Team meeting at the University of Maryland Spring Classic tournament (April 28, 2002)

Letter to 2002 NSC Qualifiers

Tournament Logistics

Information updated May 14, 2002

Late registration closes May 10, 2002.
Any team registering after this date must petition Tournament Host Edmund Schleussel, Tournament Director Brian Saxton, and PACE Executive Officer Dr. Thomas Chuck to be included in the field. Click here to contact Edmund, Brian, and Thomas.

Team fees (up to 6 players)
At-large teams: $225 for the first team, $200 for a second team
Qualifying teams: $175 for the first team, $150 for a second qualifying team

(Further discounts from this entry fee may be available on request at a first-come first-served basis for qualified or at-large teams from underrepresented states or regions wishing to participate at the NSC.)

Discounts for buzzers
$15 per system

Discounts for packets (April 24 update)
If a high school team wishes to write a theme pop-culture packet for Saturday "Beat the Geeks" social rounds, the following discounts and conditions must apply:

$5 off for a packet of 25 tossups and 25 bonus questions with a theme declared by June 1 to Edmund, Brian, and me

$5 more off if you actually submit this packet to Edmund, Brian, and me by June 1

$10 more off if the packet is written in PACE NSC format or in an approved creative format (not tossup/bonus or NAC-style four-quarters format)

Hotel information (updated May 11, 2002)

PACE has arranged a discount rate with the Hotel Lombardy at 2017 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. This hotel is located at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue, I street, and 21st street, approximately 3 blocks from the tournament meeting site.

The arranged rate is $99.00/night plus 14.5% hotel tax for each quad room (two double beds); this comes to $226.71 for two nights' stay. Parking is available via the hotel for $16.80/day; however, those of you arriving after 6pm on Friday may attempt to park on the street, which is free of charge all weekend in Washington. For those of you taking Metro, which we strongly encourage, the closest stop is the Farragut West stop at 18th & I streets.

To reserve a room at the discount rate, call 202-828-2600 or 800-424-5486 and refer to the group number #8775, organization PACE or Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence.

Electronic copy of 2002 questions
Included with entry fee.

Electronic copy of 2001 questions
Emailed to all registered teams by May 1. Those registering after May 1 must request a copy.

Minimum charges billed
$115 per team

Registration Information Required (due as soon as possible)
(1) Roster of up to 6 players per team. Include year in school (Freshman-senior) and college choices if known.

(2) Summary of results for tournaments this year. Please emphasize finishes in Final Fours of competitions (noting number of teams in competition) and record against other PACE NSC qualifying teams.

(3) A digital picture (JPEG or TIFF) of your team, with appropriate caption.

Address payment to
Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence
c/o George Washington University Academic Competition Club
Attention: Edmund Schluessel
2201 L Street NW Apartment 308
Washington DC 20037-1411

Match schedule
We will most likely use a schedule similar to that which we used last year at Bowling Green State University (and previous years).

With our field size (around 40), six divisions will be established consisting of 6 or 7 teams. Each team should expect to play 5 or 6 matches on Saturday and up to 7 matches on Sunday; any interdivisional matches on Saturday will NOT count towards playoff eligibility. All teams should plan to play Sunday playoff or consolation matches since you paid to participate for both days; the additional experience is invaluable and that is why we provide these additional games.

There is nothing scheduled for Friday, June 14. It is a designated travel day to make sure teams and staff that must travel know when to arrive. (After all, some of us have to work on Friday.) New staff member orientation should occur on Friday evening.

If your team is interested (and they are still broadcasting), George Washington University also is the broadcast site for CNN Crossfire; information is available at http://www.gwu.edu/~newsctr/newscenter/crossfire/crossfireHOME.html if you would like ticket information.

