Rockhurst Invitational Fall Tournament II (RIFT II) - October 12, 2024

[MichaelMenkhus]

We are pleased to announce the second edition of the Rockhurst Invitational Fall Tournament (RIFT II). This tournament will take place at Rockhurst High School (9301 State Line Road) in Kansas City, Missouri, on October 12, 2024. I, Michael Menkhus, will be serving as tournament director, alongside Rockhurst head coach Leo Hirner. We are setting a preliminary cap of 18 teams for this event.

Eligibility

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. Teams from outside Missouri are welcome, but we ask that any out-of-state team registers prior to September 6 to ensure no issues with MSHSAA sanctioning.

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 Section I (Ethics and Conduct) of the official gameplay rules of the Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence (PACE).

Question Set

This tournament will use the SHOW-M3 set, a regular-difficulty high school set. More information about this set can be found here. While October 12 is the first Saturday of the quizbowl season in Missouri, SHOW-M3 (appropriately, given the name) is currently scheduled for several other sites in Missouri this fall and at mirrors in Oklahoma and Illinois prior to the day of RIFT II. It is your responsibility to ensure both that your team has not previously played SHOW-M3 and will not play SHOW-M3 at any other mirror.

Format

Similarly to last year’s RIFT I, 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 8:45 AM Central. Registered teams should arrive between 7:45 AM and 8:15 AM for morning check-in, followed by an introductory meeting at 8:25 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 ten games, while some teams in the championship bracket may play up to 13 games. 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. We ask that moderators bring laptops, as we plan to use electronic packets.
Scorekeeper discount: $10 discount per competent scorekeeper. We ask that scorekeepers also bring laptops, as we plan to use electronic scoresheets.

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. If/when our preliminary field cap of 18 teams is reached, we will start a waitlist, and in the event of a field expansion, teams that have offered up tournament staff (moderators and scorekeepers) will be given first priority to fill new empty spots. After those teams have been given the opportunity to register, teams will be offered spots based on what order they registered in.

We hope to see your teams on October 12. If you have any questions or would like to register, please email Michael Menkhus at mmenkhus@gmail.com.

[MichaelMenkhus]

This space reserved for field updates.

Teams (10/18):

Belton
Center
Lee's Summit North
Liberty North
New Heights A
New Heights B
Park Hill
Weaubleau A
Weaubleau B
Winnetonka

Staff:

Liberty North (1 moderator)
New Heights (1 moderator, 1 scorekeeper)

Buzzers:

Belton
Center
Lee's Summit North
Liberty North
New Heights
Weaubleau