PACE
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| President or CEO | Mike Bentley | |||
| Location: | Bellevue, WA | |||
| Status | {{{status}}} | |||
PACE, or the Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence is a non-profit organization formed in 1996 that helps to promote and provide a network for high school tournaments throughout the country.
Since 1998, PACE's main task has been the writing and organization of the National Scholastic Championship, or NSC, a championship tournament for high school teams.
Game Format
PACE's game format from the 2010 NSC forward is essentially a mACF format. Matches consist of 20 tossups and 20 bonuses per round, with 20 point powers but no negs on tossups; each bonus has three parts worth 10 points each, with bouncebacks on the bonuses. For a description of the old PACE format, which was used from 1998 until 2009, see Old PACE format.
Records
Official individual and team performance records from past NSCs were publicly posted and archived on the PACE NSC website at http://www.pace-nsc.org/records.html; teams can receive records from 2010 forward in their paper program booklets at the NSC in person.
Events
Every year, PACE and its affiliates write, edit, and run the National Scholastic Championship in late May or early June.
Teams qualify for the NSC by finishing in the top 15 percent of the field at one of the many affiliated tournaments each year, which PACE lists on its website. Tournaments with especially strong dedication to good quizbowl principles can receive "gold" or "platinum" certification from PACE in advance; "gold"-certified tournaments allow the top 20 percent of the field to qualify, and "platinum"-certified tournaments allow the top 25 percent of their field to qualify.
PACE has also supported the Quizbowl Resource Center and encourages the development of technological tools to enhance preparation for academic competitive play. PACE member Jeffrey Hill developed the Quizbowl Resource Database.
Discontinued events
- In 2007 and 2008, PACE members wrote and hosted regional Late Season Qualifiers in the old PACE format.
- PACE ran the 2009 Weekend of Quizbowl.
- In 2007, PACE members led by E. T. Chuck ran a Question Writers Bootcamp at Gonzaga High School in DC. The event was discontinued thereafter.
Members
Members of PACE commit themselves to helping run the NSC and serving as leaders in their local quizbowl circuits. An up-to-date public list of current and former members, including PACE board members, is maintained here.
Historically, PACE has claimed to be more demographically diverse than any other quiz bowl "national" organization, and encouraged and sought individuals from diverse and/or underrepresented backgrounds to become members who shared their goals.
Awards
Every year at NSC, PACE gives out the Benjamin Cooper Academic Ambassador Award and the Benjamin Cooper Young Ambassador Award to those who promote the spirit and honor of quizbowl competition. It is the only such national award in high school quizbowl. (ACF created the Gordon Carper Award soon after the Benjamin Cooper Award to recognize similar individuals who have similarly contributed to the college game.)
More information about the award can be found at [1].