2020 NAQT ICT: CANCELED

[Important Bird Area]

Edit: this tournament has been canceled; please refer to our statement about public health and the cancellation of the 2020 ICT

NAQT has announced tentative logistics details for the 2020 Intercollegiate Championship Tournament, powered by LetterOne, which will be held on April 3-4, 2020 at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare hotel near Chicago.

full details

[Important Bird Area]

Registration for the 2020 ICT is now open. Qualified teams may now register here. [edit 3/11: links removed now that we are no longer able to take registrations]

[Important Bird Area]

NAQT and LetterOne regret to inform the quiz bowl community of the cancellation of the 2020 Intercollegiate Championship Tournament, which had been scheduled to take place April 3–4, 2020 at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, NAQT determined that hosting an event with a geographically diverse field at this time would pose an unacceptable risk to the health of attendees and their communities. In addition, the increasing restrictions on university-sponsored travel make it difficult or impossible for an event held this April to have the size and strength of field that we expect at our flagship collegiate event.

All registered teams who have already paid will receive a refund. No cancellation fees will be charged for the 2020 ICT; any cancellation fees we have collected will be returned.

We have not yet decided on a policy regarding Division II eligibility for players who qualified for the 2020 ICT. We will announce a policy covering this (and other outstanding questions posed by the tournament’s cancellation) by late summer 2020.

Invitations issued for the 2020 ICT will not carry over to the 2021 ICT. We expect that we will be able to run Sectional Championship Tournaments in February 2021, and teams should plan to qualify normally for the 2021 ICT.

We know this decision is disappointing to everyone who was looking forward to competing at the 2020 ICT. We hope the quiz bowl community stays safe and healthy, and we look forward to seeing all of you at future NAQT events.

[CaseyB]

edit: post made in error

[DumbJaques]

This was definitely the right call, based on available information. I know it's disappointing, but there really was no other option.

Is there absolutely no possibility of delaying the event and hosting it over the summer somewhere (perhaps somewhere low-cost, like a university)? [I'm sure there are tons of factors I'm not aware of here - just asking.]

[naan/steak-holding toll]

Is there absolutely no possibility of delaying the event and hosting it over the summer somewhere (perhaps somewhere low-cost, like a university)? [I'm sure there are tons of factors I'm not aware of here - just asking.]

Seconded, and I'd definitely be willing to help figure out this plan. If there's a price premium due to the (probable) lower field size, I think that would be more than understandable.

[Important Bird Area]

In theory, we would very much like to reschedule the ICT. However, it involves a lot of planning, especially in this case predicting a time at which travel will once more be possible without the concern of spreading COVID-19. If it is possible for us to reschedule, we will definitely announce that here... but for the time being, it is best to consider this a cancellation rather than a postponement.

[naan/steak-holding toll]

In theory, we would very much like to reschedule the ICT. However, it involves a lot of planning, especially in this case predicting a time at which travel will once more be possible without the concern of spreading COVID-19. If it is possible for us to reschedule, we will definitely announce that here... but for the time being, it is best to consider this a cancellation rather than a postponement.

On behalf of the community, I'm very grateful that NAQT is putting player safety first. I hope sincerely that this time comes relatively soon and heartily volunteer my efforts to help arrange an agreeable situation.

[Ike]

Speaking only as an observer who has no knowledge of NAQT's financials,

I suspect that a lot of the uncertainty regarding the status of the other national tournaments that NAQT puts on makes rescheduling ICT a relatively low priority. Championship season NAQT is where a lot of the revenue comes from, and the potential loss of revenue from those tournaments' cancellation makes what I suspect is a very stressful time for NAQT's personnel. It wouldn't surprise me if NAQT's members are more worried about paying the bills than trying to schedule a replacement tournament for their smallest flagship tournament right now.

Ike