Saturday schedule (subject to host site room availability)
8:00 am Host and senior staff arrive to designated meeting room (Funger Hall: 22nd and G Streets)
8:30 am Team registration opens and all staff must check-in
9:00 am Opening Assembly, Ben Cooper Award presentation and Team meeting
9:45 am Final staff meeting
10:15 am Preliminary Rounds 1-3 begins (assume 45 minutes per round)
12:30 pm Lunch break ON YOUR OWN (90 minutes minimum)
1:45 pm or later Preliminary Round 4-7 begins (assume 45 minutes per round)
6:00 pm Beat the Geeks social rounds (provided by high school teams or independents)
7:00 pm or later Announcement of Sunday pairings; Staff Photograph; everyone else dismissed for day

Sunday schedule (tentative, subject to verification for Metrolines and travel logistics)
8:00 am Host and senior staff open buildings (Metro rail runs beginning around 8am)
8:45 am Playoff rounds 8-12 begin (assume 45 minutes per round)
12:30 pm Lunch break ON YOUR OWN (60 minutes minimum); All-star ballots due
NOTE: Tiebreakers for playoff advancement may be played after lunch break.
1:30 pm Semifinals and Consolation Final matches (as needed)
2:15 pm Championship Final match
3:00 pm All-Star Game and Awards Ceremony (you must be present to receive All-Star Award!)
5:00 pm Tournament ends

Travel to Washington, DC
at least as described by George Washington Academic Competition Club

By air
Washington is served by three major airports:

DCA -- Washington National Airport.
Most expensive DC-area airport. USAir hub. Directly connected to the Blue and Yellow lines of the Metro.

BWI -- Baltimore-Washington International Airport.
Cheapest area airport, least accessible; on weekdays, accessible by MARC commuter rail for $5; on weekends, accessible by Amtrak for around $20; both rail lines connect via Union Station to Red line of Metro. Also accessible by Blue Van shuttles; $25/person or so from BWI to anywhere in DC, no reservations; $31/person (or bulk rate) for reserved trip from DC to BWI. Southwest & USAir hub

IAD -- Dulles International Airport.
Eero Saarinen architecture. Metrobus connector to Rosslyn on the Blue and Orange lines (about $1.50); pricier, more frequent Dulles busses to West Falls Church on the Orange line. United hub.

By Rail

Amtrak serves Washington, DC, via Union Station, which connects directly to the Red line of Metro. Rail travel is available at a flat rate, generally without reservations, from any Amtrak station on the east coast; the more expensive Acela express service stops in Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston.

By Car

Washington is the place where interstates 270, 95, and 66 meet, along with US-50 and US-1. Some approximate travel times:

Baltimore, MD 1 hour
Newark, DE 2 hours
Philadelphia, PA 3 hours
Charlottesville, VA 3 hours
Princeton, NJ 3 hours 45 minutes
New York City, NY 4 hours 15 minutes
State College, PA 4 hours 30 minutes
Pittsburgh, PA 5 hours
Raleigh, NC 5 hours
New Haven, CT 5 hours 30 minutes
Cleveland, OH 6 hours 30 minutes
Ithaca, NY 6 hours 30 minutes
Columbia, SC 8 hours
Boston, MA 8 hours 30 minutes
Bowling Green, OH 8 hours 30 minutes
Waterloo, ON 10 hours
Ann Arbor, MI 10 hours 15 minutes
Chattanooga, TN 11 hours
Atlanta, GA 11 hours 45 minutes

From the south
(eastern Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida)
Take I-95 North. On crossing the Capitol Beltway in the vicinity of Springfield, VA, change to I-395 North. Take either exit 8A or exit 10C toward the Memorial Bridge; 10C is better during rush hour (4-7pm), 8A otherwise. Either way, you want to be on VA-27 or VA-244. Stay in the left lane past Arlington Cemetery and keep following signs for the Memorial Bridge. Cross the Memorial Bridge; the Lincoln Memorial will be straight ahead. Stay in the left lane and go clockwise around Lincoln Memorial circle. Take the first left turn you can, onto 23rd street. Follow 23rd Street north -- careful, there's some construction going on.

If you're going to the Hotel Lombardy, stay on 23rd until you reach Washington Circle (big statue of a guy on a horse), then turn right into the circle and get on K street. Immediately turn left onto 22nd street, then take the next right onto L street. Then, turn right onto 21st street and then right onto I. The hotel will be on your right.

If you're going to the tournament site, take 23rd to F street and turn right on F street. Then make a left on 22nd and then another left onto G. The building you're looking for is Funger Hall at 22nd and G.

From the west & southwest
(western Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas)
Take I-66 East.

If you're going to the hotel, take the E street exit -- note that this exit is easy to miss -- and follow it right onto D street. I know it doesn't make sense, just do it. Turn left onto 19th, then left again onto I. The hotel will be on your right.

