Open

An open tournament is a quizbowl tournament in which anyone may play, as opposed to a normal collegiate tournament which limits its field to teams consisting of players representing the same school, in which all such players are enrolled. Nonstudents of all ages and mixed-school teams are encouraged at open tournaments. However, most open tournaments see a good deal of their field comprised of traditional school teams, since this is the best way for most people to arrange funding and transportation for quizbowl tournaments.

Open tournaments are also known as "masters tournaments."

Nearly all trash tournaments are open. Academic tournaments held in the summer are usually open, with the Chicago Open being the most competitive open event each year. Many regular-season collegiate tournaments are "de facto" open due to the competitive and financial need to fill out fields in any way possible, though a few (such as NAQT Sectionals and ICT, and ACF Fall and Regionals) reject open teams in order to preserve the prestige of the tournament championship or gain meaningful data for nationals qualification. However, the presence of 1 or 2 non-traditional teams in a 10 to 15 team collegiate tournament will not usually cause it to be viewed as an "open," especially if those teams do not contend for the championship.

Through 2008, ACF Nationals allowed a few open teams each year in order to get more packets and let people compete on one of the few high-difficulty sets available, but disallows such teams from qualifying for the championship playoff bracket.

Issues

There is periodically an attempt to organize a "masters circuit" where graduated players can continue to participate, so that they do not have to face regular teams. Many open teams do show up to the Michigan MLK and Chicago Open each year, making those tournaments logical foundations for any such circuit. Attempts to elevate tournaments such as the Illinois Open to similarly competitive levels have so far proven unsuccessful. The 2008 Cardinal Classic attracted a very good field, including many teams who flew in from the Midwest and east coast, and may become the first successful open tournament held outside the Midwest if that continues in future years.

Some people, such as Ryan Westbrook, want all collegiate tournaments to be open in order to expand opportunities for participation, improve the competitiveness of tournament fields, and make more money for tournaments hosts. Others, such as Matt Weiner, are trying to re-establish a clear line between collegiate and open events and resist the "de facto open" trend, in order to preserve the link between institutional support and collegiate quizbowl, and avoid discouraging new teams by making them face "all-star" squads in normal events.