The Quizbowl Resource Center

naqt.com wrote:NAQT is pleased to announce that its 2011 High School National Championship Tournament will be held at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta hotel on Memorial Day weekend, May 27-29, 2011.

Details

Field update

Current waitlist (updated April 29th):

(empty)

Registration is now open and there is one spot available.

Awesome

Are you allowed to publicly say at least the ranking of preference in a site from HSNCT attendees based on the feedback sheet?

I'm not sure I understood that question, but the full results of the 2010 HSNCT survey are now also available on our website.

26% of respondents (more than a quarter) said they probably would not attend a tournament held in Atlanta. Half or almost half of respondents said they would be "highly" interested in attending a tournament held in Chicago/D.C. I find this decision a touch questionable.

EDIT: Also, for staffing purposes. It seems like more staffers will have to be flown in this year.

Cheynem wrote:26% of respondents (more than a quarter) said they probably would not attend a tournament held in Atlanta.

And another 24% said there is a "low" percentage of attending, making exactly 50% that will either not come or basically don't want to come to Atlanta. Yet it was chosen.

We know we are going to lose some of the local teams that drive to Chicago, and expect to make that up with more Alabama/Georgia/South Carolina teams.

Yes, we know that we will have to fly in more staff.

Wow... this is a pretty big surprise... the negatives for Atlanta are indeed very high on the survey... Of course the sample is biased by participants in the Chicago tournament filling this out, but 50% "Low" and "None"...

Was the prospect of gaining more Southern teams the biggest factor in choosing Atlanta over say Cincinnati or Indianapolis?

I think Jeff's reasoning is perfect. You have to take into account selection bias - in this case, there are a lot of Southern teams that either do not want to travel to Chicago or can't raise the funds to get there and their votes obviously don't count.

A lot of teams are also going to attend HSNCT regardless of where it is, even if they have "low" or "no" interest in a particular city.

DrCongo wrote:Was the prospect of gaining more Southern teams the biggest factor in choosing Atlanta over say Cincinnati or Indianapolis?

For those two particular cases, the choice is less about distribution of teams and more about Atlanta's status as a major airline hub.

cvdwightw wrote:I think Jeff's reasoning is perfect. You have to take into account selection bias - in this case, there are a lot of Southern teams that either do not want to travel to Chicago or can't raise the funds to get there and their votes obviously don't count.

A lot of teams are also going to attend HSNCT regardless of where it is, even if they have "low" or "no" interest in a particular city.

But there were two other cities (excluding Chicago) with far less than 50% of respondents indicating a low or extremely low preference in attending Nationals there.

I will say that i like, so far, that apparently the rooms are about $30 cheaper per night in Atlanta than Chicago, which is a nice bonus. I can only pray that 5 plane tickets are not going to cost me $2000 like last time... if we actually are good enough to go this year.

There probably will be less midwestern teams in Atlanta since many of them probably have competed in Chicago every year largely because it is an easy travel distance from where they live. However, I believe that the difference will be made up by the large number of Southeastern teams who will compete in the Atlanta tournament next year because of the close proximity to their homes. There are many teams from Southeastern states (like mine) that have wanted to compete in the HSNCT over the last few years but have lacked the funds to make the trip.

I don't see why teams from other parts of the country outside of the Southeast or Midwest would really be affected that much by the change of location from Chicago to Atlanta. Surely they are choosing to come to Nationals based on a desire to compete in a National tournament, not by a trip to a particular city. If they're already going to make a plane trip or long car ride, why does it really matter whether it is to Chicago or to Atlanta?

Nobody is mentioning the obvious upside to this decision, which is the fact that this will be located right in the center of a downtown. I love Chicago, but Rosemont is not Chicago. I attended both the ICT and the HSNCT last year and got the distinct impression that very few teams went Downtown. If people are not leaving the hotel, then I really do not understand the downside of Atlanta. If people are leaving the hotel, then the Atlanta location is clearly preferable.

