Hosting a tournament is not a difficult endeavor; however, careful planning and ample organization can greatly benefit a hosting school. The items below should be considered when deciding to host a tournament. If you need any assistance or have any questions, please contact me at cloke.c@mail.wsd.wednet.edu.

Tournament Rules

• Ensure that enough rooms for all of the competitors are available and reserved for the tournament. Reserving rooms early and arranging for each room's set-up is an important step. Not having enough rooms could be disastrous.
• Having rooms close together is also a great benefit for students and organizers alike.
• Teachers often have reservations about outside groups using their rooms. Please speak with teachers before using their rooms and have the hosting students reset each classroom after the tournament.
• Tables are often the easiset to use considering the nature of the buzzer bars but are not required. Student desks can suffice if they are of equal height.
• Signs outside rooms and leading to designated rooms can help teams navigate.

• Acquire enough readers for the tournament. Often, setting up a brief meeting to go over pronunciations and how to read the questions (especially the math questions) is helpful.
• Using adults as timekeepers is preferable, though students can perform the same role. A person familiar with the timing device is the best option in any situation.
• Scorekeepers can be the readers, the timers, or an additional person. Regardless, please ensure that someone officially keeps track of the score.
• Provide a copy of the tournament rules for each assistant and leave a copy with each reader in case someone needs to reference the rules.

• Knowing how many teams from each school will attend is the first step. Contact coaches who do not provide this information here.
• Once the number of teams is known, matching up teams of similar ability is next. With three teams per room, this may be a challenge at times. Still, having a very strong team in a room with weak competition is not fun or fair.
• Some teams may have a bye. This is fine but should be avoided if possible.
• When unsure about a team's strength, contact the coach for assistance.

Team Folder Inclusions

(suggested)

• A map of the school or competition area
• A schedule of each round's match-ups
• A few sheets of scratch paper
• Official score sheets for each round (winning teams deliver these to the host coach for score tallies)
• Team name sheets (to help the readers and timerkeepers)
• A team answer sheet for written rounds
• A sheet explaining the expectations for behavior, speech, and building/equipment use
• Pens or pencils can be made available

Food and Drink

(encouraged)

• Some schools provide snacks and drinks for students.
• Since many schools must travel some distances to and from tournaments, snacks can help keep student energy levels up while they compete. Coaches appreciate the snacks as well.
• Students well remember the schools who provide these snacks.
• If funding is an issue at your school, try asking local businesses and parents for donations. They are usually quite willing to help.

Central Meeting Location

(Headquarters)

• One central meeting point should be identified.
• Here teams can receive their team folders, receive instructions, get directions, and see the totaled scores.
• This is the place where the winning teams can bring the score sheets to the hosting coach.
• Some coaches create a grid for display on an overhead, and some coaches use a spreadsheet for display with an LCD. Regardless, the scores should be visible for all of the participating teams.