MASSACHUSETTS HIGH SCHOOL ACADEMIC CHAMPIONSHIP 16 Gail Road Weston, MA 02493 Phone: 781/237-7208; Fax: 781/239-0914; Email: Alewis5000_at_... Dear Academic Team Advisors: We are proud to present the 20th annual Massachusetts Academic Championship, to be held at Concord-Carlisle High School Sunday April 28, 2002. Doors will open at 12:30 and the contest lasts from 1:00 to 4:00. Note that there is something new in this letter so even if youve memorized the previous 19 years invitations you should finish reading this before you register. Those of you who have participated before recognize two attributes about this contest: * It is truly a test of cooperative problem-solving skills, as each team of four players attempts each problem together; * No amount of rote memorization or other preparation (other than reviewing test questions from previous years, in the case of first-time entrants) is necessary or even helpful in solving these problems. Rather, common sense, logical thinking and educated guesses are the keys to success. The contest consists of 3 short-answer mini-tournaments in social sciences, math/science/technology, and arts and letters, totaling 150 questions. Mini-tournament winners and runners-up collect prizes while the overall high-scoring teams win the prizes for the tournament as a whole. Schools may enter up to three student "Varsity" teams apiece. This year we are encouraging schools to send three "Varsity" teams as usual, but also to enter up to two "junior varsity" teams consisting of 10th graders and belowyou can even recruit from the Middle School level, at your own risk. A "teacher team" competition is held concurrently, using the same tests, and prizes are awarded for that competition, too. You may participate in the "teacher team" representing your school, or as an individual joining with teachers from other schools. A sign-up sheet, instructions for ordering sample questions, and prize listing are attached. As usual, we are keeping the sign-up fee at $25/team for early signups. We are raising the fee to $30 for on-site signups because if too many schools do that it makes it difficult to plan how many prizes and trophies to order. To sign up, email Alewis5000_at_... for entry materials. Sincerely, Al Lewis and Joe Andrews Tournament Directors PS If you are a first-time entrant, you may order one years worth of sample questionsfor electronic delivery onlyat no cost. RULES AND PRIZES FOR MASSACHUSETTS ACADEMIC CHAMPIONSHIP Rules and Tournament Design: There are three rounds, averaging 30 minutes each and average 50 short-answer questions (some of which contain multiple parts). Except for the first round, which is corrected by the tournament directors during the second round, quizzes are corrected between rounds by swapping tests with another team from a different school. Each correcting team is supervised by a teacher. Each team of four players works together to write in the answer legibly. Teams representing the same school must not sit adjacent to one another. No substitutions on teams are allowed, during or between rounds. "Varsity" teams may consist of any grades, but "Junior Varsity" players cannot be in 11th or 12th grade. Teams which come late or which contain fewer than four players may still participate but no special consideration is accorded them. No reference materials or calculators are allowed. Teams may NOT complain about the scoring or challenge an answer unless the appeal, if successful, would move them into the next prize category. (Answers which do not affect the outcomes may be challenged, but only by "approaching the bench" during subsequent rounds, in order not to inconvenience the other teams.) Cheaters will be denied use of the lavatory facilities for the remainder of the tournament.
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