The only downside of this decision would seem to be the fact that less teams will be able to drive to Atlanta and they will need to fly more staffers in. NAQT has clearly determined that they should be fine with the staffer situation, so that is really a non issue. While there are probably a few more teams that drive into Chicago than would drive into Atlanta, I cannot imagine that the net difference is more than ten teams. Atlanta has very cheap airfare and, being the busiest airport in the world, it is very accessible.

The upside to this move would seem to be tremendous. It allows teams from the South that cannot go to Chicago the chance to experience a national tournament, hopefully helping to advance the Southern circuit. It also gives variety to coaches and staffers who are tired of going to the same location. Most importantly, though, it is at an awesome hotel with an awesome location. Instead of having, what, half a dozen restaurants within walking distance, there will be several hundred. The same can be said for attractions, with Turner Field, the Georgia Aquarium, the CNN Center, Coca Cola World, and Centennial Olympic Park all being within walking distance. I know I am probably sounding like a travel brochure, but I really found the Rosemont location very frustrating for its lack of area entertainment. My personal feeling is that if I am going to spend a long weekend travelling far away (not to mention a large sum of money), I at least deserve to have an experience I couldn't have in any city in the country. Having stayed in both locations (Hyatt Atlanta and O'Hare), it is pretty clear to me that Atlanta is the much more unique experience.

I am fairly surprised by the negative reaction to this announcement. To me, it is pretty obvious that the positives outweigh the negatives in this decision. Hopefully, NAQT will make a pattern out of holding nationals in more central locations (within the city).

I probably spoke a little harshly in my first post, considering I have no shouting interest in the matter and as a staffer, if NAQT wants to fly me out there, so be it. I was just a little surprised considering the survey results, but Jeff and Dwight make cogent points.

Carangoides ciliarius wrote:

cvdwightw wrote:I think Jeff's reasoning is perfect. You have to take into account selection bias - in this case, there are a lot of Southern teams that either do not want to travel to Chicago or can't raise the funds to get there and their votes obviously don't count.

A lot of teams are also going to attend HSNCT regardless of where it is, even if they have "low" or "no" interest in a particular city.

But there were two other cities (excluding Chicago) with far less than 50% of respondents indicating a low or extremely low preference in attending Nationals there.

I will say that i like, so far, that apparently the rooms are about $30 cheaper per night in Atlanta than Chicago, which is a nice bonus. I can only pray that 5 plane tickets are not going to cost me $2000 like last time... if we actually are good enough to go this year.

Assuming that you would fly out of BWI, a search on travelocity shows round trip Delta flights for 5 people for $1177 (it is true that having a major air hub helps), or train tickets on Amtrak from Wilmington (leaving on the 26th and returning on the 30th) for $665.

While plane tickets will certainly go up as it approaches, Atlanta is directly on a train line that runs from New Orleans, through Alabama, and on to North Carolina, and through the mid-Atlantic region to New York City. Taking the train does take up more time, but it comes every day and is much less costly than a plane ticket if you live in one of those areas. Unlike Chicago, however, Atlanta is not a major Amtrak hub, so if you don't live in the path of that one line train travel will be difficult, time-consuming, and possibly costly.

Atlanta is probably the second-best city to hold HSNCT in. And yes, kudos for hosting it downtown.

Atlanta's the hub for AirTran, so you're going to find a bunch of extremely cheap prices from across the country using them. Delta can have good sales too and in general prices should be very low.

Downtown Atlanta isn't the best big-city downtown, but it's very close to a bunch of cool attractions as was pointed out and we can finally find places to eat other than a McDonald's 1 mile away or the overpriced food in the hotel itself. Also: southern food is awesome and I know several excellent places within walking distance of the hotel.

Also: free internet is awesome.

Staffing really shouldn't be that much of a problem- there are tons of alumni from the GA schools as well as Dorman and some of the Alabama schools in the area plus a not-insignificant number of college players who have experience reading/working at tournaments, so if those networks can be tapped there should be a surfeit of staff available, at least to help scorekeep.

