HAMLET [03/30/2024, SWAMP + QUAOAR]

[tanayb07]

I am excited to announce HAMLET, or the High-School Academic Mira Loma Early-Spring Tournament, which will be held online on Saturday, March 30th, 2024. This tournament will be directed by Mira Loma's quiz bowl club officers (Tanay Bodducherla, Aatreyo Bhattacharyya, and Elyas Nuh).

Rules and Eligibility
This tournament is open only to teams located in California. Teams from other states may request to play but will be admitted on a case by case basis by the tournament directors. All teams must consist of players from the same school. Each time is permitted to have up to 6 players on their roster, but only 4 players may play at a time. We will be using standard NAQT gameplay rules, with the only change being using 5 second timing rules for buzzes and bonuses.

Since this tournament is online, all players will be required to show both hands in the frame of their video at all times. Any claims of cheating will be seriously investigated, and the tournament directors reserve the right to remove any players from the tournament if they are found cheating.

Format
This tournament will have both Varsity and Junior Varsity divisions. The Varsity division will be mirroring SWAMP, a high school regular difficulty set, while the Junior Varsity division will be using QUAOAR, a set of high school novice / middle school difficulty. Middle school teams are encouraged to sign up and are allowed to participate in either division, based on their skill level.

The initial field cap will be 10 teams for each division, but this will likely be increased if there is sufficient interest and enough moderators. All teams will be guaranteed a minimum of nine games.

This tournament will be held over Discord, with players using Buzzin.live to buzz. The tournament will begin at 9 AM Pacific Time, with a short opening meeting before the first round.

Registration
Teams should sign up using this form. The field for both divisions will be updated on this spreadsheet.

Teams will have until the end of the day on Thursday, March 28th, to sign up or drop from the tournament. Teams that drop after this deadline will be responsible to pay for the full cost of their registration.

Fees and Payment
Base Fee: $80 per team
Team-provided staff discount: -$25 per staffer

Payment information and further details will be sent to teams by email closer to the date of the tournament.

Miscellaneous Information
We are trying to make this tournament a PACE qualifier, allowing the top teams to qualify to attend the PACE NSC in Washington DC. The status of this will be updated closer to the date of the tournament.

This tournament will be staffed largely by members of Mira Loma's quiz bowl club, but external staffers are welcomed. Staffers will be paid $25 for moderating the entire day, and can sign up at using this form.

We will be using TJ Sheets for this tournament, so detailed team and individual stats will be posted online once the tournament is over. Category statistics may be generated if time permits.

Contact
If you have any questions about the tournament, please email [email protected] or [email protected]. We hope to see your team at HAMLET!