff brackets, should the teams in contention be cut to 8? 16?
ii) If your team was in a playoff bracket and lost the first couple of rounds, leaving you unlikely to be in title contention, would you leave?
d. Playoff brackets for all teams, with teams playing other teams with similar records from the prelims
e. I don’t care, any playoff
2. NAQT has discussed offering sets in which the computational math is replaced with other questions. The other questions in these sets would be identical to those in the normal IS set, and there would be more theoretical math questions included. If we have the option to choose between a set with or without computational math questions, which would you and your team prefer?
FEE
The fee for 2009 Autumn Classic is as follows.
First team from your school: $90
Additional team: $70
For US high schools, $ is USD. For Canadian high schools, $ is your choice of CAD or USD.
Discounts
You are eligible for a discount if you
Bring a fully functional buzzer system (limit two per school): –$10 each
Register by 5:00 p.m., November 13: –$10 per team
Are new to this tournament (have not participated in at least two years): –$10 per team
Travel a long distance, 100–275 miles: –$10 per team
Travel an extreme distance, over 275 miles: –$50 per team
Your distance will be determined based on the one way distance from your school to the tournament site according to maps.google.com. Discounts cannot reduce your fee total below $0.
Payment
Payment should be in the form of a check made out to ‹Michigan Academic Competitions›. We prefer you to bring it to the tournament and hand it to us at registration. Alternatively, you may mail the check to
Michigan Academic Competitions
c/o University Activities Center
4002 Michigan Union
530 S. State St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
FINAL INSTRUCTIONS
Once we receive your registration, we will send you an email showing your calculated fee. If you find an error in the calculated fee or you do not receive this email promptly, please email us immediately. Once we receive your school’s entry, we will send you a confirmation notice, tournament rules, area maps and directions, and other information to help you on tournament day. Check on our website for a Frequently Asked Questions that may answers some questions you have about the tournament (http://www.umich.edu/~uac/mac/).
If you have any questions about the tournament, feel free to contact us by e-mail at [email protected].
We look forward to seeing you on December 5!
Best regards,
Phil Guan
Tournament Director
Michigan Academic Competitions
It’s that time of year again! Michigan Academic Competitions is pleased to invite your team to the 2009 Autumn Classic on Saturday, December 5, 2009, at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Since 1995, Michigan Academic Competitions has hosted numerous tournaments for high schools throughout the state of Michigan. We continue this tradition in this year’s Autumn Classic, where we hope to draw some of the finest schools from the region and beyond.
This event will be run with questions provided by NAQT (IS–90). Teams entering the 2009 Autumn Classic will be able to qualify for the 2010 NAQT High School Championship.
OVERVIEW
Matches will consist of two nine-minute halves. In each half, the moderator reads questions until either time runs out or all 24 questions are exhausted. Players who answer correctly receive a bonus for their team worth up to 30 points. Questions come from all areas: science, math, history and government, literature, current events, geography, popular culture, fine arts, sports, mythology and religion, social science, and general knowledge. Academic knowledge is emphasized heavily.
We guarantee each team a minimum of six matches. The preliminary rounds will take the form of a pooled round robin to ensure that all teams have an opportunity to play against teams of equal skill. Top teams will play additional matches head-to-head to determine the tournament champion. Our goal is to maximize the number of matches each team plays. We will do our best to keep teams from the same school from playing each other in the preliminary rounds.
This tournament follows NAQT rules, which can be found in full at http://naqt.com/rules.html.
Schedule & Location
Registration begins at 8:15 a.m. There will be a mandatory meeting for players and coaches at 8:45 a.m. Rounds will start at 9:00 a.m. and continue through the morning and early afternoon with a lunch break around 1:00 p.m. Playoff rounds will follow, along with an awards ceremony at the end. The tournament should finish no later than 6:00 p.m.
The tournament will be held at Mason Hall on the University of Michigan’s Central Campus, just like in years past. More specifics on this will be sent out as the tournament date approaches.
REGISTRATION
Deadline: 5:00 p.m. Friday, November 20, 2009.
Registration for this event will be limited to 32 teams. We will accept teams on a first-come, first-served basis until the registration deadline. The first 32 teams to register are guaranteed slots; any teams who register after that will be place on the wait list.
Schools will initially be limited to two teams. Third teams and beyond will be placed on a separate wait list, also first-come, first-served, which will be used to complete the tournament field after registration closes. Teams may consist of any number of players, but only four may play at once. It is our hope, however, that every student who participates in the tournament gets a fair share of playing time.
To register, send an e-mail to [email protected] that includes the following information. (Note: Do not use the obsolete registration forms from our website.)
- Your name
- Your school
- Number of teams
- Number of buzzer systems you can bring
- Contact phone number
- Answers to the survey below
Survey
This is a survey of your preferences on tournament layout, and your opportunity to help us decide how the tournament is structured. For both questions, please talk with your teams about their preferences, and if teams and coaches have different opinions, please describe both.
1. The Autumn Classic playoffs have been run in the past as a single elimination tournament, with the top half of the field reaching the playoffs. Many tournaments have recently switched to other formats which allow teams to play more games. We know that some teams would like to play as many games as possible, but others want to leave immediately after lunch. Which of the following playoff formats appeal to you? Do you have any other suggestions? Multiple answers are fine, and please explain your choices.
a. Single elimination, as done in the past
b. Double elimination, which could more fairly determine a champion but takes extra rounds and allows teams eliminated from contention to leave.
c. Playoff brackets, where the top teams play each other in a round robin to determine a champion or reach a final
i) If you prefer these playoff brackets, should the teams in contention be cut to 8? 16?
ii) If your team was in a playoff bracket and lost the first couple of rounds, leaving you unlikely to be in title contention, would you leave?
d. Playoff brackets for all teams, with teams playing other teams with similar records from the prelims
e. I don’t care, any playoff
2. NAQT has discussed offering sets in which the computational math is replaced with other questions. The other questions in these sets would be identical to those in the normal IS set, and there would be more theoretical math questions included. If we have the option to choose between a set with or without computational math questions, which would you and your team prefer?
FEE
The fee for 2009 Autumn Classic is as follows.
First team from your school: $90
Additional team: $70
For US high schools, $ is USD. For Canadian high schools, $ is your choice of CAD or USD.
Discounts
You are eligible for a discount if you
Bring a fully functional buzzer system (limit two per school): –$10 each
Register by 5:00 p.m., November 13: –$10 per team
Are new to this tournament (have not participated in at least two years): –$10 per team
Travel a long distance, 100–275 miles: –$10 per team
Travel an extreme distance, over 275 miles: –$50 per team
Your distance will be determined based on the one way distance from your school to the tournament site according to maps.google.com. Discounts cannot reduce your fee total below $0.
Payment
Payment should be in the form of a check made out to ‹Michigan Academic Competitions›. We prefer you to bring it to the tournament and hand it to us at registration. Alternatively, you may mail the check to
Michigan Academic Competitions
c/o University Activities Center
4002 Michigan Union
530 S. State St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
FINAL INSTRUCTIONS
Once we receive your registration, we will send you an email showing your calculated fee. If you find an error in the calculated fee or you do not receive this email promptly, please email us immediately. Once we receive your school’s entry, we will send you a confirmation notice, tournament rules, area maps and directions, and other information to help you on tournament day. Check on our website for a Frequently Asked Questions that may answers some questions you have about the tournament (http://www.umich.edu/~uac/mac/).
If you have any questions about the tournament, feel free to contact us by e-mail at [email protected].
We look forward to seeing you on December 5!
Best regards,
Phil Guan
Tournament Director
Michigan Academic Competitions