ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ

The 2018 High School National Championship Tournament (HSNCT), powered by LetterOne, was held at in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 25–27, 2018. The 2017 HSNCT was also held at this site.

The HSNCT is ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ’s overall high school championship event. ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ also runs a Small School National Championship Tournament for small high schools. Make sure you are looking at information for the proper tournament. (Qualified small schools are welcome to attend the HSNCT, even if they also attend the SSNCT!)

Tournament Date

May 25–27, 2018 (Friday–Sunday). This is Memorial Day weekend.

Participants will check in on Friday, May 25 and have the opportunity to meet each other and play scrimmage games. As an alternative to the scrimmage matches, teams may also participate in the ACRONYM popular culture tournament on Friday evening.

The tournament’s preliminary games will take place throughout Saturday and on Sunday morning, and its playoff games will take place on Sunday afternoon and evening. Teams may arrive earlier or stay later to explore Atlanta at the discounted hotel rates negotiated by ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ. Teams that cannot arrive on Friday night will have a chance to check in on Saturday.

Presenting Sponsor

ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ is thrilled to have LetterOne as the presenting sponsor of the 2018 HSNCT (and the 2018 ICT). LetterOne is a partnership of successful entrepreneurs and former CEOs aiming to create one of the world's pre-eminent international investment firms. LetterOne believes quiz bowl encourages the team-based, innovative thinking that is valuable to the next generation of business leaders in the face of a new industrial revolution in which social media, robotics, 3D manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and new trade corridors are altering the landscape.

Location

hotel in Atlanta, Georgia. This is the official hotel, and it contains all of the competition rooms.

Schedule

This schedule was last updated on May 20 and is final.

This schedule is tentative.

All times are listed in Eastern time.

On Saturday, teams will be assigned to either the Morning Session or the Afternoon Session of games. Each team will either play seven games between 9:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. (and then have the afternoon off) or will play seven games between 3:00 and 7:30 p.m. (having had the morning off).

On Saturday morning teams should be in the Marquis Ballroom by 7:55 a.m. if they are playing in the Morning Session and by 1:55 p.m. if they are playing in the Afternoon Session.

A printable Time and Place Guide is available.

Frequently Asked Questions

ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ has prepared answers to frequently asked questions about its national championships.

Information Desk

Starting Friday evening, ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ will operate an Information Desk at the Marquis Registration Desk on the Marquis Level. The Information Desk should be the first destination for any questions about or issues with the tournament (other than protests, which must be lodged within the game room). ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ will also be selling practice material at the Information Desk.

Participants may also text 213‑279‑6278 (“ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ”) with questions if it is inconvenient for them to get to the Information Desk. Tournament staff will answer incoming messages as quickly as they can.

In general, lost-and-found items will be taken to the Information Desk during the tournament. We will notify owners to the extent we can identify them. At the end of the tournament, any unclaimed items will be brought to the hotel’s general lost-and-found.

Rules and Eligibility

Gameplay will follow the Official ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ Rules. Player eligibility is governed by the High School Eligibility Rules.

Qualification

Schools qualify to send teams to the HSNCT through their performance at tournaments using ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ questions throughout the year.

Registration has closed.

The field has historically filled. Receiving an invitation to the tournament does not guarantee a spot in the field; it merely allows your team to register for a spot if one is available. Once you have qualified, you should register as soon as you can to ensure your team a spot in the tournament. Last year, the field filled around March 1 (though some teams were promoted from the waitlist after that).

Field

These teams attended the tournament.

Format

The participating teams will be divided into two Sessions (Morning and Afternoon) for the Saturday preliminary rounds. Those two groups of teams will compete separately on Saturday, but they will be merged for each team’s final three preliminary games on Sunday morning.

Teams are guaranteed exactly ten preliminary matches; seven of those will be played on Saturday (with each team competing either during the Morning Session or the Afternoon Session), and the final three will be played on Sunday morning.

Those matches will be determined by power-matching, so that teams with similar records will be playing each other in every round. Every team with a winning record (6–4 or better) will advance to the playoffs. The elimination playoffs will be held on Sunday; teams that finished 7–3 or better in the preliminary games can lose once without being eliminated (and will be eliminated upon their second loss); teams that finished 6–4 in the preliminary games will be eliminated by a single loss.

The 2018 HSNCT Format Guide (PDF) provides a more in-depth discussion of the format. There are slight changes from last year in how the final, cross-bracket games in the playoffs will be handled.

Registration and Fees

Registration has closed.

The registration fee is $675 per team if payment is received on or before May 4, 2018. The fee is $695 per team on or after May 5, 2018. Schools that first qualified after April 1 have until May 11 to register at the lower rate. Registration will close on May 18, but the field may fill earlier.

