The UTC Academic Trivia Association will host our 11th annual Center of the Known Universe Open (COTKU) on Sat., Oct. 18th, 2008. This will be a one-day academic quizbowl tournament in modified-ACF format, held on the campus of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. It will be followed on Sun. 10/19 with the Big Lots Open trash tournament; details will follow in a separate announcement. THE BASICS: 1) This year's COTKU will be a mirror of the Minnesota Open, so packet submission is not required. However, teams can still earn discounts for writing questions – for use at our other tournaments. 2) We will have two divisions, based on experience level, with the same questions used for both divisions. 3) Base fee is $150 per team. Discounts can be earned to bring that all the way to $0, by writing questions and/or providing officials for various UTC tournaments. 4) The tournament is designed for collegiate teams, but we will accept open teams, space permitting. Full details follow below. SCHEDULE: Registration will begin at 9 AM EDT 10/18/08, with announcements and schedule adjustments at 9:45 and tournament play beginning at 10 AM. Tournament HQ will be 129 Grote Hall on the UTC campus; see directions below. We hope to be into playoffs by 7:30 PM and finished by 8:30, but experience has taught us never to make any promises on when we finish. Actual tournament play will be in Brock and Holt Halls (the classrooms in Grote are being renovated this semester.) So if any of your players have disabilities or access issues, please let us know in advance. That way we can take it into account when scheduling (building changes, etc.) REGISTRATION: Our only pre-registration requirements are that you tell us: - How many teams to expect - In which division each team will compete - How many buzzers and officials (if any) you expect to bring Please e-mail this information to utcquizbowl [at] gmail [dot] com. Payment, rosters, etc., can be handled on the day of the tournament. Payment is expected on tournament day unless arranged otherwise in advance. If you need an invoice or other official paperwork in advance, let us know and we'll be happy to oblige. ELIGIBILITY: This tournament is designed for teams of current college students, with all players on a given team affiliated with the same university. If space permits, we will accept mixed-affiliation or purely open (i.e., non-collegiate) teams. However, the field is limited to 36 teams, and collegiate teams will be given first priority. The tournament field will be divided into two divisions for separate play and awards. Division II will be limited to players in their first and second year of intercollegiate quizbowl play, with one extra year of eligibility allowed for players on teams from 2-year schools. (Note: due to the difference in formats, prior experience in College Bowl Inc., Honda Campus All-Star Challenge, or tournaments restricted to junior colleges will not count as prior experience when determining Division II eligibility.) FEES: Base fee: $150; assumes no buzzers, officials, or questions are provided. DISCOUNTS: (Note that fees can be reduced to zero!) * Question discounts: - $2 discount for every usable, original, high-school-level question sent to us by Sunday, Sept. 14. - $1 discount for every usable, original, high-school-level question sent to us after 9/14 but no later than Tuesday, Sept. 23. - $1 discount for every usable, original trash (pop culture) question sent to us by Friday, Oct. 17. Questions should be submitted in MS Word or RTF format to utcacfediting [at] gmail [dot] com. * Other discounts: - $ 5 for working lockout buzzer system (up to three discounts per team) - $10 [plus dinner at Provino's or equivalent gas money] for each competent full-time official for either COTKU itself, or the Big Lots trash tournament on 10/19 - $25 [plus dinner at Provino's or equivalent gas money] for each competent full-time official provided for UTC's high school tournament on Sat. 9/27 - $25 for teams making their first appearance at UTC DRIVING DIRECTIONS: >From Atlanta and points south -- take I-75 to Chattanooga, then I-24 west towards downtown, then follow the freeway splitoff for U.S. 27 North, downtown Chattanooga. From 27 North take the 4th Street exit, within sight of the Tennessee Aquarium. Go right on 4th St. (you have no choice) and follow it for ca. 1 mile. Go past the UTC Arena, after which E. 4th St. becomes part of E. 3rd St. After that, take the second right on Palmetto St. Go two blocks and turn right on Vine St. (just past the EMCS Building.) Just before the place where Vine St. is blocked off, the parking lot for Grote and Holt Halls is on the right. Try the door by the dumpster first, but it may be locked due to security issues. If it's locked, look to your left and enter Grote by the door closest to Vine St. >From Knoxville and points north -- take I-75 to Chattanooga, then I- 24 West; directions from there same as above. >From Nashville and points west/north: Take I-24 east to Chattanooga. As you round Moccasin Bend (freeway goes alongside river) watch for two exit lanes on the right; take the less rightward of the two, which will have signs above it for U.S. 27 N. Rest of directions are the same as above. >From Birmingham and points southwest: Take I-59 to the outskirts of Chattanooga, where it dead-ends into I-24. Get on I-24 East and follow the Nashville directions from there. CONTACTS: General tournament business (inquiries, registration, etc.): utcquizbowl [at] gmail [dot] com Question submission: utcacfediting [at] gmail [dot] com Snail mail: UTC A.T.A., c/o Charlie Steinhice, 8821 Winterberry Rd., Chattanooga, TN 37421.
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