Now that the Missouri Fall Academic Tournament has completed, it's time to start this year's nationals bids thread! Congratulations to Hickman and Salem for earning bids to NAQT HSNCT, and to Ladue and North Kansas City for earning bids to both HSNCT and PACE NSC!

The Missouri Quizbowl Alliance encourages all teams to work towards qualifying for two high quality national tournaments, which regularly feature highly competitive fields of the nation's top teams. This post provides information about how to qualify for these tournaments, a list of qualifying tournaments, as well as a list of Missouri teams that have qualified for the 2010 iterations of these tournaments.
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NAQT High School National Championship Tournament

The 2010 NAQT High School National Championship Tournament will be held on May 28-30, 2010.

HSNCT Qualification Criteria
1. Finishing in the top 15% of the field at any event that uses NAQT questions.
2. Finishing as the highest-placed team at an NAQT State Championship or NAQT State Qualifier that had not qualified for the HSNCT prior to the state tournament.
3. Being the top team from a small (public) school (by NAQT's definition) at any event that uses NAQT questions, so long as the team also finishes at least tied for the median position in the overall standings. (NAQT defines a small school as one with "fewer than 500 students in grades 10-12 and a non-selective admission policy.")
4. Winning any class or division of an official state championship with rules and questions similar to those of NAQT.

While NAQT also allows qualification through wildcard bids, MSHSAA rules currently prohibit Missouri teams from attending a national tournament on a wildcard bid. Full details about qualifying for HSNCT are available on NAQT's website.

HSNCT Fees/Discounts
* Base fee (on or before April 23): $565; (after April 23) $585 [If you first qualify after April 1 the cutoff date is May 10]
* Buzzer systems: -$30 per system, each team may claim up to two such discounts. Lockout systems will be tested at check-in, and those that don't have at least eight functioning buzzers will be denied the discount.
* Qualified, experienced scorekeeper: -$75 discount. This scorekeeper will not necessarily scorekeep for his or her school's matches; he or she will be assigned as the tournament director sees fit. Also, a team claiming this discount must still have at least one adult coach/chaperone with the team at all matches.

Upcoming HSNCT Qualifiers in Missouri
These tournaments, announced as of November 23, 2009, will serve as qualifiers for the 2010 NAQT HSNCT:

* Villa Duchesne Invitational on February 20, 2010.
* Missouri S&T Spring Tournament on March 6, 2010.
* NAQT Missouri Qualifier on March 20, 2010.

HSNCT Qualifiers already held
* Missouri Fall Academic Tournament [16 teams] on October 10, 2009. (Qualified: Ladue, North Kansas City, Hickman, Salem)
* Missouri State Fall Academic Tournament [18 teams] on November 14, 2009. (MO teams qualified: Savannah, Richland)
* Spirit of St. Louis Warm-up [16 teams] on November 21, 2009. (Qualified: Parkway Central, Priory, Villa Duchesne)
* Hillcrest Academic Team Tournament [7 teams] on January 19, 2010. (Qualified: Kickapoo, Parkview)

Missouri Teams Qualified for HSNCT
* Hickman (at Missouri Fall)
* Kickapoo (at Hillcrest)
* Ladue (at Missouri Fall)
* North Kansas City (at Missouri Fall)
* Parkview (at Hillcrest)
* Parkway Central (at Spirit of St. Louis Warm-up)
* Priory (at Spirit of St. Louis Warm-up)
* Richland (at Missouri State Fall) [small school eligible]
* Salem (at Missouri Fall) [small school eligible]
* Savannah (at Missouri State Fall)
* Villa Duchesne (at Spirit of St. Louis Warm-up)
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PACE National Scholastics Championship

The 2010 PACE National Scholastics Championship will take place on June 5 and 6 at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. 64 of the top teams in the country will compete for the PACE national championship. The 2010 tournament format will offer at least 15 games to all teams and will produce a top-to-bottom ranking of the entire field.

NSC Qualification Criteria
The top 2 teams from any affiliated tournament of fewer than 20 teams, the top 4 teams from any affiliated tournament of 20 to 39 teams, and the top 8 teams from any affiliated tournament of 40 or more teams, receive automatic qualification to the 2009 PACE NSC. More teams may qualify if the event is gold- or platinum-certified.

While PACE also allows qualification through wildcard bids, MSHSAA rules currently prohibit Missouri teams from attending a national tournament on a wildcard bid. Full details about qualifying for NSC are available on PACE's website.

List of registered teams on PACE's website

NSC Fees and Discounts
* Base fee: $500 per team
* Automatic qualifier discount: -$25 per applicable team (all eligible teams from Missouri qualify for this discount since MSHSAA doesn't allow wildcard bids)
* Gold qualifier discount: -$50 per applicable team
* Platinum qualifier discount: -$75 per applicable team
* Buzzer systems: -$10 each per school, no limit
* Staffers: -$50 each per school, max 2 per school
* Hosting a gold-certified tournament: -$10 each per tournament, no limit
* Hosting a platinum-certified tournament: -$20 each per tournament, no limit
* Early payment discount: -$25 from total fee for paying by March 15

Upcoming NSC Qualifiers in Missouri
These tournaments are affiliated with PACE and will be qualifiers for the 2010 PACE NSC:

* Bear Bowl I on January 30, 2010 (postponed due to weather).
* Mort Walker Invitational on February 13, 2010.
* Villa Duchesne Invitational on February 20, 2010.
* Missouri S&T Spring Tournament on March 6, 2010.
* NAQT Missouri Qualifier on March 20, 2010.

