2020-2021 California Cup

[njsbling]

Cal Cup #4 will take place on Discord on Saturday, February 13. Registration takes place via this form => https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIp ... w/viewform

The Northern California Quiz Bowl Alliance is pleased to announce the ninth annual California Cup. The California Cup consists of four quiz bowl tournaments held throughout the year, and it is widely considered the premier academic competition event in Northern California. For each tournament, we will have check-in at 8:30AM, matches will start at about 9:00AM, we will have a lunch break around noon, and we hope most teams will finish by 5:00PM. It is likely that all four competitions for the 2020-2021 school year will take place online on Discord.

For Cal Cup #1, we are setting an initial field cap of 16 teams for each of the three 3 divisions; we will evaluate the possibility of accommodating more teams when we have a better idea of the staffing situation.

Tournament Dates and Locations:
California Cup #1: Saturday, November 14 on Discord
California Cup #2: Saturday, December 19 on Discord
California Cup #3: Saturday, January 16 on Discord
California Cup #4: Saturday, February 13 on Discord

Question Sets:
Cal Cup 1 will use NAQT IS-197 for Competitive+Standard and NAQT IS-196A for Novice
Cal Cup 2 will use LONE STAR for Competitive+Standard and MOQBA Novice for Novice
Cal Cup 3 will use SATURNALIA for Competitive, RAFT II for Standard, and ERIS for Novice
Cal Cup 4 will use DART for Competitive+Standard and NAQT IS-194A for Novice

New This Year:
1) We are not offering "the package" as we have in previous years. Teams will pay for each competition separately; the base entry fee is $75 per team (per tournament)
2) There is no buzzer discount
3) The New School Discount is $35 per team
4) Most teams should expect to play around 7 matches in total; the playoff format (to be announced) will likely change significantly from previous years
5) This competition is open to schools in Northern and Central California but teams in Southern California (LA/SD) and other states may not compete
6) We are paying staff $20 per tournament for their full-day assistance

Registration:
We are not offering "the package" as we have in previous years. Teams will pay for each competition separately.

We offer a lot of flexibility in allowing drops from the field right up to 6PM PST of the day before the tournament. If you must drop from a tournament after 6PM the day before the tournament, you will be liable for 50% of the cost of the upcoming tournament. If you do not show up at a tournament without informing us, you will be liable for the full price of the tournament. Exceptions to these policies will be made only in case of emergency. By signing up for the California Cup tournament series, you agree to these policies.

Entry Fees:
Registering for a single tournament: $75 per team
New school registering for a single tournament: $40 per team

Staff discounts:
-$20 per tournament per approved moderator and scoreekeper (if needed)
Referral discount: If a school (new or established) refers Cal Cup to a new school then they will receive a $10 discount per tournament per team that the referred school plays.

Staff discounts apply on an as-needed, first-come, first-serve basis. When registering, please detail how many staff you may be able to bring. As the tournament approaches, we will let you know whether they are needed or not. Note that discounts for future tournaments will NOT be given at any particular tournament.

Payment:
We are only accepting payment by check for this competition.

Division Information:
The Cal Cup competitions will each consist of three divisions: Competitive, Standard, and Novice.

The Competitive division is intended to contain teams that would be ranked among the top few hundred in the nation. Any team that is currently ranked by [TBA] must compete in Competitive. The rest of the teams who belong in the Competitive division are solely up to the discretion of the directors. Generally, any team composition reasonably close to the team composition that is either ranked by [TBA] or deemed by us to be of Competitive caliber (where “reasonably close” is a standard that is at our sole discretion) must compete in Competitive.

The Standard division contains teams that (1) are not required to play Competitive, (2) do not qualify to play Novice, and (3) choose not to play Competitive. This division will use regular high school difficulty sets and allow teams of strength generally below that of nationally competitive teams to play against other such teams.

Novice teams are intended to be entirely comprised of players in their first or second years of playing high school-level quiz bowl, with players in their second year of playing quiz bowl being admitted at our discretion (under special circumstances, we may allow players with more than two years of experience to play Novice). Generally, this division is intended for players who are actually new to the game and is tailored towards awarding a title to players who have just started playing. Hence, there is a maximum of one year of Novice eligibility for players who play a full slate of Novice tournaments over the course of the entire school year.

Middle school players who have only played middle school questions may play Novice. Middle school players who have played high school questions are subject to the same standards as high school teams, with the possibility of somewhat more leniency for those in their second year of playing high school questions.

Scoring and Gameplay:

We will enforce all the gameplay rules as they are written in Sections C-I of the official rules of the Academic Competition Federation, so all players should familiarize themselves with these rules before playing these tournaments. Pay special attention to timing, pronunciation, and protest guidelines, as players often lose points by not knowing these.

Nationals Qualification:
November 14 California Cup #1 is a qualifier for the 2021 NAQT High School National Championship Tournament and Small School National Championship Tournament.

[PACE qualifier status TBA]

Thank you for your interest, and please spread the word to other high schools that are interested in quiz bowl or are heavily involved in other academic events like debate, robotics, or Science Bowl. We look forward to another exciting year of academic competition!

You can find out more about what quiz bowl is here here and you can find more quiz bowl-pertinent resources here.

Contact:
Please contact us at [email protected] if you have any questions.

[njsbling]

Cal Cup #4 field as of February 12 (54):

Competitive (14):
Amador Valley
Bellarmine
California
Dublin
Eriksen
Evergreen
Guilder
Harker
Lowell
Mira Loma
Mission San Jose
Sagittarius
Saratoga
Stanford Online

Standard (19):
Bellarmine
Campolindo
Churchill (3)
Eriksen
Fremont Christian
Gunn
Harker
Harvest Park
JFK
King's Academy A
Mission San Jose
Saint Francis
San Mateo
Saratoga
Vista Del Lago (2)
Washington

Novice (20):
Challenger-Ardenwood
Challenger-Berryessa (2)
Challenger-Shawnee
Challenger-Strawberry Park (2)
Dublin
Harvest Park
Head-Royce
King's Academy
Lowell (2)
Mission San Jose (2)
Miramonte
Owens
Sacramento Country Day
Saratoga
Stanford Online B
Summit Prep

[theaetetus]

What is the status of the wait list? Asking for DV.