2019-2020 California Cup

[njsbling]

California Cup #3 will be held on Saturday, February 29 at Evergreen Valley High School in San Jose. Register via this form => https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIp ... A/viewform

--
The Northern California Quiz Bowl Alliance is pleased to announce the eighth annual California Cup. The California Cup consists of four quiz bowl tournaments held throughout the year, and it is widely considered the premier academic competition event in Northern California. For each tournament, we will have check-in at 8:30AM, matches will start at about 9:00AM, we will have a lunch break around noon, and we hope most teams will finish by 5:30PM.

Tournament Dates and Locations:
California Cup #1: Saturday, November 9 at Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose
California Cup #2: Saturday, January 18 at Saint Francis High School in Mountain View
California Cup #3: Saturday, February 29 at Evergreen Valley High School in San Jose
California Cup #4: Saturday, Aprill 11 at Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose

These dates may be subject to change. Depending on room reservation and logistical issues, in some cases, different divisions might have to be held on different dates or at different locations. We will strive to inform you of any such situations as soon as they are confirmed.

Question Sets:
Cal Cup 1 will use NAQT IS-188 for Competitive+Standard and NAQT IS-189A for Novice
Cal Cup 2 will use LOGIC for Competitive+Standard and SCOP Novice for Novice
Cal Cup 3 will use HFT for Competitive and CALISTO for Standard+Novice
Cal Cup 4 will use DII SCT for Competitive, IS-192 for Standard, and IS-191A for Novice

Registration:
Teams may choose to register separately for each tournament within the series, but we recommend registering for all four tournaments at once (the “package”), which will give you a significant discount. We will allow teams who wish to purchase the package up to the second tournament to decide whether to purchase it. That is, you may attend the first tournament for only the price of the first tournament and then decide at the second tournament to purchase the rest of the package, at which point you will pay the rest of the package price. Schools may register more than one team--there is no limit.

For Cal Cup #3: At 9PM on February 16 we will post the list of teams in the field based on the following priority list; registration becomes first come/first serve after that time. Thus, if you plan to pay ahead of time and wish to get a higher priority then you should pay prior to 9PM on February 26.

1) Teams that purchase the package
2) Teams that pay the deposit ahead of time
3) Teams that provide an experienced moderator (based on our discretion)
4) Teams that provide other staffers
5) Teams that bring a working buzzer system
6) Teams from new high schools
7) Teams that include at least one high school student that are not in any of the above categories
8) Middle school teams not in any of the above categories

We offer a lot of flexibility in allowing drops from the field right up to 6PM PST of the day before the tournament. If you must drop from a tournament after 6PM the day before the tournament, you will be liable for 50% of the cost of the upcoming tournament. If you do not show up at a tournament without informing us, you will be liable for the full price of the tournament. Exceptions to these policies will be made only in case of emergency. This policy will also apply to package holders, though it will be scaled to account for the discount associated with the package. By signing up for the California Cup tournament series, you agree to these policies.

Entry Fees:
Base fee per team for package of all four tournaments: $300
If your school played zero Cal Cup events last year (i.e. new school discount): -$100 from the price of the package

Registering for a single tournament: $100
New school registering for a single tournament: $65

Buzzer discount: -$10 per buzzer system per tournament
We will test buzzers and will NOT accept them if they do not have four fully functioning units on each “side,” so do not try to claim discounts on buzzers that are not in full working order. We will also not accept buzzers that require a laptop to operate unless we really need them. Please label your buzzers with your school/team name so that you can promptly pick them up at the tournament’s conclusion.

