Rockhurst Invitational Fall Tournament (RIFT) - November 4, 2023

[MichaelMenkhus]

We are pleased to announce the first edition of the Rockhurst Invitational Fall Tournament (RIFT). This tournament will take place at Rockhurst High School (9301 State Line Rd, Kansas City, MO 64114) on November 4, 2023. Ganon Evans and I, Michael Menkhus, will be serving as the co-tournament directors, with Leo Hirner (Rockhurst’s head coach) serving in an advisory role. We are setting a preliminary cap of 24 teams for this event, but may expand the field should there be enough interest and enough staff to meet the needs of an expanded field.

This tournament is open to all high school teams eligible to participate in MSHSAA-sanctioned Scholar Bowl events. Team rosters may have up to six players for the day, with four players playing at one time.

We are committed to ensuring a safe and welcoming atmosphere for all competitors, coaches, tournament staff, and spectators at this tournament. In addition to all applicable MSHSAA and school policies regarding sportsmanship and personal conduct, participants are expected to abide by the Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence's Code of Conduct.

Question Set:
This tournament will use the Planetfall set, a regular-difficulty high school set. More information about this set can be found here. Planetfall is currently planned for use at two other sites in Missouri (both on November 4), but may be used at tournaments in Missouri either before or after the day of RIFT. It is your responsibility to ensure both that your team has not previously played Planetfall and will not play Planetfall at any other mirror.

Tournament Format:
Games will consist of twenty tossups worth ten points each, followed by three bonuses worth up to thirty points. Bonuses will not rebound. This tournament will use both 15 point “powers” for early correct buzzes on tossups and -5 point “negs” for early incorrect buzzes. In the event of a tied game after twenty tossup/bonus cycles, teams will hear tossups until the score changes (a correct answer or a neg ends the game immediately).

Schedule:
We intend to begin round 1 at approximately 9:00 AM Central. Registered teams should arrive between 7:45 AM and 8:30 AM for morning check-in, followed by an introductory meeting at 8:45 AM. A lunch break will follow five preliminary rounds, with all teams returning from lunch for championship or consolation games in the afternoon. All teams will be guaranteed nine games, and we anticipate most teams being done for the day at approximately 4:30 PM.

Pricing:
Base entry fee: $75 per first team, $65 for every additional team.
Buzzer discount: $5 discount per working buzzer system. Each system must be fully functional for eight players.
Moderator discount: $20 discount per experienced moderator. We will reserve the right to choose our moderators.
Scorekeeper discount: $10 discount per competent scorekeeper.

The minimum fee (per school) after all discounts is $20.

Registration and Waitlist:
Tournament information, including a list of registered teams and current staff counts, will be updated regularly in this thread.

We hope to see your teams on November 4. If you have any questions or would like to register, please email Michael Menkhus at mmenkhus@gmail.com.

[MichaelMenkhus]

This post reserved for field updates.

Current field (24/24):
Belton
Butler
Center
Columbia Independent (2)
El Dorado Springs (2)
Jefferson City (2)
Kearney
Lafayette (St. Joseph) (2)
Lee's Summit West (3)
Lutheran Kansas City
North Kansas City
St. Pius X
Staley (2)
Summit Christian
Van Horn
Weaubleau (2)

Waitlist (in order of priority):
St. Pius X B
Polo
Winnetonka
Liberty North

Buzzers (21):
Lee's Summit West (2)
St. Pius X (1)
Weaubleau (1)
Summit Christian (1)
Kearney (2)
Jefferson City (1)
Columbia Independent (2)
Lafayette (St. Joseph) (1)
North Kansas City (2)
Center (1)
Lutheran KC (1)
Staley (1)
El Dorado Springs (2)
Van Horn (1)
Belton (1)
Butler (1)

Moderators (3):
Lee's Summit West (1)
Columbia Independent (1)
North Kansas City (1)

Scorekeepers (4):
Lee's Summit West (1)
Kearney (1)
North Kansas City (1)
Lutheran KC (1)

[derekfrieling]

I would like to enter Lafayette High School in St. Joseph into your tournament. What is your contact information? Please email me at derekfrieling@sjsd.k12.mo.us

[MichaelMenkhus]

Just emailed you!

[A12936]

Van Horn would like to participate.

[MichaelMenkhus]

The field for this tournament is very nearly full! Thank you to all the teams who have expressed interest in this event. If/when the field fills up and you still want to register, we will be starting a waitlist soon and working to determine whether we have enough rooms and staff to accommodate expanding the field.

Teams that offer volunteer staff (moderators or scorekeepers) will be given first priority in getting off the waitlist in the event of a field expansion.