The registration fee only covers participation in the tournament. It does not cover transportation, lodging, food or other expenses.

Chaperones

Every team must have one official chaperone, subject to the following rules:

• The chaperone must be at least 21 years old.
• The chaperone must be reachable by text message (at a number provided to ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ) throughout the tournament, to the maximum extent possible given availability of cellular networks.
• The chaperone must be with the team at most times during the tournament and downtime. If the chaperone is not with the team, ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ is not obligated to contact the chaperone in situations short of an emergency. In particular, ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ will not contact absent chaperones regarding protests.
• The chaperone must be with the team during travel. If the team is traveling in multiple groups, all groups must be chaperoned during travel by a person who is at least 21 years old.
• The chaperone must always be near enough to the team to (physically) reach them in less than ten minutes.
• Each team must have a separate chaperone as just described; the same person may not be the chaperone for multiple teams.
• The chaperone must be the same person for the entire tournament.

Teams who wish to request a variance from the chaperone policy should write to ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ at [email protected] well in advance of the tournament to discuss their situation.

Session Assignments

Unlike in past years, there will be two Sessions of play on Saturday; this will effectively group each team’s byes together to allow it a longer block of time for sightseeing.

Each team will be assigned to either the Morning or Afternoon Session on Saturday; this determines whether it plays its first seven preliminary games in the Morning (9:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.) or the Afternoon (3:00 – 7:30 p.m.). The two groups will be merged for each team’s final three preliminary games on Sunday morning.

Each team may request a specific Session when it registers, but these assignments are not guaranteed. ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ does make the following guarantees:

• ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ will guarantee the first 100 Session requests.
• ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ will make a good-faith effort to honor all requests (with priority going to teams with earlier requests).
• If a school wants all of its teams in the same Session, ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ will guarantee that (though it might not be the school’s preferred Session).
• If a school wants its teams evenly distributed between the Sessions, ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ will guarantee that (though not necessarily which teams end up in each Session).
• ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ will confirm teams’ Session assignments no later than May 15.

Checking In

The primary check-in period will be from 6:00 to 9:30 p.m. in the Marquis Foyer (on the Marquis Level) on Friday, May 25. During this period ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ will distribute information folders, answer questions, process payments, verify rosters, and take care of other administrative matters. There are “late” check-in periods on Saturday, but ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ would prefer that as many teams as possible check-in on Friday night.

To check in, each team should send only one coach to the check-in area. That person will be given the team’s information folder. Others should not enter the check-in area.

In past years there has been a long line just after check-in opens, so we encourage teams to keep an eye on the line and send one person to check in when the line is short. There is no need to check in immediately. In particular, it is not necessary to check in before playing scrimmage games.

Remember that ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ is paying an additional Early Buzzer Bonus of $20 for buzzer systems that are dropped off between 1:00 and 5:00 p.m. Friday at the Imperial Ballroom Registration Desk. Regardless of when you choose to check in, please consider dropping off your systems during this time period to earn extra money and to help us make sure we have everything ready in time.

Team-provided staff members should check in in Imperial Ballroom A (Marquis Level) at 5:00 p.m. (or as soon as possible after they arrive, assuming they arrive before 9:30 p.m.).

Teams that don’t arrive at the hotel until after 9:30 p.m. on Friday may check in between 7:00 and 8:00 a.m. in the Marquis Ballroom Foyer (Marquis Level) if they are in the Morning Session. Teams in the Afternoon Session may check in between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. at the Information Desk. Teams that checked in on Friday do not need to check in again on Saturday.

Scrimmages

Between 6:00 and 10:00 p.m. on Friday night, game rooms will be set up for teams to scrimmage against each other on questions from previous championships and/or the regular season. This scrimmaging is free and will be moderated by tournament staff.

Teams that want to participate in the scrimmages should go to the A708 Registration Desk on the Atrium Level. A team does not need to have checked in to be allowed to scrimmage.

Scrimmages will be organized by means of “scrimmage tickets”: When a team shows up to the scrimmage desk, it will be given a ticket listing a room and a time; that team should go to that room and be prepared to play at that time. The majority of tickets will be for games that start within 5 to 15 minutes, but it is possible that there could be a 30-to-45-minute wait during the busiest periods. If a team wants to play another game, it should return to the scrimmage desk to get another ticket after its game finishes.

Scrimmages are open to all players, including alternates and standby teams.

In light of the ACRONYM popular-culture tournament taking place at the same time (and the increase in overall championship size), scrimmages will be scaled back in scope from previous years. In particular, teams new to the tournament will be guaranteed three games, and other teams will be guaranteed a single scrimmage match). For this purpose, a “new” team is one whose school has never attended the tournament before or that last attended in 2013 or earlier. Additional games will be allocated based on availability.

