Alabama Quiz Bowl 2023-24

[osbornrj]

Thought I'd go ahead and start a new thread for Alabama for 2023-24!

I'll kick it off with the good news that AIAA GHS will once again host the following tournament:

AIAA Rocket City Invitational
Date: Feb. 3, 2024
Type: Regular Season
Level: High School Varsity
Question Set: NAQT IS-226
Location: Business Administration Building at the University of Alabama Huntsville
Host: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Greater Huntsville Section
Contact: Robin Osborne, [email protected]
Cap: 24 teams
Fee: $60 per team
Buzzer Discount: -$5 per buzzer set
Minimum fee per team: $50

NAQT rules will be used, with the following exceptions:
1) Each team is limited to a maximum of 6 players.
2) Matches are not timed.
3) On bonuses, moderators will only accept answers from the team captain, unless the team captain tells the moderator they want to defer to one of their teammates.

This tournament is for Alabama and Mississippi teams only (this is the region AIAA GHS serves), and only one team per school may register. Priority will be given to high school teams.

Awards:
The top teams will receive trophies and cash prizes as follows:
1st place: $1000
2nd place: $750
3rd place: $500
4th place: $250

The top 10 individual scorers will receive awards.

All awards and cash prizes are made possible through the generous sponsorships of Jacobs Space Exploration Group and ERC.

Registration link: https://www.naqt.com/go/register/14882

Volunteer support for this tournament:
As has been the case in the past, many of our volunteers will be AIAA UAH student branch members, AIAA GHS members, and other Huntsville aerospace professionals. However, I'd love to get additional non-members who are seasoned moderators to help us out. Send me an e-mail at [email protected] if you're interested in serving as a moderator.

[Sima Guang Hater]

Hello neighbors - as you consider your schedule for next year, please consider coming to USN for our fall tournament on 9/30. Here is the announcement: viewtopic.php?t=27185

[quizbowllee]

Hello neighbors - as you consider your schedule for next year, please consider coming to USN for our fall tournament on 9/30. Here is the announcement: viewtopic.php?t=27185

Hey, Eric.

Unfortunately, this is the weekend that our "Alabama Scholars' Bowl" TV Show films in Montgomery. So, most of the Alabama teams will be unavailable that weekend.

[osbornrj]

Registration is now open for the Rocket City Invitational scheduled for Feb. 3:
https://www.naqt.com/go/register/14882

[osbornrj]

Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering will host the following in-person tournament:

Sentinel Invitational Tournament
Date: Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023
Tournament Time: Check-in starts at 8:30 a.m., with Round 1 set to begin at 9 a.m.
Location: 229 Wynn Dr NW, Huntsville, AL 35805
Host: Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering (ASCTE)
Type: Regular Season
Divisions: Elementary and Middle School
Players per team: 6 max (4 players and 2 alternates)
Cap: 8 teams (Elem) and 18 teams (MS), with priority given to AL schools
Fee: $80 per team
Buzzer discount: -$5 per buzzer set
Minimum fee per team: $70

Question set: Sentinel CYBER (Competitive Youths Battling Educated Rivals)
Question Format: 20 pyramidal tossups paired with 20 three-part bonus sets
Difficulty: Middle School / Novice High School
For more info on the question set, visit this page: https://hsquizbowl.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=27220

Tournament Format:

• Elem Division will be a round robin. The team with the best record wins. If several teams are tied for the best record, the top two (as determined by average team score) will play in an advantaged finals match, with the 1st place team winning two games against the 2nd place team.

• MS Division will consist of two brackets of six teams. Each bracket will play five preliminary matches. The top two teams from each bracket, as determined by record and then average score, will advance to semifinals. After semifinals, the top two teams will play an advantaged finals match, with the 1st place team winning two games against the 2nd place team.

NAQT rules will be used (including powers and negs), with the following exceptions:
1) Each team is limited to a maximum of 6 players (4 players and 2 alternates)
2) Matches are not timed
3) On bonuses, moderators will only accept answers from the team captain, unless the team captain tells the moderator they want to defer to one of their teammates

Awards:
Elem: 1st place team will receive a trophy; top 5 individual scorers will receive medals
MS: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place teams will receive trophies; top 10 individual scorers will receive medals

Registration Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIp ... g/viewform

Field (as of 9/28/2023):

Middle School Division (12 teams)
Athens Bible School A
Discovery A
Discovery B
Gadsden A
Gadsden B
Journey
Monrovia A
Monrovia B
Rainbow A
St. Bernard Prep
Thompson
West Point

Elementary Division (8 teams)
Athens Bible School B
Discovery C
Discovery D
Discovery E
Gadsden C
Liberty
Monrovia C
Rainbow B

Teams Bringing Buzzer Systems
Athens Bible School (qty 1)
Discovery (qty 3)
Gadsden (qty 1)
Journey (qty 1)
Liberty (qty 1)
St. Bernard Prep (qty 1)
Thompson (qty 1)

[osbornrj]

Registration is now open for the Sentinel Invitational Tournament! Please see original post (just above this one) for the link to the registration form.