If you're going to the tournament site, take the E street exit -- note that this exit is easy to miss -- and, shortly after leaving the tunnel, make a hard left onto Virginia Avenue. Make a right onto 23rd street and take it to F street. Then make a left onto 22nd and then another left onto G. The building you're looking for is Funger Hall at 22nd and G.

From the northwest
(panhandle & west-central Maryland, western & central Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, all those flat states with lots of grain)
Take I-270 south to I-495. Take exit 40 to the Cabin John Parkway, then take the Clara Barton Parkway to Canal Road. Take Canal Road to M street and follow M to Washington Circle.

If you're going to the hotel, go around Washington Circle to K street. Immediately turn left onto 22nd street, then take the next right onto L street. Then, turn right onto 21st street and then right onto I. The hotel will be on your right.

If you're going to the tournament site, go around Washington Circle to 23rd street. Follow 23rd, then turn left onto I. Turn right onto 21st, then right onto G. The building you're looking for is Funger Hall at 22nd and G.

From the north & northeast (eastern Maryland, Delaware, eastern Pennsylvania, New York, New England)
Take I-95 South to the Baltimore-Washington Parkway (if you get on it in Baltimore, it's just called the Washington Parkway). Follow it to New York Avenue. Take New York Avenue to Mount Vernon Place, then turn right onto Massachusetts Avenue, then take Massachusetts Avenue to Scott Circle. Take Rhode Island Avenue to M street, then turn left onto 21st street.

If you're going to the Hotel Lombardy, turn right onto I. The hotel will be on your right.

If you're going to the tournament location, turn right onto G. The building you're looking for is Funger Hall at 22nd and G.

Getting around Washington

Washington is not a city to be driven in by the unprepared. We strongly recommend you get a street map of DC and environs. Although the location is not yet established, chances are that PACE Nationals will be held in Phillips/Monroe Hall, at the corner of G and 21st Streets NW. If you're using mapquest or similar mapping websites, set "700 21st St. NW Washington DC" as the destination.

The Metro will take you almost anywhere in the Washington area you want to go; it covers DC itself, Arlington and Alexandria, VA., and portions of surrounding cities and towns, and serves Union Station, Washington National Airport, and (via a shuttlebus) Dulles International Airport. Newcomers should stick to the rail lines; the bus system in Washington is mostly residential and fairly complicated. GW is located at the Foggy Bottom/GWU stop, served by the Blue and Orange lines.

If you insist on driving in Washington -- and really, it's not worth it -- the street system in Washington follows a few simple rules.

Downtown Washington is laid out following a well-ordered grid. Streets running north-south are given numbers; streets running east-west are given letters (closest to capitol), then two-syllable names of historic figures in alphabetical order, then three-syllable names in alphabetical order, then flowers, then trees. Avenues named after states run along diagonals and meet at Circles and Squares.
Washington is divided into four unequal Quadrants, Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, and Northwest, which you may treat as a Cartesian space. Most of Washington, including GW, lies in Quadrant IV. The origin of the system is the US Capitol. Eastern Avenue, North Capitol Street, South Capitol Street, and the Mall define the borders between the quadrants.

Street numbers universally increase as you move away from the Capitol. The first two digits of any street sign indicate how many blocks you are from the Capitol; as you proceed north in Northwest Washington, letters will increment, and as you proceed west, numbers will increment. While counting through the element, be aware that, for historical reasons, Washington's street system omits the letters J, X, Y, and Z.

If you get completely lost, GW is almost directly north of the Lincoln Memorial; 5 blocks west of the White House; south of Pennsylvania Avenue; and east of New Hampshire Avenue.

Checks received

Information updated May 14, 2002

This link lists the qualified teams and those attending the NSC.

Detroit Country Day School MI
Eleanor Roosevelt MD (2 buzzers)
Fort Mill SC
Hartland MI
Heritage GA (1 buzzer)
Howard MD (1 buzzer)
Indian Springs AL (1 buzzer)
Kent City MI
Meadville Area PA
North Allegheny PA (1 buzzer)
North Olmsted OH (1 buzzer)
St. Andrews Episcopal MS
Walter Williams NC
Webb School TN