Set Used
We will be using NAQT Invitational Series Packet 179 for this event. We hope that all teams planning to attend Princeton University's PHSAT and Delaware Valley's Tri-State Tussle, as well as any MasterMinds events in Upstate NY will consider competing in this tournament, as the set will not conflict with any of these events.
If you attended the BrainBusters Spring event in 2018, which used a question set written by the University of Maryland quizbowl team, please know that the set used at the fall tournament will be easier ("standard" difficulty, as opposed to Maryland's "standard-plus" difficulty).
Registration
Registration for this tournament will be handled through the tournament registration page on the NAQT website, found here. You will need to log in to the NAQT site in order to register; if you do not already have an account, you can quickly create one on that site. On initial registration, please provide a minimum of your school name, number of teams intended (this can be changed later), your name/contact information, the number of buzzer systems and staffers you are bringing, and any other information we should know. You may enter rosters at registration if you wish, but this information can also be provided later. Payment will be due upon arrival at IHS on the 10th, but feel free to mail checks ahead of time to Ithaca High School Brain Team, 1401 N Cayuga St, Ithaca, NY 14850. Registration will close on Friday, November 2nd
Fee Structure
The base price is $85 for the first team and $75 for each additional team. We are also offering the following discounts:
- -$5 per functional buzzer system, capable of support four players per side (please bring extension cords if you have them!)
- -$10 per staffer provided by the school
- -$10 per 150 miles traveled to IHS (one way, according to Google Maps).
- -$10 for any new school/program (a school that has never played at either a BrainBusters Fall or Spring event in the past)
On-site Contact Information
Prior BrainBusters Fall tournament director Scott Blish has moved to warmer climes in Florida, so IHS Quizbowl team coach and adviser Benjamin Kirk will be taking over as TD. He can be reached for questions at [email protected] or contacted via department phone at (607) 274-2191. An emergency cell phone contact will be provided to registered teams, or to those who request it via email.
Lunch
As they have in previous years, the IHS International Club will be offering a pizza or sub sandwich lunch and ala carte International Tasting Bar on-site for lunch in the IHS Cafeteria. We recommend staying at the school for lunch or bringing your own, since the nearest restaurants are 2+ miles away in heavy and unpredictable Ithaca weekend traffic. You may leave for lunch at your own risk, but with the warning that we will restart the tournament promptly at the announced restart time, and will start reading packets to whomever is in place at that time.
Tournament Format
Games will consist of 20 tossup/bonus pairs, read in untimed matches. During play, we will use ACF five second timing rules (five seconds to buzz in after tossup completion, five seconds to start answer to tossup after buzz, five seconds to start answer to bonus after bonus completion). The exact bracketing format used will depend on the final number of registered teams, but we expect to run a quasi-seeded round robin format in the morning, followed by a rebracketing and another round robin after lunch, with a single final match to determine tournament champion if needed.
Top finishers will qualify for the 2019 NAQT High School National Championship in Atlanta and 2019 NAQT Small School National Championship Tournament in Chicago, and we anticipate they will also qualify for the 2019 PACE National Scholastic Championship in Reston, VA (a suburb of Washington, DC)
Field List (Teams/Buzzers/Staffers) - Soft cap of 24 teams
Adirondack Central School (2/1/1)
Berwick HS (2/1/1)
Cooperstown (1/2/0)
Delaware Valley HS (2/3/1)
DeWitt Middle School (1/2/0)
Emma Willard (1/0/0)
Geneva HS (3/3/3)
Greene HS (1/1/0)
Ithaca House (2/2/lots)
Lakeland HS (2/1/1)
Moravian Academy (3/1/0)
Oneonta (1/1/0)
Saratoga Springs HS (1/1/0)
Southern Cayuga HS (2/1/1)
Troy HS (1/0/0)
Wallenpaupack HS (2/2/1)
Whitney Point HS (1/0/0)
Total: 28/24
We look forward to hosting this tournament, and we hope to see a great turnout of local and regional teams!