I know specifically of at least one school whose bid to raise funds for HSNCT will be significantly buoyed by the tournament actually being within feasible driving distance from us. The proximity of this tournament to an already-somewhat-active southeast circuit is a huge coup for the development of high school quizbowl in this area, and I applaud NAQT for this (admittedly, daring) decision.

Speaking for the Western teams that have to fly in regardless, this is excellent money-wise and attraction wise. Let's see how this goes.

On the NAQT survey this year, I voted NO interest in Atlanta as a site. But, should my team qualify, we'll be there as it is where we live (Metro Atlanta). I prefer a trip to staying in ATL for nationals. Just my preference. (Will I ever get to go to Calif again for quiz bowl??)

I have been to about 20 conventions at the ATL Hyatt. It is the oldest atrium hotel in the world. It is a very nice venue, but I cannot see 200 teams competing there without using many, many small hotel rooms as competition sites. I guess that has been done before though.

Atlanta downtown is NOT the site of most places people visit when they come to ATL UNLESS they come for sporting events in the GA Dome. You can use public trans to get to many of the interesting places pretty easily though.

One thing I do know: NAQT will do a bang-up job hosting in the ATL just like they have done every year since OKlahoma, 1999.

jrbarry wrote: Atlanta downtown is NOT the site of most places people visit when they come to ATL UNLESS they come for sporting events in the GA Dome. You can use public trans to get to many of the interesting places pretty easily though.

I think I remember walking to Centennial Olympic Park during Beta Convention, and isn't the World of Coke and the Aquarium only like 3-4 blocks away from the Hyatt Regency?

Centennial Olympic Park, the Aquarium and the World of Coca Cola are all grouped together right by the Georgia Dome and an easy walk from the Hyatt Regency. The NAQT website says that the High Museum is also within walking distance, which it isn't (unless you want a really hefty walk as it's in midtown not downtown) but it's a short ride away on MARTA. I think that people will be really pleased with the location of the Hyatt since a MARTA stop is located within a block of the hotel, making it easy to go pretty much anywhere that a visitor would want to go, including the airport. Also, as other people have mentioned, there are many places to eat by the hotel, including a large food court.

La Maga wrote:

jrbarry wrote: Atlanta downtown is NOT the site of most places people visit when they come to ATL UNLESS they come for sporting events in the GA Dome. You can use public trans to get to many of the interesting places pretty easily though.

I think I remember walking to Centennial Olympic Park during Beta Convention, and isn't the World of Coke and the Aquarium only like 3-4 blocks away from the Hyatt Regency?

Yeah the State Capitol is right down there too if i remember correctly

jrbarry wrote:It is a very nice venue, but I cannot see 200 teams competing there without using many, many small hotel rooms as competition sites. I guess that has been done before though.

We will not be using any small hotel rooms as competition sites; all of the rooms reserved as game rooms are meeting rooms, ballrooms, or suites.

When the time comes, we'll see how many GT people would be interested in staffing. Speaking for myself, I am definitely interested in helping out.

naqt.com wrote: In addition, if there are at least five Canadian schools in attendance, a Top Canadian Team title will be awarded after a final; if at least ten are in attendance, a parallel playoff for the Canadian title will be held (similar to what is done to determine the Top Small School). The exact format of that playoff will be determined by the overall finish of the Canadian teams.

I don't think that most people will care, but this is detrimental to the development of a high-level Canadian high school quizbowl circuit. With this choice of location, I wouldn't bet on any Canadian high schools coming to this but Lisgar team(s), so five or ten is more or less impossible. If cost issues prevented some of the best Canadian teams from going to Chicago (even from places as close by as Toronto), then they certainly won't be able to go all the way to Atlanta.