NSC Qualifiers already held
* Missouri Fall Academic Tournament [16 teams] on October 10, 2009. (Qualified: Ladue, North Kansas City)
* Liberty Scholar Bowl Invitational Tournament [22 teams] on October 31, 2009. (Qualified: North Kansas City, Savannah, Holden, Smithville)
* Missouri State Fall Academic Tournament [18 teams] on November 14, 2009. (MO team qualified: Savannah)
* Spirit of St. Louis Warm-up [16 teams] on November 21, 2009. (Qualified: Parkway Central, Priory)
* Tiger Bowl II [8 teams] on December 5, 2009. (Qualified: North Kansas City, Glasgow)
* Missouri S&T Fall Tournament [16 teams] on December 12, 2009. (Qualified: Clayton, Savannah)
* WUHSAC XII [42 teams] on January 30, 2010. (MO teams qualified: Parkway Central, Clayton, Priory, Fort Zumwalt West, Villa Duchesne, Helias)

Missouri Teams Qualified for NSC
* Clayton (at Missouri S&T Fall, WUHSAC XII)
* Fort Zumwalt West (at WUHSAC XII)
* Glasgow (at Tiger Bowl II)
* Helias (at WUHSAC XII)
* Holden (at Liberty)
* Ladue (at Missouri Fall)
* North Kansas City (at Missouri Fall, Liberty, Tiger Bowl II)
* Parkway Central (at Spirit of St. Louis Warm-up, WUHSAC XII)
* Priory (at Spirit of St. Louis Warm-up, WUHSAC XII)
* Savannah (at Liberty, Missouri State Fall, Missouri S&T Fall)
* Smithville (at Liberty)
* Villa Duchesne (at WUHSAC XII)

Missouri Teams Registered for NSC
* Holden

Congratulations to Savannah, Holden A, and Smithville for qualifying for the 2010 PACE NSC at the Liberty Scholar Bowl Invitational Tournament, and to North Kansas City for qualifying once again!

Congratulations to Richland and Savannah for qualifying for the 2010 NAQT HSNCT at the Missouri State Fall Academic Tournament! Savannah also qualified once again for the 2010 PACE NSC!

Congratulations also go to out-of-state participants Parkview Magnet for qualifying for both HSNCT and NSC, and to Haas Hall for also qualifying for HSNCT.

Congratulations to Parkway Central A and Priory for qualifying for both NAQT HSNCT and PACE NSC at the Spirit of St. Louis Warm-up, and to Villa Duchesne for also qualifying for HSNCT.

Congratulations to Glasgow for qualifying for the 2010 PACE NSC for the first time at Tiger Bowl II on December 5 at the University of Missouri! North Kansas City has also qualified for NSC for the third time!

Congratulations to Clayton for qualifying for the 2010 PACE NSC for the first time at the Missouri S&T Fall Tournament on December 12! Savannah has also qualified for NSC for the third time!

Jason Loy brought to my attention that Hillcrest hosted the Hillcrest Academic Team Tournament on Tuesday using NAQT IS-87A. With a total of 7 teams participating, the top two teams have qualified for HSNCT! Congratulations to Kickapoo and Parkview for qualifying for HSNCT!

I am excited to post that Holden has registered for PACE NSC!

Teams registered for PACE NSC

Do you know what the relative costs for entering these two tournaments is?
(We have to decide which one to go to, but it will probably be HSNCT. Assuming we can raise the funds...)

Glad you brought this up! I will update the above post with this information as well.

HSNCT Information



NSC Registration Information

For 1 team, excluding travel costs and assuming early payment:
1 buzzer system: HSNCT $535, NSC $440
2 buzzer systems: HSNCT $505, NSC $430
1 buzzer system, 1 staffer: HSNCT $460, NSC $380
2 buzzer systems, 1 staffer: HSNCT $430, NSC $370
1 buzzer system, 2 staffers: HSNCT $460 (assuming max 1 per school), NSC $330
2 buzzer systems, 2 staffers: HSNCT $430, NSC $320
(please let me know if any of these calculations are wrong)

Keep in mind that HSNCT is in Chicago while NSC is near Washington DC, and that bringing a staffer will have extra travel/accommodation costs.

With a 42 team field, eight teams qualified for PACE NSC at WUHSAC XII yesterday! Congratulations to Fort Zumwalt West, Helias, and Villa Duchesne for qualifying for NSC for the first time! Clayton, Parkway Central, and Priory have qualified once again for NSC! (Congratulations also go to out-of-state teams Chatham Glenwood and Ransom Everglades for qualifying for NSC as well!)