VCU Season Finale Tournament XV (Richmond, VA - April 15, 2023)

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VCU Season Finale Tournament XV (Richmond, VA - April 15, 2023)

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This is the general announcement for the 2022 Virginia Commonwealth University Season Finale Tournament, which is a high school academic quizbowl tournament to be hosted at VCU in Richmond, Virginia on Saturday, April 15, 2023.

Registration form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIp ... sp=sf_link Please read the entire announcement before registering.

The tournament will begin at 8:30 AM and aims to conclude for all participants other than teams involved in the championship finals game by 5:00 PM. See the end of this announcement for information about covid safety.

Location
The tournament will likely take place in Grace E. Harris Hall, which is located at the intersection of Main Street and Harrison Street, in Richmond, Virginia. For GPS use, the address of the building is 900 W Main St, Richmond VA. We will confirm the tournament building and send information on which specific rooms are being used as we get closer to the event.

A campus map is accessible here. Parking information is near the bottom of this announcement.

Questions:
This tournament will use the IQBT #2 question set. Teams that have played IQBT #2 at other tournaments are not eligible. Any person who has encountered the content of the IQBT #2 set, in any context including as a player or staffer at another tournament, is not eligible to play and is expected to disclose the fact that they have knowledge of set content if they are in touch with teams playing this tournament, e.g. as a coach or peer in a quizbowl club.

The question set will be of comparable difficulty to the Regionals level of VHSL Scholastic Bowl. The general style and subject distribution of the questions will be similar to Scholastic Bowl. The game format will be tossup/bonus, rather than Scholastic Bowl style, as described below.

This publicly available set, while not directly affiliated with VCU or our question provider, is a good approximation of what to expect in terms of the style and difficulty of the questions we will be using: https://quizbowlpackets.com/2512/

Format:
This tournament will use the tossup/bonus format. A round will consist of 20 tossups with correct tossup answers earning a team a bonus in which it can earn up to 30 additional points, broken into three parts each worth 10 points. There will be no math calculation tossups or bonuses; this does not preclude tossups or bonuses on mathematical concepts. Specific scenarios will be handled according to the ACF rules. All teams will be offered a minimum of 8 games, and we hope to increase that number once the final field size is determined. Trophies will be awarded to the top teams, and book prizes will be awarded to the top individual scorers.

Eligibility:
This tournament is for teams of eligible players representing a single high school. Other than those schools which are disqualified due to exposure to the question set, all public, private, religious, magnet, charter, etc. schools are eligible regardless of experience level or location. Eligibility to participate for a given school will generally reflect the practices of national quizbowl organizations such as PACE and NAQT. For homeschool co-ops and collectives, VCU's high school tournaments will follow the eligibility guidelines published by NAQT here. If you believe that you should be granted an eligibility exception, please contact us at [email protected].

"Playing up" policy: Students below the 9th grade may play for high school teams under the following circumstances:
*If their school, including a homeschool collective that is otherwise eligible, includes those grades (i.e., any student at a K-12 or 6-12 school is eligible to play for the high school team)
OR
*If they are attending a public, non-magnet middle school which feeds into a public, non-magnet high school and they are playing for the high school that they are zoned for. Note: For tournaments using NAQT questions, students in this scenario should apply to NAQT in advance for an eligibility exception. (SFT XV is using questions from a non-NAQT vendor and this point will not be relevant to the April 15 tournament.)

*Students who are not yet enrolled in 9th grade cannot "play up" for magnet programs outside of their geographically zoned high school, nor for private high schools that begin at grade 9. The fact that someone has been "accepted to" or "plans to attend" a school has no bearing on eligibility.

Whether to allow participation from younger students who are eligible under the above rule is entirely at the discretion of the high school's policies and the quizbowl coach's decisions - students should not expect that all high school teams offer this option.

*Individuals who attend more than one high school at the same time (e.g., those enrolled in half-day magnet programs who attend both their geographically zoned district school and a separate magnet school on a regular basis) are generally eligible to compete for only one school or the other in a given year. If this may affect you, please get in touch with the TD in advance so we can go over your options. Students who simply transfer from one full-time school to another due to moving etc. should be fully eligible to compete for the school they currently attend regardless of previous participation at another school, though some advance notification may be necessary especially for events using NAQT questions.

