2012 Autumn Classic at University of Michigan (12/1/12)

[ryandillon]

Hello,

It's that time of year again! Michigan Academic Competitions is pleased to invite your team to the 2012 Autumn Classic to be held on Saturday, December 1, 2012, on the Central Campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Since 1995, Michigan Academic Competitions has hosted several tournaments for high schools throughout the state of Michigan. This year's Autumn Classic promises more of the same, as we hope to draw some of the finest schools from throughout the region and beyond. This event will be run with questions provided by NAQT (IS-120). As a result, teams entering the 2012 Autumn Classic will be able to qualify for the 2013 NAQT High School Championship.

Each match will consist of two 9-minute halves or 24 tossup questions, whichever comes first. Players who first answer a question correctly will be rewarded with points and a chance for the entire team to answer bonus questions, all of which are worth a maximum of 30 points. Questions come from all areas: science, math, history and government, literature, current events, geography, popular culture, fine arts, sports, mythology and religion, social science, and general knowledge, with the academic areas heavily emphasized.

The tournament schedule will incorporate a pooled round robin for preliminary play. We guarantee that each team will play a minimum of six matches (probably at least seven), with the top teams playing in either a double or single elimination bracket, depending on staff, to determine the tournament champion. Our goal is that each team plays as many matches as possible. We will also attempt to ensure that teams from the same school will not play each other during the preliminary rounds.

This tournament follows NAQT rules, which can be found in full at http://naqt.com/rules.html.

The tournament will be held at Mason Hall on the University of Michigan’s Central Campus, just like in years past. More specifics on this will be sent out as the tournament date approaches.

Registration for this event will be limited to 32 high school teams, and we will initially allow each school to register only 2 teams. All other teams from that school will be placed on a wait list, which will be used to complete the tournament field on a first-come, first-served basis after the registration deadline of November 23, 2012. Teams may consist of an unlimited number of players, only four of whom may play at once. It is our hope, however, that all the students attending the tournament will receive a good deal of playing time. We will accept teams on a first-come basis until 5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 23, 2012, unless we first reach the tournament maximum (if this happens, we will place these teams on a waiting list).

To register, send an e-mail to [email protected] that includes your name, school, number of teams, number of buzzers you can bring, a phone number, and a confirmation e-mail address. Please note that the registration forms on the team website are no longer valid. If your registration e-mail does not include ALL of this information, you will not be officially registered and thus will not be guaranteed a spot in the field.

Fees
First team from a school $90
Each additional team from a school $70

For US high schools, $ is USD. For Canadian high schools, $ is your choice of CAD or USD.

Discounts
Discount for a fully functional buzzer system (max 2 per school) -$10
Early bird discount for registering by 5:00 PM, November 9 -$5/team
New program discount** -$10/team
Distance discount (100-275 miles)*** -$10/team
Extreme distance discount (over 275 miles)*** -$50/team
Minimum entry fee per team $0

** If your school has not participated in a University of Michigan tournament within the past two years, then you are eligible for this discount.
*** Distances are determined as based on distance one way from your school to the tournament site according to maps.google.com.

Checks should be made out to "Michigan Academic Competitions." While we prefer that you bring them to the tournament and hand them in at registration, if this is not possible, you can mail the check to:

Michigan Academic Competitions
C/O The University Activities Center
4002 Michigan Union
530 S State St
Ann Arbor MI 48109-1349

When I receive your registration, I will send you an e-mail calculating your fee. If you note an error in my calculations, or if I fail to send you this notice promptly, please e-mail me and let me know. Once we receive your school's entry, we will send you a confirmation, area maps and directions, tournament rules, and other useful information. Our web page (http://www.umich.edu/~uac/mac/) contains a Frequently Asked Questions section that we hope will answer any questions you have regarding the tournament.

If you have specific questions about the tournament, please do not hesitate to contact me (Ryan Dillon) by e-mail at [email protected].

We look forward to seeing you on December 1st!

Sincerely,

Ryan Dillon

[ryandillon]

Field (Updated on 11/22)

Cabrini (2)
U of D Jesuit (2)
Novi (2)
Culver (3)
Thurston (2)
Country Day (2)
Brighton (2)
Farmington
Utica Academy
West Bloomfield
Divine Child (2)
Detroit Catholic Central (4)
Grosse Pointe North (2)
Rochester
Ottawa Hills (2)
Quincy
Southgate Anderson
Olmstead Falls High School (2)
Summit Academy
Truman
Bay City Western
Troy
Cranbrook
Skyline

Total: 39


Waitlist (Updated on 11/22)


Skyline (2)
Cranbrook (2)
Country Day (?)

[wadobbie]

I just want to make sure you've got us as Utica Academy (not to be confused with Utica High School)

[ryandillon]

I just want to make sure you've got us as Utica Academy (not to be confused with Utica High School)

Sorry about that, I edited the name in the field.

[ryandillon]

The field for this tournament is now full. If anybody still wants to sign up, they will be added to the waitlist in case teams drop or in the event that the field expands.

[ryandillon]

This is a bump to reflect an expansion to the field. The field has been expanded to 40 teams.

[Beast Mode]

Hi, all.

One of our freshmen, Ned, has written a packet (~20/20) about the Mass Effect video game series, and he'd like to read it after the tournament if there's interest. Anyone interested in playing it should email him at edmiborn [at] umich [dot] edu. There's no cost to play it.

If you're not sure now, we'll also be announcing this at the coaches/captains meeting the morning of Autumn Classic in order to get a better sense of how many people want to play.

[Yeah, that's a thing]

One of our freshmen, Ned, has written a packet (~20/20) about the Mass Effect video game series, and he'd like to read it after the tournament if there's interest. Anyone interested in playing it should email him at edmiborn [at] umich [dot] edu. There's no cost to play it.

This is exciting.

[Cheynem]

I don't want to clamp down too much on fun, but I'll just throw out that you should probably be pretty careful about running such things--I could easily see situations in which one or two people on a team want to play, but nobody else does and the coach couldn't care less (as this is a very very specific topic). At college quizbowl (and yet even then, I'd still be careful), players have slightly more autonomy and can go find something else to do or eat dinner or whatever, but in high school, it can get kind of messy.

[Quantum Mushroom Billiard Hat]

You might be able to squeeze it in during lunch; say everyone playing has to get back 30 minutes faster than the regular playoff start time. There usually aren't many teams that stick around until after finals are over, and I remember lunches typically giving quite a bit of time while the stats are finished up.

[Ringil]

Thanks for everyone who showed up.

The final placement was:
1. Olmsted Falls
2. DCD A
3. DCC A
4. Troy, Skyline
6. Utica, Culver A, Novi A

Stats: http://www.hsquizbowl.org/db/tournament ... s/morning/
http://www.hsquizbowl.org/db/tournament ... /playoffs/