Staff discounts:
-$20 per tournament per approved moderator (if needed)
-$10 per tournament per scorekeeper
Referral discount: If a school (new or established) refers Cal Cup to a new school then they will receive a $10 discount per tournament per team that the referred school plays.
If a team consists of 2 players then the team will receive a $20 discount (in addition to any other possible discounts).
If a team consists of 1 player then the team will receive a $40 discount (in addition to any other possible discounts).
Minimum entry fee: $20 per tournament per team

Buzzers and staff discounts apply on an as-needed, first-come, first-serve basis. When registering, please detail how many staff and/or buzzers you may be able to bring. As the tournament approaches, we will let you know whether they are needed or not. Note that discounts for future tournaments will NOT be given at any particular tournament. What this means is that if, for example, at the first tournament you claim a buzzer discount for all four tournaments, you must still pay as if you only claimed it for one tournament. Then, for each subsequent tournament in which you actually bring the buzzer, we will refund you $10 in cash. The same goes for the staffer discount.

Teams may pay in advance (either their entire amount or a non-refundable deposit of $10) by PayPal to Alvin Huang => https://www.paypal.me/AlvinQuizBowl [Please indicate your team name+letter(s)!]. The entry fee is refundable (minus the $10 deposit and minus any late drop fees).

Payment will be taken at registration the morning of the tournament via check or cash; please make checks payable to “ASUC/Quiz Bowl Club.”

Division Information:
The Cal Cup competitions will each consist of three divisions: Competitive, Standard, and Novice.

The Competitive division is intended to contain teams that would be ranked among the top few hundred in the nation. Any team that is currently ranked by [TBA] must compete in Competitive. The rest of the teams who belong in the Competitive division are solely up to the discretion of the directors. Generally, any team composition reasonably close to the team composition that is either ranked by Groger or deemed by us to be of Competitive caliber (where “reasonably close” is a standard that is at our sole discretion) must compete in Competitive.

The Standard division contains teams that (1) are not required to play Competitive, (2) do not qualify to play Novice, and (3) choose not to play Competitive. This division will use regular high school difficulty sets and allow teams of strength generally below that of nationally competitive teams to play against other such teams.

Novice teams are intended to be entirely comprised of players in their first or second years of playing high school-level quiz bowl, with players in their second year of playing quiz bowl being admitted at our discretion (under special circumstances, we may allow players with more than two years of experience to play Novice). Generally, this division is intended for players who are actually new to the game and is tailored towards awarding a title to players who have just started playing. Hence, there is a maximum of one year of Novice eligibility for players who play a full slate of Novice tournaments over the course of the entire school year.

Middle school players who have only played middle school questions may play Novice. Middle school players who have played high school questions are subject to the same standards as high school teams, with the possibility of somewhat more leniency for those in their second year of playing high school questions.

Any team that clinches a divisional championship at California Cup #3 (by accumulating an insurmountable lead in points) must play at least one division higher in California Cup #4. Additionally, a team may compete in any division higher than that in which they otherwise qualify. Petitions to be placed in a lower division will be considered by the California Cup directors jointly, and any determinations by this group are final.

Scoring and Gameplay:
The California Cup assigns points to schools based on their performance at the tournaments that take place throughout the year. We have decided to adopt the following scoring system: 10 points for 1st place, 8 points for 2nd place, 6 points for 3rd place, 4 points for 4th place, 3 points for 5th place, 2 points for 6th place, and 1 point for 7th place. We will tally up the points for each team’s three best performances, so your team’s worst performance will be disregarded if you attend all four tournaments. Only teams that register for the full package will be eligible for the overall title and prizes at the end of the year. If a team that does not purchase the full package ends up placing high enough on the scoring system, then we will simply skip them in the California Cup overall ranking (but they will still retain their ranking for that individual tournament). At the end of the year, we will break ties by evaluating (1) the performance in the 4th tournament and (2) statistics from each team’s performances throughout the year. We will maintain separate standings for each division. The top teams and players of each individual tournament will still be recognized at the end of that tournament as well.

We will enforce all the gameplay rules as they are written in Sections C-I of the official rules of the Academic Competition Federation, so all players should familiarize themselves with these rules before playing these tournaments. Pay special attention to timing, pronunciation, and protest guidelines, as players often lose points by not knowing these.

