The NAQT HSNCT (National Academic Quiz Tournaments High School National Championship Tournament) is likely the most prestigious in quiz bowl circles. NAQT is widely regarded as the best supplier of questions, and most of the best teams will play in this tournament. In 2007, 160 teams played in the NAQT nationals.

The tournament is held Memorial Day weekend, and is most often held in Chicago. NAQT uses a tossup/bonus format. True NAQT matches are timed, with two 9-minute halves.  (Note:  the 2009 tournament is on the last weekend in May, which is NOT Memorial Day weekend.  So apparently there are exceptions.)

To qualify for the NAQT, you must finish in the top 15% of an event using NAQT questions (like most WV tournaments) or win a division of the state championship.  Friend of WVACA Greg Bossick is affiliated with this tournament.


The Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence (PACE) puts on a national championship tournament each year called the National Scholastics Championship. It is held in early June on a college campus, that varies from year to year, though the last two have been at George Mason U. in Fairfax, VA.   Competitions have three rounds; a tossup/bonus round, a "category quiz" round, and a final round of more tossups and bonuses.

You can qualify for these nationals with a good showing at a PACE-affiliated tournament, or a top-four finish in any division at our state tournament.  Friend of WVACA Fred Morlan is affiliated with this tournament.


The National Tournament of Academic Excellence (NTAE) was formerly the Panasonic Academic Challenge, when Panasonic sponsored it.  The "Panasonic" is not truly quiz bowl in the classic sense, but is as the title suggests, an "academic challenge." The questions do not deal in trivia, current events, or sports, or anything dealing with video games. They are strictly academic questions.

There is also a stress on teamwork. Each team of four (with up to two alternates) has one buzzer for the team, which any one of them may ring. After recognition, anyone may answer for the team. The team may also confer before, during and after the answer. There are no restrictions on communication within the team.

The tournament is annually held at Disney World. The setting is wonderful, and the treatment first-class all the way. It is also expensive. Between airfare, room costs, and incidentals, a team is likely to spend $5000 to go to (NTAE).

NTAE is not being held in 2010 due to difficulties in finding a sponsor.


The NAC (National Academic Championship) is the longest running and possibly most controversial of the national tournaments. You can get more people more worked up by talked about Chip Beall's tournaments than nearly any topic in quiz bowl.

A great friend of West Virginia quiz bowl, "High-Q" host and state tournament reader Ernie Anderson, is affiliated with the NAC and reads for their national tournaments. These are typically held at three different locations, with the winners of each playing off against each other. Texas, Florida, and D.C. are the usual areas for the three locations, although these have varied.

The tournament uses a four-quarter format familiar to those who have played Ernie's tournaments at SCORES. The game opens with toss-ups, moves to a "bonus round" off toss-ups and bonuses, a third quarter of "lightning rounds," and then a final quarter of toss-ups of higher value.

Most of the controversies over NAC seem to revolve around a perceived lower quality of questions and other perceptions of unfairness to certain squads.  Nonetheless, they are often great fun.