Changes for 2024–2025
ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ has made a number of changes to its rules and policies for the 2024–2025 season:
Honor Code
We have introduced an Honor Code that governs participation in all tournaments using ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ questions (regardless of whether they use ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ gameplay rules). It applies to players, coaches, chaperones, institutional representatives, other people associated with a team, spectators, and tournament staff. All of these people are responsible for knowing, understanding, and following the Honor Code. We also encourage reporting possible misconduct that takes place outside of ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ tournaments.
References to the Honor Code have been added to the hosting policies, Gameplay Rules, all four sets of Eligibility Rules, and participation agreements for national championships.
Gameplay Rules
Below we list the most important changes. We also made some changes not listed here (to the listed documents as well as others like the IPNCT Rules) that are only intended to clarify existing practice.
ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ Gameplay Rules
- We made it a requirement that all protests be lodged before either team’s captain and either team’s official coach has left the game room.
- We made it a requirement that protests regarding regulation gameplay be lodged and adjudicated before overtime begins, protests regarding the initial three-question phase of overtime be lodged and adjudicated before sudden-death overtime begins, and protests in sudden-death overtime be lodged and adjudicated before the next sudden-death question.
- We distinguished between the clock being stopped (end of halves, timeouts, protests, unusual issues) and being paused (checking complex answer lines, stuttering, buzzer checks). This clarifies some ambiguous situations about clock stoppages. Score checks are only permitted when the clock is stopped, not when it is paused.
- We extended and reorganized the rules related to illegal conferral and the use of reference material (K.2, G.12, H.2). In particular, we clarified the definition of reference material and electronic devices; clarified that players may use notes they write during the game (but not before the game); and we made explicit that coaches (and other people who are not active players) are forbidden to verbally communicate with active players during gameplay.
- We specified that if a bonus is earned when all available bonus questions have been exhausted (e.g., due to use as replacements), the tournament director may decide to omit that bonus if it could not change the winner of the game.
- We specified that the effect of protests on time left in the game, and possible strategic decisions made as a result, are not themselves subject to protest. (Protests that are inherently about the time left in the game are still possible.)
Correctness Guidelines
We added a guideline specifying that a seven-continent system is generally assumed (since some cultures and educational systems use five- or six-continent systems, but the seven-continent system is overwhelmingly common in English-speaking countries).
Eligibility
- We added a summary to the top of each set of Eligibility Rules:
- In the Community College Eligibility Rules and Collegiate Eligibility Rules, we removed references to “branch or associated campuses,” which were unclear, confusing, and unnecessary.
- In the Community College Eligibility Rules and Collegiate Eligibility Rules, we replaced the “Experience” section with the same text found in the “Restricted Fields” section of the Middle School Eligibility Rules and High School Eligibility Rules.
Hosting Policies
- We have standardized the penalty for not reporting results (and coach contact information) at $150 per event (regardless of the questions used). That penalty applies if results are never reported. If results are reported but more than two weeks after the event ends, the penalty is reduced by half. We expect to continue increasing this penalty significantly to incentivize reporting results.
- We have implemented a rush fee of $50 for events for which questions are requested less than 10 days in advance.
College Sectional Championship Tournaments
- We changed the deadline for SCT hosts to notify ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ if they wish to use an automatic bid for an ICT invitation in Division II rather than Division I.
- We changed the rule for Tier-2 editing automatic bids to the ICT to specify that such bids will not be dissolved if a team from the same school earns a Tier-1 invitation via SCT gameplay.
- We clarified the relationship between Division II eligibility and the interaction of tiers for ICT qualification.
National Championships
Policies are marked as to which of ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ’s national championships they apply to: the Community College Championship Tournament (CCCT), Intercollegiate Championship Tournament (ICT), Individual Player National Championship Tournament (IPNCT), Small School National Championship Tournament (SSNCT), Middle School National Championship Tournament (MSNCT), and/or High School National Championship Tournament (HSNCT).
- [IPNCT, SSNCT, MSNCT, HSNCT] Chaperones are now required to be at least 21 years old. We also added an explicit provision for teams traveling in multiple groups, though this is not intended to be a change in practice.
- [CCCT, ICT] The top three teams from the CCCT, rather than the top four, will be invited to the ICT (Division II).
- [SSNCT, MSNCT, HSNCT] For teams not registered by a verified official school coach, payment—or confirmation of payment plans from such a coach or from a school administrator—is required within one week of registration.
- [SSNCT, MSNCT, HSNCT] If a one-day local tournament allows players to switch teams, any school with players who switched teams can qualify at most one team for national championships.
- [SSNCT] To qualify for the SSNCT, in addition to winning at least one game, a team must finish in the top two-thirds of its tournament (rounded toward more teams qualifying).
- [ICT] Within one week of registering, each team must pay its registration fee or provide evidence of progress toward doing so, such as copies of forms filed with school billing offices. If this is not possible, the team should discuss the issue with ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ prior to that deadline.
- [CCCT, ICT] Discounts for bringing buzzer systems will no longer be offered at these events; ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ will supply all buzzer systems.