INTRODUCING THE KEYSTONE CUP
The Eastern Pennsylvania Area Championships
DATE AND LOCATION ARE FINALIZED
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN
How it Works
Following our expansion throughout the New York Tri-State, we’ll be expanding into Pennsylvania for this season! The cup will follow the standard single-tournament cup format, much like the Garden and Charter cups, but with an added two-division twist.
Location and Dates
The Keystone Cup will take place at Kutztown University, Kutztown, Pennsylvania, on February 10, 2024.
The tournament will take place on from 9 AM to 5 PM, with registration opening at 8:15 AM.
Divisions
The main set for the Keystone Cup is NAQT’s IS-226 set. However, this set is also being used for Chester County’s league. Since we don’t want to exclude Chester County teams from the competition, the format will be slightly modified so two divisions are in place: one for Chester County teams using the CARD question set (see Questions/Format for details on the set), and one for all other teams on IS-226. Each division will continue play until there is a victor; then, the winners of each division will play each other in a one-game final on the CARD set’s packet 13 for the tournament championship.
Questions/Format
The Keystone Cup will use a NAQT set IS-226, a set of medium difficulty, for the Main Division, and CARD, a medium-difficulty set written by players at Livingston High School in New Jersey, for the Chester County division. The CARD set exceeds our rigorous quality standards and we are happy to be the provider of this set for Chester County teams. For both divisions, we will be using the twenty tossups/twenty bonus format and NAQT rules, but there will be no game clock. For the Chester County division, there will be neither computational math tossups nor computational math bonuses. For the Main Division, there will be no computational math tossups; there will, however, be computational math bonuses.
Teams will be fairly placed into preliminary brackets before being re-seeded for playoffs. Teams will be guaranteed a minimum of 10 games; teams will be expected to play all 10 rounds, even if you are not in contention for the championship.
Teams
There are a maximum of 6 players per team, four of whom may play at once. If you wish to bring more players than that, please register additional teams. There are no exceptions to this rule. Teams may play short, with one player as a minimum. Nobody may switch teams during the tournament, such as from “A” to “B” or otherwise.
The field is capped at 72 teams for both divisions combined. You will be placed onto a waitlist if you miss the cutoff and will enter the field as teams drop or the field expands (if there is enough interest, we guarantee that the field will expand).
We are happy to allow pseudonymous teams and teams not directly sponsored by their district to register. However, we do have certain requirements for these teams, so please contact us via phone or email prior to registration and we will be happy to work with you.
It is not mandatory for a coach, parent, or adult to attend with their team; our team provides adequate supervision for all.
Readers
Each school is required to bring one reader for every two teams attending a tournament. Schools that cannot bring readers will be charged a $50 fee per team. Keep in mind this does not have to be a coach! It can be a player who would rather read, an extra player, a parent, an alumnus, someone’s friend, sibling, or third cousin twice removed, or anyone else that can read and scorekeep.
Buzzer discounts and paper question sets are no longer being offered.
Prizes
Trophies will be awarded to the top 3 teams from each division, the Champion of the tournament overall, and the very best individual with the highest average Points per Game overall. The eight or so high scorers in each division will be awarded book prizes. The champion of the Keystone Cup will be awarded a traveling trophy. We may add additional prizes at our discretion.
The Keystone Cup will be awarded to the highest-ranking team from either division that is from one of the counties in green below.
Fees
The fee structure is as follows:
- $90 per team
- $50 additional per team if no readers are brought
- $0 additional if 1 reader is brought
- -$25 for each additional reader
We can process cash, checks, and purchase orders. We are happy to provide a W9, a New Jersey Business Registration Certificate, and an invoice on request. Please make out checks to “Long Island Quiz Bowl Alliance”. You can mail checks, POs, and any other paperwork to P.O. Box 205, Nesconset, NY, 11767.
Buzzer discounts and paper question sets are no longer being offered.
Payment is due the morning of each event.
Registration:
In order to register, fill out this form. Once you receive a confirmation from us, you are officially registered.
Please ensure that you register prior to the day of the tournament! Registration closes one week prior to the event.
Food:
We do not serve breakfast or lunch and teams should either bring food or prepare to go out and obtain it. We will provide a map of local restaurants in the vicinity during the morning meeting. Lunch generally lasts an hour. Teams should eat breakfast prior to arrival.
Stats:
Full and complete team and individual statistics will be posted within 48 hours after the completion of the event.