2017 High 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 it! 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 almost certainly 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 will take the card numbered closer to #1 and the losing team will take the card closer to #304. 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 16 rounds on Saturday; each team will play 10 games and have 6 byes. Any team with a winning record (6–4 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. Please note that the original cards are essentially equivalent; there is no structural advantage to having one number over another at the beginning of the day. In addition, there is no correlation between a teamʹs initial card 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 Marquis Registration Desk on the Marquis Level), which will be the primary source of answers for all questions and problems during the tournament (with the exception of protests that have been lodged during a game). Playoffs (Sunday):
The playoffs will be a double‐elimination tournament; however, teams that went exactly 6–4 on Saturday will begin play on Sunday with a loss (i.e. a team that went 6–4 on Saturday will always be one loss away from elimination). Once a team has been eliminated from the playoffs, it is welcome to play in the consolation rounds. Teams will be seeded for playoffs by their Saturday record, with ties broken by points‐per‐tossup‐heard. The pairings for Round 17 and the playoff bracket will be posted online (see the link on the NAQT homepage) and at the Information Desk by 7:00 a.m.; some teams will begin the day with one or more byes. Each playoff team should pick up its card at the Imperial Ballroom Registration Desk (Marquis Level) between 7:00 and 8:15 a.m. The playoff cards will direct gameplay through the end of Round 24. Please see the other side for information about the finals, consolation, and lockout system return.
Overall Finals: Entering Round 23, there will be exactly one team in the winnersʹ bracket; call that team A. It will hold Card #1. In Round 23, team A will play a cross‐bracket game against a team from the losersʹ bracket. If team A wins, it will continue to play teams from the losersʹ bracket in Round 24 and (if it wins again) in Round 25. If team A wins all three of its cross‐bracket games, it is the champion. If team A loses one of those games (in any of the three rounds), it will next play in Round 26 against the only other team that is still alive in the tournament. The winner of that Round 26 game will be the champion. If team A wins its Round 23 and Round 24 games, there will be a third‐place game during Round 25. If team A loses in Round 23 or Round 24, a third‐place game is not necessary. The pairings in Round 23 deviate from the usual matching of ʺbest seed versus worst.ʺ This is intentional as it reduces the chance of repeat matches (and thus of a team being eliminated by two losses to the same opponent) without dramatic changes to the expected quality of opponent. Overall Rankings:
All teams eliminated in the same round of the playoffs will be considered tied. Teams that did not make the playoffs will be ranked first by wins (on Saturday) and then by points‐per‐tossup‐heard. Consolation Rounds:
Informal consolation rounds will be offered to non‐playoff teams and teams eliminated from the playoffs. These will be organized from the registration desk near Room A708 on the Atrium Level. There are two types of consolation rounds: structured ʺmini‐tournamentsʺ and individual ʺad hocʺ matches. Signing up for a mini‐tournament commits your team to playing all of its rounds (3, 4, or 5, depending on size). Since mini‐tournament berths are first‐come, first‐served, NAQT recommends that teams sign up Saturday evening. Mini‐tournament sign‐up sheets will be at the Information Desk starting at the beginning of Round 16 on Saturday. Teams that wait until Sunday to sign up will need to do so at the consolation desk itself. Consolation matches are played for fun and have no effect on teamsʹ finish. All teams wanting to play consolation matches should arrive at the registration desk near A708 by 8:30 a.m. on Sunday. All mini‐tournaments will be launched before ad hoc matching begins. Mini‐
tournaments will be given priority over ad hoc matches if resources are in short supply. Awards:
Every team that is still playing in Round 20 is guaranteed to finish in the top 40 and earn a team trophy (and individual awards for its members). The top 36 individual scorers will receive All‐Star awards; the top 8 sophomores and top 8 freshmen who are not also overall All‐Stars will receive Rising Star awards. All‐Star and Rising Star awards will be given on the basis of points‐per‐tossup‐heard in the preliminary (Saturday) rounds; players must have a minimum of 120 tossups heard to be eligible. Lockout System Return:
Team lockout systems will be returned at the Imperial Ballroom Registration Desk (on the Marquis Level) on Sunday starting at 1:00 p.m. (and not earlier, except for emergencies). Note that this means teams claiming lockout‐system discounts cannot leave Saturday night or Sunday morning. Teams should pick up their systems no later than 4:30 p.m. Teams can also pick up packets 1–22 of the Page 2
tournament set with their system. Page 3