Nationals Qualification:
The top teams at each tournament will qualify for the 2020 PACE National Scholastic Championship, which will be held June 6-7, 2020, at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare Hotel near Chicago. California Cup tournaments have historically held the highest possible certification from PACE (Platinum), but for the future will likely only attain Gold status. Thus, the number of Competitive qualifiers will be 20% of the entire size of the Competitive and Standard divisions combined (rounded up). Additionally, teams that perform well on at Cal Cup #1 will qualify for the 2020 NAQT High School National Championship Tournament, held May 22-24, 2020, at the Marriott Marquis in Atlanta, Georgia. The formula for HSNCT qualification is 15% of the entire field size rounded up. Teams that do well at the non-NAQT California Cup competitions can also apply for wildcards to HSNCT and PACE, and many have historically received them. Competitive teams that do not qualify directly--as well as Standard and Novice teams--may apply for nationals via wild card when wild card applications open. These wild cards are generally evaluated on statistical metrics like the average points per bonus (PPB) of a team.

Thank you for your interest, and please spread the word to other high schools that are interested in quiz bowl or are heavily involved in other academic events like debate, robotics, or Science Bowl. We look forward to another exciting year of academic competition!

You can find out more about what quiz bowl is here here and you can find more quiz bowl-pertinent resources here.

Contact:
Please contact us at [email protected] if you have any questions.

[njsbling]

Cal Cup #3 field as of February 28, 2020 (70):

Competitive (15):
Amador Valley
Bellarmine (2)
Cupertino Scholars
Dublin
Escobar
Evergreen Valley
Harker
Guilder
Sagittarius (2)
San Mateo
Saratoga
Stanford Online
Valley Christian

Standard (27):
Bellarmine (2)
Challenger-Almaden
Churchill
Davis
Eriksen
Evergreen Valley
Gunderson
Harker
Harvest Park
Hopkins
King's Academy
Kupertino
Lowell
Rio Americano
Saint Francis (2)
San Marin
San Mateo
Santa Clara
Saratoga (2)
Stanford Online
Starry Nights
Stratford Raynor (2)
Vista Del Lago

Novice (28):
Aragon
Bret Harte
California
Campolindo
Challenger-Strawberry Park (2)
Churchill (3)
Davis
Dublin
Eriksen
Escobar (2)
Evergreen Valley
Fremont Christian (2)
Guilder
Harker
Harvest Park
Les Quiz
Lowell (2)
Menlo-Atherton
San Mateo
Saratoga
Stratford Raynor
Vista Del Lago

[njsbling]

Congratulations to Saratoga A for winning the Competitive division, to Challenger-Almaden for winning the Standard division, and to Eriksen B for winning the Novice division at Cal Cup #2! Thank you to all of our wonderful staff for your help and to Ms. Yang/Saint Francis for hosting!

Competitive results can be found here => https://hsquizbowl.org/db/tournaments/6 ... all_games/

Standard results can be found here => https://hsquizbowl.org/db/tournaments/6 ... all_games/

Novice results can be found here => https://hsquizbowl.org/db/tournaments/6 ... all_games/

The overall Cal Cup standings will be posted this week here => https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... edit#gid=0

We hope to announce details for Cal Cup #3 soon.

[1992 in spaceflight]

Congratulations to Saratoga A for winning the Competitive division, to Challenger-Almaden for winning the Standard division, and to Eriksen B for winning the Novice division at Cal Cup #2! Thank you to all of our wonderful staff for your help and to Ms. Yang/Saint Francis for hosting!

Competitive results can be found here => https://hsquizbowl.org/db/tournaments/6 ... all_games/

Standard results can be found here => https://hsquizbowl.org/db/tournaments/6 ... all_games/

Thanks for playing the LOGIC set, everybody! As the set is not clear, please join the "2019 LOGIC Discussion" private group if you want to discuss the set. (Go to your user control panel, click on usergroups, then find "2019 LOGIC Discussion" and join it)