Maryland Academic Quiz Team

1999 Maryland High School Classic Academic Tournament

The University of Maryland Academic Quiz Team is pleased to announce its annual Maryland High School Classic Academic Tournament. This year, it will be held at the University of Maryland, College Park on Sunday, May 2. Every team is guaranteed to play five games in a swiss-pair format, and the top 16 teams advance to a seeded single-elimination playoff.

The games will be played in the tossup/bonus format, with conferring forbidden on tossups, but allowed on bonuses. There will be 20 tossups per game.

You may have four players playing at any one time (not just three, though you may play short-handed). Alternates can be substituted between rounds, though not during games or between teams, if you bring multiple teams.

A sample round from a recent Maryland Classic tournament is available here.

The 64 team field will be divided into two brackets. The two brackets will alternate games, and if you have registered 2 teams, they will be placed in different brackets so that they can watch each other's games. Each team will play 5 preliminary games, making a total of 10 preliminary rounds.

Registration will start at 8:00 am. There will be a rules meeting at 8:30, and play will begin promptly at 9:00 am. There will be a break for lunch, during which you can find restaurants on Route 1 and in the Stamp Student Union. The preliminary rounds should end at approximately 3:00, with the top 16 teams advancing to a seeded playoff.

Trophies will be given to the first and second place teams. We will be selling the tournament questions on disk in either MAC or PC format for $10.

The easiest way to get to the University is via Route 1. From the Beltway, take exit 25 (Route 1) south towards College Park. About two miles down Route 1, you will pass a McDonald's on your right. Soon after that, Route 1 widens to three lanes. Get in the right lane and make a right at the first light, Campus drive. If you are coming from the south, you will pass the University Chapel on your left and Fraternity Row on your right, and then make a left turn onto Campus Drive. Once on Campus Drive, go straight ahead until you come to a traffic circle with a large M in the middle. Make a right turn onto Regents Drive. After you pass the Geology building you will see a large parking garage on your left. Park there at any metered spot. Meters are free on weekends, but do not park in any reserved space, as the department of campus parking is extremely vigilant. Across the street from where you entered the parking garage and slightly to the right is a low, brown sign with white letters that reads "Physics Lecture Halls". Enter through the doors of that courtyard and the lecture hall is to your left. There will be signs posted on the doors.

The cost is $40 for the first team you send, $35 for each additional team, minus a $5 discount per working buzzer system you bring (bring as many as you like). Please make checks payable to the Maryland Academic Quiz Team.

Please try to let us know by Monday, April 18 if you will be coming, and how many teams and buzzer systems you will bring. Because we use a swiss-pair system for preliminary games (we feel that this is the most fair method), we have a 64-team admissions cap. The sooner you respond, the more certain you are of entry into the tournament. To register, you can either snail-mail the entry form available here, call our tournament coordinator, Josh Allen, at (301) 314-0020, or send email to jtallen@wam.umd.edu. Note: Our online registration system is down. You may pay by mail when you register, or at the tournament. Once you have registered, we will get you more information regarding times, location, maps. Last year's Invitational drew 64 teams, and with your patronage, we hope this one will be as successful.

One last topic I'd like to mention: if anyone on your team is interested in continuing to play quiz bowl in college and is even remotely considering attending the University of Maryland, then we are very interested in them. Maryland has one of the top 3 college programs in the nation, and it is one of the deepest. We rely on good recruiting classes each year to continue our winning tradition. If any of your students are interested, have them talk to one of our team members at the tournament.

Sincerely,

Josh Allen
Kanishka Gangopadhyay
Tournament Directors


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Maintained by David Hamilton
Comments, complaints can be sent to the author at dhamiltn@wam.umd.edu
Last updated March 31, 1999.