A-value
The A-value is a metric used annually to determine invitations to ACF Nationals based on performance at ACF Regionals. First introduced in 2015 in response to expanding interest from teams in attending ACF Nationals, it was first designed by Dwight Wynne [1], and bears many similarities to the D-value that Wynne had previously devised for NAQT.
D-values were calculated in 2020, but went unused, as that year's ACF Nationals was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to ongoing uncertainty around whether, when, and how 2021 ACF Nationals was hosted, ACF decided not to use D-values in 2021, instead using raw bonus conversion scores from the 2021 ACF Nationals Qualifier. The typical use of A-values returned alongside in-person sites of Regionals in 2022.
Formula
The A-value formula [2] is 20 * (TUPPTH * SOS + BHPTUH * SOS * PPB), where:
- "TUPPTH" is Tossup points per tossup heard (how many points each team scored, only counting tossups and negs, divided by the number of tossups they heard),
- "PPB" is points per bonus,
- BHPTUH is Bonuses heard per tossup heard (percentage of tossups a team answered correctly out of all the tossups they heard), and
- SOS is Strength of Schedule (the combined points per tossup-bonus cycle heard of each team’s opponents, weighted by how many times they played each opponent, divided by the average points per tossup-bonus cycle heard over the entire field).
Teams that do not play Regionals, and therefore do not receive a numerical D-value, may still receive automatic bids for Nationals if they serve as a host site or have an editor of the set at their school.