The Northern California Quiz Bowl Alliance is pleased to announce that our Bay Area season for 2014-15 will begin with two new kickoff tournaments specifically intended for players new to quizbowl. Both UC Berkeley and Palo Alto will be hosting on Saturday, October 4, using NAQT’s Invitational Series #139A; please sign up for the site most convenient to your school.
(Bellarmine College Prep’s long-running novice event will take place later this year; expect a mid-January date for that tournament.)
Here’s East Bay’s announcement (cross-posted on behalf of Varun Govil from Amador Valley):
AVHS Quizbowl and DVHS Quizbowl are proud to announce that we will be hosting a Novice Tournament on October 4, 2014 at UC Berkeley! The purpose of this tournament is to encourage new teams from around the Bay Area to come and experience the feel of a trivia competition that is among the most enriching and fun activities that high schools can offer. The tournament will be run in order to provide an introduction for newcomers.
The tournament set will be National Academic Quiz Tournaments’ (NAQT) Invitational Series 139-A, which is aimed at teams with little to no experience. We have rented out space for a field cap of 30 teams (15 rooms) and strongly encourage all eligible teams to sign up! All players/teams will be eligible, except for those who have played at any national quiz bowl tournaments (HSNCT/PACE NSC). Please be aware that the majority of teams will be teams with new players.
Tournament Logistics: The tournament will be held at UC Berkeley
We project that the tournament will run from 9 until about 4:30pm, with a break for lunch in between. Depending on the number of teams who register, we will change the format of our brackets and further decisions for number of rounds played will be determined within a week or so (we hope to get 8 rounds or so). Registration opens at 8 30 and includes an introduction for novices covering basic rules and guidelines, and we hope to begin by 9 am. For lunch, we will be ordering pizza.
Fees
base fee: $50 per team
–$5 for all additional teams from the same school
–$20 for teams from new schools
–$10 per working buzzer
–$10 per staffer (must stay whole day)
For payment, please bring cash or checks made out to the Quiz Bowl Club at UC Berkeley.
We urge teams attending to bring buzzers and staffers if available. We will enforce all the gameplay rules as they are written in Sections D-H of the official rules of the Academic Competition Federation, so all players must fully familiarize themselves with these rules before proceeding. Pay special attention to timing, pronunciation, and protest guidelines.
Registration: email me (Varun Govil, varun28.govil@gmail.com) before Tuesday, September 30th, 2014 with the proper information (team name, roster, how many teams, number of buzzers/staffers to be brought, the amount to be paid, and contact info).
We look forward to seeing you there!
