NAQT is pleased to announce that its 2008 High School National Championship Tournament will be held at Chicago's Wyndham O'Hare hotel on Memorial Day weekend (May 23-25). Please note that this is near the hotel used last year, but not the same place.

Date:

May 23-25, 2008 (Friday to Sunday).

Teams will check in on Friday, May 23, and have the opportunity to meet each other and practice on official questions. The preliminary games will take place on Saturday, and the playoff games will take place on Sunday. Teams may stay through Monday (or longer!) to explore Chicago. Teams that cannot arrive on Friday night will have a chance to check in on Saturday morning if they notify NAQT of the situation in advance.

Site:

The Wyndham O'Hare. This building contains both the official hotel and the competition rooms. Additional guest rooms are available at the tertiary hotel.

Schedule:

This schedule is tentative.

On Saturday morning teams should be in the Grand Ballroom by 8:30 a.m. Moderators and other staff should go to Salon B in the O'Hare Ballroom to review game procedures and hear any last-minute announcements.

Qualification:

Schools qualify to send teams to the HS NCT through their performance at NAQT invitational events and NAQT State Championships held throughout the year. Qualified teams may now register online.

Field:

The field for the tournament was originally capped at 160 teams but has been expanded to 176 to accommodate more of this year's top teams.

The field will be limited to 176 teams.

The current field is listed here.

Format:

The precise format will be determined by the final size of the field. Teams are guaranteed ten preliminary matches on Saturday. The playoffs will take place on Sunday. The format will likely be similar to last year's in which 160 teams played 10 preliminary games (over the course of 15 rounds) on Saturday and every team with a winning record advanced to double-elimination (10 rounds) on Sunday.

Scrimmages:

Teams that do not qualify for the playoffs are encouraged to return on Sunday to play against any other teams they want (or to mix-and-match from across the country) on the playoff questions. These scrimmage rounds will be held in various game rooms of the hotel and will be moderated by NAQT staff and other volunteers. Please note that all students, even alternates or observers, are welcome to take part.

Registration:

The registration fee is $525 per team if payment is received on or before April 26. The fee is $545 per team after April 26. Schools whose first qualifying event occurred after April 1, 2008, have until May 10, to register at the $525 rate. The deadline to accept an invitation is May 17, or when the field fills, whichever comes first.

Please note that the registration fee only covers entrance to the tournament. It does not cover transportation, lodging, food, or other expenses.

Teams supplying a qualified, experienced scorekeeper for the tournament will be eligible for a $75 discount on the registration fees. This scorekeeper will not necessarily scorekeep for his or her school's matches; he or she will be assigned at the tournament director sees fit. Also, a team claiming this discount must still have at least one adult coach/chaperone with the team at all matches.

Every competing school will receive a complete copy of the question set used at this tournament. Please note that teams that do not pick up their questions at the tournament itself will be charged a shipping fee ($10) by NAQT to mail them.

Teams should register online to ensure that NAQT has their information. After NAQT receives that registration information, an electronic invoice will be generated. Teams that need paper invoices may request them in the "additional information" box on the registration form. Please note that team rosters may be changed at any time before the start of the HS NCT so it is neither necessary (nor desirable) to wait to register until a team's composition has been definitively decided. Register as soon as possible and, if necessary, re-register when the composition of a team changes.

Checking In:

NAQT will be checking teams in, disbursing information folders, answering questions, and handling outstanding administrative matters between 6:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom on Friday, May 23. When teams arrive at the hotel on Friday night, the coach should check in. He or she will receive a folder containing a copy of the official rules, the schedule for the tournament, and information on local attractions. Team members are encouraged to take advantage of the social and practice opportunities on Friday night.

Friday Night:

Between 6:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., rooms will be set up near the check-in area for teams to scrimmage against each other on questions from previous NAQT HS NCTs. This scrimmaging is free and will be moderated by tournament staff. We encourage all teams to come by to play a practice game or two.

Also from 6:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., there will be an open room for students to chat with tournament staff, meet teams from across the country, or talk with seniors who will be attending the same college. Attendance is not mandatory, but we hope to see many teams there.

Prizes:

The top twenty teams will each receive a team trophy, and the members (and coach) of those teams will receive individual awards. In addition, the top three small schools (by NAQT's definition) will receive a team trophy and individual awards. The top twenty-five individual scorers will receive All-Star awards. In addition, the top five freshmen and the top five sophomores who are not overall All-Stars will receive freshman or sophomore All-Star awards. All individual awards will be based on the results of the preliminary rounds. Players must have at least 100 tossups heard (approximately five games) to be eligible for individual awards.

Flights:

Teams will want to fly into one of the two major Chicago airports, either O'Hare International (airport code ORD) or Midway International (code MDW).

