The UTC Academic Trivia Association will host the 4th annual Center of the Known Universe Open in -- you guessed it -- Chattanooga, TN (center of the known universe.) The tournament will be a one-day event Sat., Oct. 20, 2001. This is not a packet submission tournament; all questions are being supplied in conjunction with Rollapalooza with the redoubtable Ben Lea of Missouri-Rolla as tournament editor. As with past years of COTKU, we will make every effort to make this both a challenging tournament for veteran circuit teams and an accessible for novice or inexperienced teams. Schools participating in their first invitational will receive substantial discounts (see Fees below.) So will additional teams from the same school, so you can bring the whole crew. And in recognition of the fact that for most teams it's the first tournament of the year, we will honor an All-Rookie team as well as the customary All-Stars. FORMAT: This will be "softcore ACF," untimed rounds of 20 questions with (again) NO PACKET SUBMISSION REQUIRED. Since this is an early season tournament, we'll be aiming for a somewhat milder degree of difficulty than most ACF-style tournaments. Depending on the size of the field, we will either have a full round robin or (more likely) a bracketed round robin. Either way we guarantee a minimum of 11 rounds not counting playoffs. ELIGIBILITY: COTKU is open to all collegiate teams with no restrictions on grad students. We will award trophies in two divisions, with the second division for teams where all players are in their first or second year of intercollegiate quizbowl competition. Teams from two-year schools will also be eligible for Division II even if they have a player with two or more years' experience. COTKU is a college-only tournament. Any interested noncollegiate or "bastard" teams should consider a trip to scenic Rolla, Missouri, as Rollapalooza will be a true open. However, we will follow COTKU with the 2nd annual Big Lots Clearance Open, a trash tournament on Sunday, Oct. 21 (more info to follow) FEES: Base fee: $95 Discounts -- Working buzzer: $5 (1 per team; if you bring a 2nd buzzer and we actually use it we'll knock off another $5) Experienced reader: will be given their choice of $10 off the fee, or the same bribe we offer our house readers, dinner at Provino's.(Guess which one they'll take.) Additional teams from same school: $25 Distance >400 miles (one way): $10 IMPORTANT: Entry fee is only $50 for any school participating in their first independent circuit tournament in the past 3 years; additional teams from the same school $40; no other discounts apply. SCHEDULE: Tournament headquarters is 129 Grote Hall. Registration will begin at 9 AM EDT, announcements at 9:45, play starts at 10. We can't say exactly when it'll end till we know the size of the field, but we'll be aiming for around 8 PM and will definitely finish by 10:30 in time to get to Provino's before it closes. LODGINGS: Again, for COTKU 2001 and the Big Lots Clearance Open, we've arranged with the Clarion Hotel for discount rooms for those of you who want to stay nearer to the campus than the abundant cheap motels on the edge of town. The Clarion is holding a fairly small block of rooms for us through Oct. 6 for Friday night 10/19 and/or Saturday night 10/20 at the rate of $65 per night plus tax for up to 4 people. This is a fine facility within 5 minutes of the University, and within walking distance of the major Chattanooga tourist sites as well as the Bijou (downtown movie complex with midnight shows on the weekends.) The Clarion's number is (423) 756-5150; tell 'em you're with the Academic Trivia Tournament and are entitled to the special quizbowl rate. DIRECTIONS: E-mail me at steinhic_at_... for directions. WHO'S IN CHARGE HERE: Tournament director will be Charlie Steinhice, like that's a surprise.
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