*Conversely, students in 8th grade or below who participate in middle school quizbowl tournaments and also are eligible for high school tournaments per the above may, generally, play any high school tournaments for which they are eligible, without their middle school participation making any difference one way or another. Rules about "playing for multiple schools" do not directly apply in this case.

Affiliation:
This tournament will be submitted to the Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence for appropriate certification and may be a qualification opportunity for the 2023 National Scholastics Championship, which will occur on June 10-11, 2023 in the Chicago area. More information is available at this link. Be aware that, due to the date of this tournament, it is possible that all available spots at the 2023 NSC will be claimed by the time that SFT takes place.

Registration & fees:

To register for this tournament, fill out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIp ... sp=sf_link

base fee: +$80 per team to your school's total fee.

buzzer discount: -$5 to your school's total fee for each fully functional system (we defined a fully functional system in the same way that NAQT does, with the less strict exception that as long as eight total activators work, it's OK for our tournaments if they are not evenly divided into four of each color or team designation). There is no limit to the number of systems you can bring.
staff discount: -$10 to your school's total fee. This can be a coach, parent, student, or other person who is not playing. Team-provided staffers will most likely keep score for various games, but if you are capable of performing another role such as reading or statskeeping, let us know. Volunteer staffers must stay through all the games (excepting finals) in order to receive credit for their school. There is no limit to the number of staffers you can bring.

minimum fee: The minimum fee is $0. You can bring enough buzzers and staffers to eliminate your fee, but you cannot have a negative fee.

Please feel welcome to share this announcement with any schools that you think would be interested in attending!

Field size

There is an initial 32-team cap on field size at this tournament. There is no limit on the number of teams which may register from the same school. We hope to split this tournament into at least two experience-based divisions, and will have further information on this once we see who has registered. If there is interest from more than 32 teams then we will seek to expand the field size as we confirm staffers for the tournament.

Method of payment:
All teams must pay by the day of the tournament. We encourage either using electronic payment or mailing payment in advance, though day-of payment will also be accepted on site. Teams who do not pay by the day of the tournament will be charged a $25 penalty and will have two weeks to pay their total amount.

Venmo and Zelle information, as well as a mailing address for checks, will be shared with all registrants. In addition to the electronic payment methods, we can also accept checks in person or run physical credit/debit cards via Square at the tournament itself.

All checks must be made out to "Quizbowl at VCU". If you require an invoice or W-9 form in order to have a check cut, you must let us know by March 29, so that we can send you the paperwork in time. If you do not let us know about this requirement by March 29, and it causes you to come to the tournament without your payment, then you will be subject to the $25 late payment penalty.

Team & roster size:
There may be a maximum of six players on one team's roster, up to four of whom may play at one time. There will be no exceptions to this rule. If you bring more than six players, you must register a second team to have all of them play. There is a half-time substitution opportunity in each game. Each player may appear on only one team's roster throughout the day; there is no switching from the B team to the A team, etc. Teams may play shorthanded, with fewer than four players.

Code of conduct and chaperone policy:

All participants in the tournament are expected to be familiar with the code of conduct designed to provide a safe and inclusive environment at Quizbowl at VCU events.

All schools participating in this event are expected to have at least one coach or other designated adult (such as the parent of a team member) who is present for the duration of the tournament and actively takes responsibility for the conduct of the school's players. One coach may suffice for multiple teams from the same school.

Photography notice:

Tournament staff may take pictures of ordinary situations at the tournament such as meetings, games, and presentations of awards. These images will be used to promote participation at future VCU events. Individuals who do not wish to be photographed may always step out of the room before group shots are taken, be exempted from any series of individual shots such as scoring prize recipients, or request to have photos containing their image removed from public albums, and these wishes will be respected by any tournament-affiliated photographers.

