2011 NAQT SCT

[master15625]

Thanks very much.

Is there a place we register, just like the other sites do, online?

Thanks.

[Important Bird Area]

Yes, and I was hoping this would be up this morning. Let me just check to see if can do this myself, or if it takes R.-level admin privileges on naqt.com...

Edit: done. You can register for the New England SCT here.

[Important Bird Area]

Just as a reminder: if your school wants to send teams to more than one SCT, you need to ask us for permission first. (In general, we will probably grant requests of the form "this will make travel easier/cheaper somehow" and probably deny requests of the form "we're trying to qualify our B team for ICT".)

[Maxwell Sniffingwell]

Is there a place to go to get a quick run-down on DI-DII combined SCTs? In particular, I'm curious about how many teams would be needed to avoid a combined field and how qualification from such a field works.

[dtaylor4]

Is there a place to go to get a quick run-down on DI-DII combined SCTs? In particular, I'm curious about how many teams would be needed to avoid a combined field and how qualification from such a field works.

You need 4 in a division to avoid a combined field.

[Important Bird Area]

There doesn't seem to be a guide to this on naqt.com; that's something I should write over the summer for the 2012 SCT.

Meanwhile:

-As Donald notes, it requires four teams in a division to avoid a combined field.

-Combined fields use the question set appropriate to a majority of the teams in the field. In the case of 2, 4, or 6 team fields evenly divided between the two divisions, NAQT makes a decision as to which set is appropriate, given the experience of the players involved.

-Division I teams do not get autobids for winning a combined field*; they may, however, qualify for ICT depending on the strength of their D-value. A Division II team that wins a combined-field SCT with at least four teams in attendance does receive an autobid.

*(unless there are at least four Division I teams in attendance)

Update 2/14: R. informs me that the above is subtly incorrect; the overall champion of an SCT with at least four teams always receives an autobid, no matter the division structure involved.

[Important Bird Area]

The last day for players to request an eligibility exception to compete in the 2011 Sectional Championship Tournaments is Saturday, January 29, 2011. To request an exception, send an e-mail to [email protected].

[Important Bird Area]

Crossposting from the Region 7 thread, where there was a question about discounts for teams with fewer than four players:

Shorthanded teams are free to ask SCT hosts for discounts (as applicable to their situation). Hosts are still required to send NAQT the standard per-team fee ($40 for the first team and $35 from subsequent teams; $20 new-team discount)

[Matt Weiner]

Some of the SCT announcements on ACUI websites have copied over boilerplate ACUI language about requiring advisors, eligibility forms, or presence at a Friday night orientation meeting on penalty of fines or disqualification. Can I trust that quizbowl teams are blanketly exempt from these policies and that NAQT will back us up if anyone is misinformed about that fact?

[bmcke]

Hosts are still required to send NAQT the standard per-team fee ($40 for the first team and $35 from subsequent teams; $20 new-team discount)

Hosts send fees to NAQT? This only applies when teams pay the hosts directly, right?

[alexdz]

Any idea when eligibility exceptions will be confirmed or denied? In Region 11, Fort Hays State is the one I'm concerned about. I'm trying to pull staff, and it would be helpful to know how many more staff I need.

[Mechanical Beasts]

Hosts are still required to send NAQT the standard per-team fee ($40 for the first team and $35 from subsequent teams; $20 new-team discount)

Hosts send fees to NAQT? This only applies when teams pay the hosts directly, right?

Yeah, my understanding of what happened last year is that we just receive $n less in the mail from NAQT.

[Important Bird Area]

Can I trust that quizbowl teams are blanketly exempt from these policies and that NAQT will back us up if anyone is misinformed about that fact?

Yes.

[Important Bird Area]

Hosts are still required to send NAQT the standard per-team fee ($40 for the first team and $35 from subsequent teams; $20 new-team discount)

Hosts send fees to NAQT? This only applies when teams pay the hosts directly, right?

That is correct; we invoice teams directly and will then reimburse the hosts following SCT. The only case where hosts should be collecting payment from teams is the (rare) case of a team that insists on paying in cash.

[Important Bird Area]

Any idea when eligibility exceptions will be confirmed or denied?

Soon. I will ask R. for an update as to "how soon".

[Important Bird Area]

SCT has been completed and was delivered to the hosts earlier this morning.

If you're hosting an SCT and have not received packets in your inbox, please contact me immediately.

[Important Bird Area]

The protest committee for the 2011 SCT will be Jeff Hoppes, R. Robert Hentzel, Andrew Yaphe, and Matt Keller.

You can contact us tomorrow at 1(888) 411-NAQT (411-6278).

(This is also the appropriate number to report travel/logistics issues, of the form "our car has a flat tire and we can't get in touch with the TD," etc.)

[Important Bird Area]

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has agreed to assist in staffing the Region 2 SCT at SUNY-New Paltz. The RPI program will receive one automatic bid to the ICT.

Thanks to Aaron Cohen and his teammates for their willingness to help us out with staffing on short notice.

[jonpin]

There doesn't seem to be a guide to this on naqt.com; that's something I should write over the summer for the 2012 SCT.

Meanwhile:

-As Donald notes, it requires four teams in a division to avoid a combined field.

-Combined fields use the question set appropriate to a majority of the teams in the field. In the case of 2, 4, or 6 team fields evenly divided between the two divisions, NAQT makes a decision as to which set is appropriate, given the experience of the players involved.

-Division I teams do not get autobids for winning a combined field*; they may, however, qualify for ICT depending on the strength of their D-value. A Division II team that wins a combined-field SCT with at least four teams in attendance does receive an autobid.

*(unless there are at least four Division I teams in attendance)

Update 2/14: R. informs me that the above is subtly incorrect; the overall champion of an SCT with at least four teams always receives an autobid, no matter the division structure involved.

In regards to the update, is this a rule change for this year? Last year, the only teams that this rule could have affected were Illinois-A (http://justpredictions.webs.com/quizbow ... egion9.htm) and Rice (http://justpredictions.webs.com/quizbow ... gion12.htm). At the time, I was told Rice (as D-2 champion of a D-1-heavy combined field) did receive a bid, but Illinois (as D-1 champion of a D-2-heavy combined field) did not (so as to not reward a single D-1 team that beats multiple D-2 teams automatically qualifying, despite them possibly having poor statistics. Obviously, Illinois's statistics were sufficient to qualify them, but I distinctly recall worry on the part of some of their players that the strength-of-schedule and divisional-adjustment would leave them close to or below the cutoff.

[Important Bird Area]

I distinctly recall worry on the part of some of their players that the strength-of-schedule and divisional-adjustment would leave them close to or below the cutoff.

I recall this as well; basically, I was wrong and Illinois A did automatically qualify last year. My apologies for the ongoing confusion about this issue.