Awards

The top 50 teams will each receive a team trophy, and the members of those teams will receive individual awards (up to five per team).

The top 40 individual scorers will receive All-Star awards, the top 10 freshmen will receive Rising Star Awards, and the top 10 sophomores will receive Rising Star Awards. These awards will be determined by points per tossup heard, in the preliminary rounds only, among players who heard at least 120 tossups (approximately six games’ worth). Players in eighth grade and below are not eligible for Rising Star awards.

Team trophies (and the individual trophies for their members) for teams that finished tied for 8th place or below will be handed out immediately following the game in which the team is eliminated (in the game room, by the moderators). The trophies for the top seven teams will be given out at the Awards Ceremony.

Unlike in past years, the All-Star and Rising Star awards will be given out at a separate ceremony in the Marquis Ballroom at 1:15 p.m. on Sunday, just before the bracket unveiling.

If a team needs to leave prior to the awards ceremony, it can go to the Information Desk to get its trophy and any individual awards earned by its members.

Consolation Games

Teams who do not qualify for the playoffs are encouraged to return after lunch on Sunday to play consolation games on the playoff questions. These games will be moderated by tournament staff.

Two kinds of consolation rounds will be offered:

• Mini-tournaments: These will be three-, four-, or five-round power-matched events that run relatively efficiently, but they involve a commitment to stay for all of the rounds. Teams can sign up for mini-tournaments at the Information Desk as soon as Round 19 ends (roughly 11:00 a.m.). Teams will only have about two hours to sign up (and spots in the tournaments will be first-come, first-served), so teams that really care about getting a spot in one of the larger events should make a point of signing up immediately after their final preliminary game. Teams in mini-tournaments should arrive at the consolation desk, outside Room A708, by 2:00 p.m. on Sunday to ensure that their events start on time.
• Ad hoc games: These involve no commitment, but they will take longer to organize as available teams will be manually paired against each other as rooms, packets, and readers become available. Teams that only want to play one or two additional games should choose this option. Teams may also play ad hoc games after they are eliminated from the playoffs or after their mini-tournament finishes. Ad hoc games will be organized at consolation desk outside Room A708 after the mini-tournaments have been launched. Teams interested in ad hoc games should show up by 1:55 p.m.

If rooms, buzzers, or staff run short, mini-tournaments will be given priority over ad hoc games.

Consolation games have no effect on a team’s final rank in the tournament. They are played solely for fun.

Apparel and Souvenirs

HSNCT merchandise, including T-shirts and other apparel, is available through Fine Designs, the Official Event Merchandiser of the 2018 High School National Championship Tournament.

Two HSNCT-specific designs are available on a variety of apparel. They can be ordered through for immediate shipping. The former, Hamilton-themed design can also be ordered on plain white T-shirts (only) through ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ’s registration system for $15 per shirt; such orders will be available for pickup at Fine Designs’ kiosk during the HSNCT. Both designs will also be available, along with other merchandise, for on-site purchase and customization.

 

All shirts will have LetterOne’s logo on the back.

ACRONYM Popular Culture Side Event

ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ has arranged with Erik Nelson of to host a mirror of its ACRONYM popular culture tournament as a “side event” on Friday evening. This event is not part of the official championship and is entirely optional.

The mirror is open to all people at the national championship including players, coaches, parents, and staff (assuming they haven’t played the ACRONYM 11 question set at a prior tournament!). People affiliated with schools may mix-and-match to form chimera teams. There is a separate registration fee ($90) for the ACRONYM mirror. Most side events have a lenient registration policy that allows teams to sign up immediately prior to an event’s start, but ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ suspects that the ACRONYM field will fill (and thus encourages teams to register as soon as they can commit).

The tournament will have two divisions, one for teams composed entirely of high schoolers and another that is open to all competitors (of any age).

More information about the side event has . Questions about ACRONYM should be directed to Erik Nelson.

Registration for ACRONYM is now open. If you are registering a mixed team or a team that wants to play under a nonstandard name, you may need to create a new organization, affiliate yourself with it as a coach, and then register under its name.

Photography

The official tournament photographer will be taking posed photos of participating teams in the central foyer of the Marquis Level on Saturday. Afternoon Session teams should visit during Rounds 6–7 (approximately 12:00 to 1:30 p.m.), and Morning Session teams should visit during Rounds 8–9 (3:00 to 4:15 p.m.) This is optional (and there is a charge for images and/or prints). Photos are great mementos or gifts for coaches, parents, and other fans or family members.

Transportation

Hotel

The official hotel for the tournament is full.