Food:
Neither breakfast nor lunch will be provided by the tournament. We will provide a list of suggested eateries for the lunch break, which will be at some time after 12 PM. There are vending machines in the tournament building and several convenience stores and restaurants within 1-3 blocks, and the VCU campus is well-covered by various food delivery services. It will not be necessary to have access to a vehicle all day in order to purchase food and beverages.

Safety plan regarding covid & other concerns:

*General guidance on VCU campus closures may be accessed at VCU Alert. This is where official decisions on closing the campus due to weather emergencies and other concerns outside of covid may be found. In the event that there is an emergency situation near the date of the tournament, we will go by what is published on VCU Alert and will run the tournament if the campus is open.

*All participants in the tournament are expected to be vaccinated against COVID-19 through at least the fall 2021 booster. This applies to anyone who is physically attending the event (players, staffers, coaches, spectators, etc.)

*We will be following VCU's campus policy on masks as posted here: https://srm.vcu.edu/health-advisories/c ... dvisories/ . As of the date of the announcement, masks are not required in any of the facilities being used for this tournament. We will advise registrants if there is any change to this policy as the tournament approaches.

Parking information
Parking on Main Street directly in front of the building or on other nearby surface streets is, usually, free and available on Saturdays.
*Green signs indicating "one hour parking" and similar are not in effect on weekends in the immediate area of the VCU campus (if you go more than a few blocks away for lunch etc., be aware that some further-off areas do have 7-day-a-week enforcement). With very few exceptions, parking meters around the VCU campus are also not in effect on Saturdays (the meters are electronic and will physically turn off if they are not in use on a given day, so you can easily check). Red signs indicating "no parking" at some or all times, or paper signs indicating temporary restrictions due to construction or special events, are applicable on all days and should be respected to avoid possible ticketing/towing.
*If the block immediately in front of the building is full, your best option is usually to go one block south and park on Cary St. You can then use the pedestrian walkway that cuts through the middle of the Cary/Main block to get back to the tournament building easily. This block of Cary Street has only VCU facilities on it and generally has much less parking demand on weekend mornings compared to the residential areas on the west side of the campus.
*In the event that the on-street parking is closed or full, options include
-The West Main Street Parking Deck one block east of the tournament building. The parking deck has entrances on Cherry Street and Laurel Street and is nominally located at 801 W Main St for GPS purposes. On most weekends, this deck is free and simply raises the gates for open access. If there is a special event taking place at the Altria Theatre or elsewhere on campus, the lot may be staffed and charge $16 to park all day; there should be ample signs informing you if this is the case.
-The Premier Parking surface lots located on both sides of W Main St just east of Morris St and just west of 7-11 (do NOT park in the 7-11 lot itself, you will be towed). If you continue on W Main St past the tournament building you will very quickly see these lots. These are privately operated surface lots that charge $5 to park all day and are a one block walk from the tournament building.
*School buses can often find parking on Main St or Cary St - as long as you are not occupying any part of a no-parking space it's perfectly fine to parallel park a bus along with the cars here. The other option for buses is the VCU-operated JL lot located at 200 W. Cary St (just north of the Cary and Jefferson intersection). This lot is metered 24/7 and costs $16 for all-day parking. It is about 8 blocks from the tournament building, so you may wish to drop off participants at the building before going to park here. The other decks and lots listed here cannot accommodate buses.

*Traffic note: The ramp to I-95 South/I-64 East from Belvidere Street [normally the quickest way to access those interstates when leaving the VCU campus] will be periodically closed for construction as of 2023. This should not affect your arrival at the tournament in the morning, nor departure in other directions. At the end of the day, if you normally take those highways home, be prepared to either make a U-turn and use the ramp from the other side of Belvidere Street, or use another method of accessing those highways (such as the ramps at Arthur Ashe Boulevard or the Downtown Expressway).

We look forward to seeing a diverse field in April! Please contact the e-mail below if you have any questions about the event.