[quizbowlchamp1]

Hi. I am a player for the Rainbow A team. I was present at the Sentinel Invitational last year. While sifting through the official NAQT website, I did not see this tournament as qualifying for the NAQT MSNCT. Last year, winners of this tournament were able to qualify. Please clear up the confusion. Thank you.

[Important Bird Area]

In general, only events using NAQT questions will qualify teams automatically for our national championships. (This year's Sentinel event, unlike last year's, will be using a non-NAQT set.)

That being said, we very much encourage teams with a record of strong performance at non-NAQT events to apply for wildcard bids to our national championships.

[osbornrj]

Thank you to all the coaches and teams who attended the Sentinel Invitational Tournament!

Congratulations to these winners of the MS division:
1st: Gadsden Middle School
2nd: Monrovia Middle School
3rd: Rainbow Middle School

Congratulations to the winner of the Elem division, Gadsden Middle School.

The MVP for the MS division was Russ McGlaughn from Rainbow Middle School, with 126 PP20TUH.
The MVP for the Elem division was Jack McCloud from Discovery Middle School, with 66 PP20TUH.

Full tournament stats are posted here:
https://hsquizbowl.org/db/tournaments/8296/

Robin

[osbornrj]

The field for the AIAA GHS Rocket City Invitational has been increased from 18 to 24, and several waitlisted teams have been promoted. There are 3 spots available for Alabama or Mississippi teams. See post at the top of this page for a detailed description of the tournament.

Registration link: https://www.naqt.com/go/register/14882

Field as of 12/5/2023 (21 of 24 slots filled)
Alabama Cyber Tech
Arab
Austin
Baker
Bob Jones
Decatur
Douglas
Florence
Gadsden City
Grissom
Guntersville
Hewitt-Trussville
Holy Spirit
Hoover
James Clemens
Muscle Shoals
New Century
Pelham
Russellville
Southside
Westbrook Christian

[osbornrj]

Only slot left for the AIAA GHS Rocket City Invitational!

Registration link: https://www.naqt.com/go/register/14882

Field as of 12/15/2023 (23 of 24 slots filled)
Alabama Cyber Tech
Arab
Austin
Baker
Bob Jones
Decatur
Douglas
Florence
Gadsden City
Grissom
Guntersville
Haleyville
Hewitt-Trussville
Holy Spirit
Hoover
James Clemens
Muscle Shoals
New Century
Pelham
Russellville
Southside
Spain Park
Westbrook Christian

[osbornrj]

The field is now full for the AIAA GHS Rocket City Invitational.

If there are any teams interested in participating, feel free to add yourself to the waitlist. If you're local to the Huntsville/Madison area, you're welcome to sign up as a standby team.
Registration link: https://www.naqt.com/go/register/14882

Field as of 1/21/2024 (24 of 24 slots filled):
Alabama Cyber Tech (Huntsville, AL)
Arab (Arab, AL)
Austin (Decatur, AL)
Baker (Mobile, AL)
Bob Jones (Madison, AL)
Decatur (Decatur, AL)
Douglas (Douglas, AL)
Florence (Florence, AL)
Gadsden City (Gadsden, AL)
Grissom (Huntsville, AL)
Guntersville (Guntersville, AL)
Haleyville (Haleyville, AL)
Hartselle (Hartselle, AL)
Hewitt-Trussville (Trussville, AL)
Holy Spirit (Tuscaloosa, AL)
Hoover (Hoover, AL)
James Clemens (Madison, AL)
Muscle Shoals (Muscle Shoals, AL)
New Century (Huntsville, AL)
Pelham (Pelham, AL)
Russellville (Russellville, AL)
Southside (Southside, AL)
Spain Park (Hoover, AL)
Westbrook Christian (Rainbow City, AL)

[osbornrj]

One team had to drop out from RCI today. Looking for one team from Alabama or Mississippi to fill the empty slot. I'm reducing the registration fee from $60 to $30.

[osbornrj]

With the Rocket City Invitational Tournament only one week away (Saturday, Feb. 3), I’m waiving the $60 registration fee for the school that takes the last slot! I'm also open to allowing a high-performing middle school team to take the last slot.

Registration site:
https://www.naqt.com/go/field/14882

[osbornrj]

Congratulations to Hoover High School for their stellar performance at the Rocket City Invitational held on Feb. 3 at UAH! They went undefeated 9-0.

Our top 4 teams were as follows:
1st – Hoover High School
2nd – Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering
3rd – Spain Park High School
4th – Gadsden City High School

I’ve posted the full tournament stats here: https://hsquizbowl.org/db/tournaments/8281/
Stats are also posted on NAQT's website: https://www.naqt.com/stats/tournament/s ... t_id=14882

Thank you to everyone involved in this event - especially the volunteers! We seriously had a great group of volunteers, which included Christopher Arthur and Laura Morgan. A special thanks to moderators Will McCurley, Eshan Pokhrel, Jared Sauer, and Braeden Hayes - all recent high school grads who themselves are top-notch players. I appreciate them taking time away from their busy college life to help support this event.

Robin

[osbornrj]

A write-up about the Rocket City Quiz Bowl tournament is now posted on the AIAA GHS website:
https://tinyurl.com/4k8y972a

Best regards,
Robin