The official hotel for the tournament is the hotel. Quadruple-occupancy rooms (with two double beds) are available for $109 per night. To receive that rate, or mention “ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ” when making a reservation over the phone. The last day to reserve rooms at this special price is May 9. Note that there are several Marriott hotels in the Atlanta area; make sure you are reserving rooms at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis downtown!

We have a room block that is calculated to cover the entire tournament, but we encourage teams to reserve their rooms as early as possible; if we end up needing more space, we would like as much time as possible to negotiate that!

As part of the contract negotiated by ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ, the hotel will offer complimentary guest room Internet access to tournament participants and their families. This only applies to rooms booked using the ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ group code.

The standard check-out time at the Marriott Marquis is 11:00 a.m. Teams that are not staying Sunday night should make sure to check out of their rooms before their Sunday-morning preliminary games.

Food

The hotel is connected by skyway to a food court at Peachtree Center with about two dozen restaurants offering a variety of affordable meals (sandwiches, Thai food, pizza, Chinese food, cheesesteaks, etc.). There are also restaurants in the hotel itself, and more within walking distance, that should satisfy any combination of appetite and price range.

To get to the food court…

1. Go to the Atrium Level of the Atlanta Marriott Marquis.
2. Go toward the side that Atrium A701–A708 are on (the opposite side from the Hilton Atlanta).
3. Turn left between Atrium A702 and Atrium A703, following the signs for Marquis Tower I and Peachtree Center.
4. Walk through the office tower’s lobby area, then cross the skybridge to Peachtree Center.
5. Explore the food court. There are more parts of it than might first be apparent!

If the Marquis Tower I pathway is closed, instead…

3. Turn right between Atrium A707 and Atrium A708, following the signs for Marquis Tower II and the Hyatt Regency Atlanta.
4. Turn left and cross the skybridge to the Hyatt Regency Atlanta.
5. Once inside the Hyatt’s atrium, turn left. Follow the signs to Radius Tower and Peachtree Center.
6. Cross the skybridge to Peachtree Center.
7. Explore the food court. There are more parts of it than might first be apparent!

Advocate Program

Because ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ believes that quiz bowl is an activity for everybody, and in which all participants should feel welcome and respected, we have established the Advocate Program to make sure select tournament staff are available to hear reports about problematic behavior and comments by anyone at the tournament.

Staff wearing blue ribbons that say “Advocate” have been specifically selected to receive reports about inappropriate behavior (as opposed to run-of-the-mill questions about the quiz bowl aspects of the tournament). At least one such staff member will generally be available at the Information Desk during tournament hours; if no such person is available (e.g., due to being on a break), the other Information Desk staff can be asked to have a senior tournament official come to the Information Desk to hear the report. Additional Advocate Program staff will be available in many places around the tournament site.

Feedback about problematic behavior can, of course, always be sent to ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ by email ([email protected]) or other channels such as the Misconduct Reporting Form, but the Advocate Program is intended to allow for in-person reporting of sensitive complaints on-site so they can be handled immediately.

Reports are confidential to the extent permitted by law and ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ’s agreements to share critical information with other quiz bowl organizations.

Practice Material

Participants may be interested in practicing on questions from previous years to prepare for the event. All of ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ’s past regular-season sets are available, as are the sets from previous championships.

Participants may also want to study frequency lists, Power Up study guides, and/or Thumbs Up! question anthologies. These are also available on our practice materials page.

Finally, participants may want to look at the information contained in ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ’s free You Gotta Know articles before the tournament. These detail the most frequently asked-about question topics in a wide variety of areas.

Spectators

Spectators are welcome to attend any part of the tournament (though some areas may have limited capacity).

No registration or tickets are required for spectators.

Sightseeing

View Sightseeing Recommendations

Social Media

The official hashtag for the tournament is hsnct; please use this tag for all posts about the tournament.

Remember that question content for the championship cannot be posted online (or shared through other channels)! This means that players, coaches, spectators, and moderators should not discuss clues, answers, or even overall themes (e.g., “Lots of opera”) with people on other teams (even those from the same school).

Livebloggers will cover the tournament on ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ’s social media.

As a prelude to the 20th edition of the HSNCT, ÎÞÓǶÌÊÓƵ is releasing 20for20, a series of 20 interviews with people with significant past and present roles in the HSNCT, in the 20 weeks leading up to the tournament.

Relationship to the SSNCT

Small schools are eligible and welcome to attend the HSNCT (if qualified), regardless of whether they attend the Small School National Championship Tournament. The SSNCT and HSNCT will use different question sets, and a school that attends both will receive a $100 discount on its HSNCT registration fee.

Further Questions

To ask specific questions about the HSNCT, write to [email protected].

We look forward to answering any and all questions, no matter how expansive or trivial, in the hopes of eliminating any possible confusion or mistakes in participants’ plans. If something’s not clear, let us know!