Matt Weiner
Advisor and Tournament Director, Quizbowl at VCU
[email protected]
Last edited by Matt Weiner on Mon Mar 13, 2023 12:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Matt Weiner
Advisor to Quizbowl at Virginia Commonwealth University / Founder of hsquizbowl.org
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Re: VCU Season Finale Tournament XV (Richmond, VA - April 15, 2023)

Post by Matt Weiner »

Field update post (for now, listing total registered teams only, without regard to division):

Updated 4/14/23

Field:

BASIS McLean- 2
Caroline- 2
Cosby- 1
Dinwiddie- 3
Fork Union- 1
Galileo Magnet- 2
Great Bridge- 1
Hermitage- 1
Huguenot- 3
Langley- 1
LC Bird- 1
Lightridge- 4
Maggie Walker- 3
Midlothian- 1
Norfolk Academic Guild- 1
Ocean Lakes- 1
Princess Anne- 1
Rapphannock County- 1
Robinson- 1
Thomas Jefferson- 4
Tuscarora- 1
Last edited by Matt Weiner on Fri Apr 14, 2023 9:28 am, edited 12 times in total.
Matt Weiner
Advisor to Quizbowl at Virginia Commonwealth University / Founder of hsquizbowl.org
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Re: VCU Season Finale Tournament XV (Richmond, VA - April 15, 2023)

Post by Matt Weiner »

We're currently at 26 teams registered for this tournament. While we will keep trying to recruit more staff to meet interest, I can't promise right now that we will be able to accommodate more than 32 teams. The waitlist will be constructed on a first-come, first-serve basis, with the exception that any school which provides a qualified reader will be able to jump the line for 2 teams per staffer provided.

It would be very helpful if all teams attending or considering attending this tournament do the following - the first 2 should be applicable to everyone and the last item is an "if this is possible for you" scenario:

1) Register the number of teams you would like to bring, as soon as possible. The more we know about exactly what field size we need to staff and the sooner we know it, the more likely we will be able to accommodate everyone.
2) If you overshot the mark and you need to cancel 1 or more of your teams, do that as soon as possible also, so that no one is excluded from the event by finding out too late that there is space for them.
3) Talk to alumni, parents, coaches, or anyone else affiliated with your team who has some experience as a reader in any quizbowl format and see if they are able to attend the event.
Matt Weiner
Advisor to Quizbowl at Virginia Commonwealth University / Founder of hsquizbowl.org
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Re: VCU Season Finale Tournament XV (Richmond, VA - April 15, 2023)

Post by Matt Weiner »

We are now at 32 teams registered and will begin constructing a waitlist from further registrants per the guidelines above.
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Re: VCU Season Finale Tournament XV (Richmond, VA - April 15, 2023)

Post by Matt Weiner »

We have secured enough staff to allow all teams that were on the waitlist as of this morning into the field, which now stands at 38 teams.

Teams may continue to register and be waitlisted if they wish. At this point, teams should be aware that we may not be sure about getting more staff until very close to the tournament - if possibly being admitted to the field as late as the Tuesday before the event is not logistically workable for you, then you should take this into account when deciding whether to sign up.
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Re: VCU Season Finale Tournament XV (Richmond, VA - April 15, 2023)

Post by Matt Weiner »

Full updates for teams & staff and individual invoices for teams were sent out this morning. If you expected to receive these messages and did not, then you should contact me.
Matt Weiner
Advisor to Quizbowl at Virginia Commonwealth University / Founder of hsquizbowl.org
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Re: VCU Season Finale Tournament XV (Richmond, VA - April 15, 2023)

Post by Matt Weiner »

Thanks to all teams and staffers for coming to the tournament today. Our winners were:

JV: Norfolk Academic Guild cleared the field undefeated and Maggie Walker C finished second.
Standard: Thomas Jefferson D won over Langley in the second game of a finals series.
National: Thomas Jefferson A won undefeated over Thomas Jefferson B in the first game of a finals series.

Full stats are here https://hsquizbowl.org/db/tournaments/7 ... all_games/ . A wrapup email will be sent to teams shortly and we look forward to seeing all of today's field and more at our tournaments next year.
Matt Weiner
Advisor to Quizbowl at Virginia Commonwealth University / Founder of hsquizbowl.org
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