2017 Middle School
National Championship Tournament
Format
(Copyright © 2017 NAQT, LLC)
Preliminary Games (Saturday):
Each team will receive a numbered card in its check‐in folder. Do not lose your card! For each round, you should go to the room listed on your current card. Do not write down the rooms in advance, since you will not keep the same card throughout the day. In particular, you will not necessarily have byes in the rounds listed as byes on your original card. At the beginning of each game, both teams will give their cards to the moderator who will verify that the correct teams are present. At the end of the match, the winning team takes the card whose number is closer to #1, and the losing team takes the card closer to #160. Coaches should help game officials verify the correct teams are present and that each team leaves with the correct card. Each team should then go to the room listed on its (potentially new) card for the next round. There will be 12 rounds on Saturday; each team will play 8 games and have 4 byes. A few teams will have two consecutive byes. Any team with a winning record (5–3 or better) in the preliminary games will advance to the playoffs on Sunday. The remaining teams will be able to play consolation rounds on Sunday morning. The original cards are essentially equivalent; there is no structural advantage to having one number over another at the beginning of the day. In particular, there is no correlation between a teamʹs initial card number and NAQTʹs opinion of that teamʹs strength. Do not lose your card! Should that happen, the tournament will grind to a halt. If you do lose your card, go to the NAQT Information Desk (at the Registration Desk in the Enterprise Ballroom Foyer on the Ground Level). The Information Desk should also be teamsʹ first stop if they have any questions or experience any problems during the tournament (with the exception of in‐game protests). Due to the card system, each team will play nearly all of its games against teams with the same record, thereby giving them close matches against opponents of similar ability. Using the card system means that no advance schedule exists indicating where teams will be in any given round; if you expect anybody (including parents or additional players) to arrive after the tournament begins, they will need to make contact using cell phones to find out where you are. Tournament staff will help to the best of their ability, but it will not be possible to quickly locate a given team. Tell late‐arriving parents and players to text or call when they reach the hotel (but remember that phones must be silenced or turned off during gameplay). Please see the other side for information about the playoffs, finals, and consolation matches. Playoffs (Sunday):
The playoffs will be a double‐elimination tournament with teams seeded by preliminary win‐loss record and then by points‐per‐tossup‐heard (PPTUH). Some teams with better seeds will begin the day with a bye. The playoff bracket will be posted at the Information Desk by 7:30 a.m. on Sunday. Teams will move through the Sunday playoffs using cards similar to those used on Saturday; tournament officials will be handing out playoff cards between 7:30 a.m. and 8:20 a.m. at the Information Desk. Once a team has been eliminated from the playoffs, it is welcome to play in any remaining consolation rounds. Finals: There are two possible cases depending on the results of Round 20 (the eighth round on Sunday). In Round 20, the last undefeated team (with Card #1) will play a one‐loss team (with Card #4), while the other match will involve two one‐loss teams (with Cards #2 and #3):  If Team #1 wins Round 20, it will have the upper hand in an advantaged final (during Rounds 21 and 22) against the other winning team from Round 20. That is, the other team will need to win two straight games against Team #1 to claim the title. The two losing teams in Round 20 will play one game during Round 21 for third place.  If Team #1 loses Round 20, the final will be a three‐team, two‐game affair. The two winners in Round 20 will face each other in Round 21 for the right to play Team #1 in a one‐game match in Round 22. The team eliminated in Round 20 will finish in fourth place. Overall Rankings:
All teams eliminated in the same round of the playoffs will be considered tied. All teams still playing in Round 16 will receive a team trophy (as they will finish no worse than tied for 21st place). Teams that did not make the playoffs will be ranked by win‐loss record, with ties broken by points‐per‐
tossup‐heard (PPTUH). Consolation Rounds:
At the same time as the playoffs, informal consolation rounds will be offered to non‐playoff teams and teams eliminated from the playoffs. These will be organized starting at 8:30 a.m. in Innovation Ballroom A. Teams can select their own opponents or participate in three‐ or four‐game ʺmini‐
tournaments.ʺ Consolation matches (including mini‐tournaments) are played entirely for fun and have no effect on teamsʹ overall finish. Teams can sign up for mini‐tournaments near the Information Desk on Saturday evening (recommended) or Sunday morning (chaotic). Individual Awards:
The top 25 individual scorers (by points‐per‐tossup‐heard in the preliminary rounds) will receive All‐
Star awards. The top six players in 7th grade or below who are not overall All‐Stars will receive Rising Star awards. Players must have at least 100 tossups heard to be eligible for individual awards. Page 2