Venetian V

This is the announcement for Venetian V, a buzzer-free, league-style tournament for individuals of all ages. Details on the format can be found here.

Overview

• Each player will play one game per week at times which work for each player’s schedule. 
• Each game week lasts from 8:00 AM US Central Time on Saturday to 11:59 PM US Central Time on Tuesday. 
• Games are expected to last about 35 minutes each. 
• Each player is guaranteed to play six games. 
• Games will be played starting the week of June 29, through the week of August 3. 

Platforms

• The tournament will take place over Discord and Zoom. 
• There will be a Discord server set up for communication, but those unable to join it may request to have information emailed to them. Games will take place via Zoom.
• If you have never used Discord before and would like assistance in learning how to navigate the app, email the tournament director, and that will be arranged. If you would like to be shown how the app works before registering, that can also be arranged.

Divisions

Venetian V will consist of the following divisions.

American

1. Open / Senior Championship

2. Senior Novice

3. U18 Championship

4. U18 Novice

International

5. European Championship

6. European Novice

7. Asia-Pacific Championship

8. Asia-Pacific Novice

9. U18 International*

In the Americas: players in the high school graduating class of 2024 (or younger) will be placed in the "U18" divisions. Players in the high school graduating class of 2023 (or older) will be placed in the senior divisions.

Outside the Americas: players who will be 18 years old (or younger) on August 1, 2024 will be placed in the "U18" divisions. Players who will be 19 years old (or older) on August 1, 2024 will be placed in the senior divisions. 

Players who reside in Europe, Asia, or the Pacific may register to play in the American divisions if they wish, with the understanding that they would have to be willing to play in typical American time zones.  Americans who are traveling for the summer may be permitted to play in the division corresponding to where they will reside during the tournament period.

Question Difficulty

A sample round of questions at novice difficulty may be found here. See the rules and format document for the updated Venetian V category distribution.

A sample round of questions at championship difficulty may be found here. See the rules and format document for the updated Venetian V category distribution.

For the quizbowl players: the target difficulty of prelims in the Championship Divisions are equivalent to the difficulty of the 2017-2019 Early Fall Tournament question sets (slightly easier than Venetian II). The target difficulty of playoffs in the Championship Divisions are equivalent to "college regular" or "2 dot" difficulty. The target difficulty of questions in the Novice Divisions are equivalent to “college novice” and “high school regular” difficulty in quizbowl.

*The U18 International Division will use the same questions as the Novice Divisions. 

Registration

To register to play this tournament, players should purchase a ticket to the difficulty of their choice at the bottom of this page. Upon purchase of a ticket, players will be automatically emailed a "detailed registration form," where they will sign up for a particular division. 

Moderators will be paid $5 per game read (about $10/hr). To apply to staff for this tournament, staffers should fill out this form. Players who wish to moderate games do not need to fill this out—that is covered in the player form.

Fees

Base fee: $33

Earlybird discount: 6% off (-$2) if registering prior to Wednesday, June 5.

Moderator discount: -$5 per game read

*U18 International Division: -$8

Deadlines

The registration deadline is midnight Central Time on Sunday, June 23, 2024. Players who cannot submit payment up front should email me, as alternate arrangements may be possible. Registration is not considered final until payment is received. Players’ spots in the field are not guaranteed until payment is received. 

Refunds are available until the registration deadline (midnight Central Time on Sunday, June 23, 2024). Refunds are not available after the registration deadline.

Novice Eligibility

• Players are ineligible to play in a novice division if they have scored 115 points per game or more in the prelims of a Venetian tournament. 
• Quizbowl players new to Venetian are ineligible to play in a novice division if they have achieved more than 2.5 powers per game in a quizbowl tournament of high school regular difficulty or harder, or more than 1 power per game at a quizbowl tournament of college regular difficulty or harder. 
• Players who have not played Venetian or mainstream quizbowl should pick the difficulty that seems right for them given the above sample packets, and will be sorted by the tournament director on a case-by-case basis. 
• Players unsure if they meet this criteria should send the tournament director an email for clarification.
• Exceptions to this criteria may or may not be granted upon a specific request. 
• Notwithstanding the above, players who most recently finished in one of the last four spots of a championship division are considered to have regained their novice eligibility, and will be considered on a case-by-case basis.  

Practice Games

If you are new to Venetian and would like to try playing the format before registering, you can sign up to participate in a practice game here. A practice game is scheduled for a time that works for your schedule, and takes about 35 minutes.

This tournament is open to all individuals, regardless of ability or experience level, and there will be multiple rebrackets during the tournament to allow players to play more games against players of similar ability.

Feel free to email any questions or concerns to owner@uqcquizbowl.org. Enjoy the tournament!