Masked Canadian History Bandit wrote:

naqt.com wrote: In addition, if there are at least five Canadian schools in attendance, a Top Canadian Team title will be awarded after a final; if at least ten are in attendance, a parallel playoff for the Canadian title will be held (similar to what is done to determine the Top Small School). The exact format of that playoff will be determined by the overall finish of the Canadian teams.

I don't think that most people will care, but this is detrimental to the development of a high-level Canadian high school quizbowl circuit. With this choice of location, I wouldn't bet on any Canadian high schools coming to this but Lisgar team(s), so five or ten is more or less impossible. If cost issues prevented some of the best Canadian teams from going to Chicago (even from places as close by as Toronto), then they certainly won't be able to go all the way to Atlanta.

Actually, Patrick, when we went to the 2006 HSNCT, we travelled in three groups. One of the groups was on a flight that connected through Atlanta on its way to Chicago. Just looked at Expedia for flights a month from now, and many of the Pearson to O'Hare flights are by way of Atlanta.

Confusingly, however, flights from Pearson to Atlanta cost $150 more than flights from Pearson to Chicago that connect through Atlanta. What is going on here?

Conclusion: airlines are confusing and illogical, but transportation cost might not be a dealbreaker for Atlanta. Still would prefer Chicago, though.

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/09/27/22 ... rtran.html

The deal will move Southwest into 37 new cities, expand its presence in cities like New York and Boston and move it into Atlanta, the busiest airport in the nation.

I just merged the two HSNCT threads and forbidden-zoned the duplicate.

Online registration for the 2011 HSNCT will be available December 1st, 2010.

Jeff,

You said teams can register today. But when I went to the NAQT site to do so, I could not find a registration form. Can you advise on the correct procedure to register?

Thanks.

Edward Powers wrote:Jeff,

You said teams can register today. But when I went to the NAQT site to do so, I could not find a registration form. Can you advise on the correct procedure to register?

Thanks.

http://www.naqt.com/hsnct/2010/registration.jsp seems to be what you are looking for.

That's last year's form. I'll ask R. when the new one will be available.

Who should we contact about volunteering to read/scorekeep at the HSNCT?

Joel Gluskin, jgluskinnaqt at gmail

bt_green_warbler wrote:Joel Gluskin, jgluskinnaqt at gmail

Thanks, and Email sent.

Any news about when the 2011 HSNCT Registration form will be ready?

Soon. Likely to be early next week.

Registration is now open for the 2011 HSNCT!

The current field can be found here.

Dallas to Chicago 802 miles

Dallas to Atlanta 732 miles

In my book, that is a wash.

We loved Chicago -- a lot;
but Atlanta will be a fantastic place to explore as well.

We'll be there - 2 teams strong from the Lone Star Republic!

I was wondering if TJ could get any confirmation of NAQT receiving our B team's wildcard bid? We sent it in by e-mail two business days and haven't received any acknowledgment that NAQT received it.

EDIT: Thank you.

Yes, we received the wildcard bid from TJ B.

In related news: we are now accepting wildcard and standby requests for the 2011 HSNCT.

naqt.com wrote:To request a wildcard bid, send a summary of your season's results in all forms of academic competition (not just NAQT and not just quiz bowl) to hsnct [at] naqt.com. Standby bids can be requested at the same address, but make sure you realize that you are pledging to attend the tournament without a guarantee of competing.

As of this afternoon, there are 149 teams registered for the 2011 HSNCT. Teams that have not yet registered should do so in the near future to secure a spot in the field.

Is there any word on when the list of wildcards and standby teams will be posted?

Joe N wrote:Is there any word on when the list of wildcards and standby teams will be posted?

There isn't a separate list of wildcards; teams with approved wildcard bids just register normally.

I'll ask about getting the standby list posted.

164 teams now registered.

Is there a count of how many of these are small school eligible? Thanks!

bt_green_warbler wrote:164 teams now registered.

As a re-request, would it be possible to put a real-time count of teams that are registered on the field page itself?

Also, in terms of the 208-team cutoff, when does a team get their spot? When I start the registration or when I hit "done"?