Hotel (Official):

The official hotel for the tournament is the Wyndham O'Hare itself. Quadruple-occupancy rooms are available for $99 per night. To receive that rate, enter "052285NA" as your group code when registering online, or mention "NAQT" when making a reservation over the phone. The last day to reserve rooms at this special price is May 12.

As of April 25, 2008, both the Wyndham O'Hare and the overflow hotel, the Holiday Inn Express, are full. NAQT has arranged a tertiary hotel, the Holiday Inn Select.

Teams can book their stay online. Note that there is free Internet access (and other benefits) available to members of Wyndham's preferred guest program, which is free to join.

Parking is $8/day and includes in-and-out privileges. Bus parking is $20/day (and is comparatively convenient).

The hotel has a complimentary shuttle to O'Hare. The cost of a taxi from Midway is approximately $35. For public transportation between Midway and O'Hare (via the Orange and Blue "El" train lines), the cost is $2.00 per person.

Wyndham O'Hare
6810 N.Mannheim Rd.
Rosemont, Illinois 60018
Telephone: 847-297-1234
Reservations: 877-999-3223

Hotel (Overflow):

As of April 25, 2008, the overflow hotel is also full. NAQT has arranged a tertiary hotel, the Holiday Inn Select.

Should the Wyndham O'Hare fill to capacity, teams still needing rooms should contact the tournament's overflow hotel, the Holiday Inn Express. Quadruple occupancy rooms are available for $109 per night. Use group discount code NAQ to receive this discounted price. The last day to reserve rooms at this special price is May 12.

The price is a slightly higher at the Holiday Inn Express, but it does include breakfast in the morning. There is also free wireless Internet access.

The Holiday Inn Express is next door to the Wyndham O'Hare and can be reached via a four-minute walk from front desk to front desk.

Teams can book their stay online.

Car parking is $8/day and includes in-and-out privileges. Bus parking is free.

The hotel has a complimentary shuttle to O'Hare. The cost of a taxi from Midway is approximately $35. For public transportation between Midway and O'Hare (via the Orange and Blue "El" train lines), the cost is $2.00 per person.

Holiday Inn Express
6600 North Mannheim Road
Rosemont, IL 60018
Telephone: 847-544-7500
Fax: 847-544-7544
Online: Registration

Hotel (Tertiary):

Since the Wyndham O'Hare and Holiday Inn Express have filled to capacity, teams still needing rooms should contact the tournament's tertiary ("overflow overflow") hotel, the Holiday Inn Select. Quadruple occupancy rooms are available for $99 per night. Mention NAQT to receive this discounted price. The last day to reserve rooms at this special price is May 5.

This hotel provides complimentary wireless Internet access.

The Holiday Inn Select is about a 10-minute walk from the Wyndham O'Hare; teams can certainly make this walk without undue stress, but the hotel will also be running shuttles from 7:00 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday and from 5:30 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. on Saturday and 4:00 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. on Sunday to bring teams to and from the game sites. Teams will need to sign up for specific shuttles when they check in to be assured of seats.

Teams can book their stay online.

Parking, including bus parking, is free.

The hotel has a complimentary shuttle to O'Hare. The cost of a taxi from Midway is approximately $35. For public transportation between Midway and O'Hare (via the Orange and Blue "El" train lines), the cost is $2.00 per person.

Holiday Inn Select
10233 West Higgins Road
Rosemont, IL 60018 Telephone: 847-954-8600
Fax: 847-954-8800
Online: Registration

Food:

One of the reasons NAQT selected a new hotel for the 2008 championship is the presence of a variety of restaurants (both fast food and sit-down) in the vicinity, which should make it easier for teams to eat quickly and affordably. The hotel also has a restaurant and breakfast buffet (not included in the room price).

Transportation:

The Wyndham O'Hare operates a complimentary shuttle between O'Hare airport and the hotel. Since the official hotel is also serving as the competition site, NAQT will not be providing additional shuttle or bus services.

Teams that want to explore Chicago are encouraged to rent a car and/or use Chicago's public transportation, including the famed El.

Practice Questions:

Teams that have been invited to compete at the 2008 High School National Championship Tournament may be interested in purchasing the questions from previous years to prepare for the event. All 76 of NAQT's past regular-season sets are available as are the sets from all nine past national championships.

Teams may also want to purchase NAQT study guides listing the works of literature, art, music, and non-fiction (and their creators) that have been mentioned most frequently in NAQT questions from 1996 to the present. These are also available on our practice questions page.

Finally, teams will want to look at the information contained in NAQT's free You Gotta Know articles before the tournament. These detail the most frequently asked about question topics in a wide variety of areas.

Further Questions:

To ask specific questions about the HS NCT, please contact us:

1. by e-mail at hsnct@naqt.com
2. by phone at 888.411.6278 ("NAQT")
3. by fax at 413.473.1617
4. by postal mail at:

   NAQT
   11521 W 69th Street
   Shawnee, KS 66203
   

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 teams' plans. If something's not clear, let us know!