The Columbia University Quiz Bowl team is pleased to announce the Columbia Spring Tournament, which will be held on Saturday, March 7th, in Barnard College. This tournament is part of the fourth annual Columbia Cup series of tournaments hosted at Columbia University. More information about the Columbia Cup, as well as a copy of this announcement and further details about the tournament, can be found on the Columbia Cup website.
Nationals: We are currently seeking certification from PACE to be a qualifier for the 2020 National Scholastic Open, or NSC.
Questions: The questions for this will come from STASH, a Nationals level set. More information about the set can be found here. Practice questions that are similar in style and content can be found here.
Tournament format: Morning check-in for this tournament will run from 8:00 to 8:45 AM. The introductory meeting will then follow, and the first round will start as soon as possible afterwards. All teams will be guaranteed at least 8 or 9 matches, depending on the final number of teams attending. Most teams should be done at around 4:00 to 4:30 PM.
Tournament Division: We will be dividing all tournaments in the Columbia Cup series into a National division, for teams with highly experienced and competitive players, and a Standard division, for all other teams. Please note that this is not a Varsity/JV split – you are encouraged to register varsity teams in the Standard division if you feel like that will be a better fit for them. For now, we are capping the National division at 18 teams and the Standard division at 24 teams, though the exact numbers may change if demand for one is much higher than demand for the other.
Teams: Each school may register as many teams as they would like in either division or in both divisions. Each team’s roster may contain no more than six players, four of which will be playing at any given time during a game. You are encouraged to register novice and JV teams as well in the Standard division. In addition, we encourage schools to register additional teams instead of putting alternates as 5th or 6th players on existing teams. We reserve the right to change a team’s division. For example, we will ask a team with a Nationals all-star player in the Standard division to join the National division instead.
Registration: To register for this tournament, please fill out the registration form on the Registration page of the Columbia Cup website. We will email you to confirm your registration promptly. Please note that registration for this tournament will not open until February 10th, 2020, and will close March 2nd, 2020. Before registration opens, we encourage you to gauge the availability of the students on your team, so that you know how many teams to register once registration opens. Spots are first-come-first-serve, so register as soon as you confirm that your school can attend.
All teams who registered for the Columbia Cup package in the fall are guaranteed a spot in the spring tournament and do not need to register again. All teams that you register via the form on the Columbia Cup website will be in addition to the already registered teams. Schools that purchased a Columbia Cup package are not eligible for a refund if their team(s) cannot attend.
Tournament fees and discounts:
The base registration fee for Columbia Spring is $75. There are also discounts for bringing buzzers and staffers, or being a participant in Regional Quiz Bowl. Please see the fees and discounts page of the Columbia Cup website for a more complete overview of fees and discounts.
All entry and registration fees must be paid either in advance or during morning check-in. If you are paying by check, please make it payable to Julia Tong, with “Quiz Bowl” on the memo line. We will also accept cash on the day of the tournament. If you are mailing a check in advance, we recommend that it be sent no later than two weeks before the tournament, and the check should be mailed to:
Julia Tong
5375 Altschul
New York, NY 10027
Drop policy:
We completely understand if your school needs to drop teams from the field. However, last minute drops can be difficult for us to schedule around and unfair to other teams in the field or waitlist who may be denied playing time. We ask that you notify us about dropped teams as soon as possible.
Teams that drop within a week of the tournament (after 11:59 PM on March 2nd, 2020 for Columbia Spring) will be charged $35/team.
Teams that drop within two days of the tournament (after 11:59 PM on March 4th, 2020 for Columbia Spring) will be responsible for the entirety of the entry fee.
These fees may be waived in specific emergency situations at the discretion of the TD. That being said, if there are any issues which may impede your attendance at the tournament, please contact us as soon as possible and we will do our best to accommodate your team. By registering for the tournament, you indicate that you have read and understood this policy.
We wish you the best of luck this upcoming season, and hope to see you at our Morningside Heights campus on March 7th! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at quizbowl@columbia.edu.
Columbia Cup 