​NCASA – Twelve Rules

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A. Registration

All teams must register before the tournament according to Rule IX of NCASA Competition Rules. 

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B. Withdrawal

Teams that choose to not participate in a Tournament after registering to participate in that Tournament must notify NCASA. 

1. Registered Teams that withdraw from a Tournament during the Tournament registration period will not pay a penalty. 

2. Registered Teams that withdraw from a Tournament after the conclusion of the Pre-Tournament Registration period must pay a penalty. 

   • Registered Teams that withdraw from a Tournament eight (8) or more days prior to the day of the Tournament must pay a $30 penalty. 

   • Registered Teams that withdraw from a Tournament between eight (8) and one (1) day prior to the day of the Tournament must pay a $50 penalty. 

   • Registered Teams that withdraw from a Tournament less than twentyfour (24) hours prior to the start of the On-Site Registration period shall incur a $100 penalty. 

3. Penalties for withdrawal from a Tournament may be waived at the discretion of NCASA. 

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C. Volunteer

1. Each team must provide a volunteer to help administer the tournament. 

2. The volunteer must arrive on site for the volunteer meeting. 

3. Teams failing to furnish the necessary volunteer will have the Coach serve in that role. 

4. If the coach is unwilling or unable to serve as Volunteer, the team will forfeit rounds until a volunteer is found. 

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D. Check-in

NCASA will publish a “check-in” period for the tournament at least a week prior to the day of the Tournament. 

1. A representative from each Team must check-in during this time period. 

2. Late registrations will only be accepted until the beginning of round 1. All teams must be checked-in and seated with roster in hand at the beginning of round 1. 

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E. Team Composition 

1. Coach a. One individual who is not a student (e.g.: a teacher, assistant principal, etc.) may serve as a Coach to train and supervise the Players. 

2. Players 

   • Twelve students from a Member School will be considered the Players that comprise a Team. 

   • A minimum of eight Players per team and two Players per round are required to participate. 

   • A maximum of twelve Players per team and three Players per round are permitted to participate. 

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F. Topics

1. The following topics are present in every high school event. 

   • Algebra / Geometry 

   • Trigonometry / Calculus 

   • Fine Arts (includes visual arts and performing arts)

   • Physical Sciences 

   • Life Sciences 

   • Literature 

   • Grammar / Composition (grammar and MLA documentation and format) 

   • World History (from recorded history to previous year) 

   • US History (from discovery of America to previous year)

   • Civics / Economics 

2. Wildcard Topics. Two of the eight topics below will be present in each high school competition. The two topics present will be announced during the kick-off.

   • Current Events (state, national, and international events, up to 3 months previous) 

   • Sports (state, national, and international sports, teams, players)

   • Word Problems (mathematical or statistical in nature, will not include trigonometry or calculus) 

   • Social Sciences (includes psychology, sociology, anthropology, and political science)

   • North Carolina (history, people, geography, politics, sports, etc.) 

   • Geography (state, national, and international) 

   • Film / Television (history, films, television shows, technology) 

   • Computers / Technology 

3. The following topics are present in every middle school event. 

   • Life Science 

   • Earth Science 

   • Mathematics 

   • Writing (Grammar plus literary terms and devices) 

   • Literature 

   • US History 

   • World History 

   • Technology 

   • Physical Education / Sports 

   • j. Arts and Media 

4. Wildcard Topics. Two of the topics below will be present in each middle school competition. The two topics present will be announced during the kick-off. 

   • North Carolina Current Events 

   • North Carolina Sports 

   • North Carolina History 

   • North Carolina Native Americans 

   • North Carolina State Symbols 

   • North Carolina Government 

   • North Carolina Geography 

   • North Carolina Colleges and Universities 

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G. Kick-Off

1. The moderator will precede the kick-off with a two-minute warning so teams can be prepared. 

2. The presentation is advanced to slide #2, showing the twelve topics and their corresponding round. 

3. Any two of the wildcard topics could be included in the competition. The twelve topics could be presented in any order. 

4. Once the slide is advanced, the teams have twelve minutes to group their Players into four groups of three Players each. 

   • Group A will participate in rounds 1, 5, and 9 

   • Group B will participate in rounds 2, 6, and 10 

   • Group C will participate in rounds 3, 7, and 11 

   • Group D will participate in rounds 4, 8, and 12. 

5. Kick-off example (number indicates round, column indicates topic for each lettered group): 

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1. Once assigned, Players cannot move between groups. Each Player may participate in only one of the four groups. 

2. Group A must be seated, ready to participate, and with roster in hand, before the twelve minutes have elapsed following kick-off. 

3. Teams not seated with roster in hand before time elapses will be disqualified 

4. The moderator shall announce time warnings as they appear on screen. Once the twelve minutes have elapsed, rosters will be collected. 

5. Each team will be provided with scratch paper and answer sheets. Teams must provide pens or pencils. Once rosters are collected, play will begin. 

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H. Electronic Devices

1. Players are prohibited from using any electronic devices, including calculators, MP3 players, IPods, or cell phones. 

2. Inactive players found to be using electronic devices will incur the following penalties: 

   • Warning on first infraction. 

   • Two-point penalty on second infraction. 

   • Five-point penalty on third infraction. 

   • Team disqualification on fourth infraction.

3. Active players found to be using electronic devices will be disqualified. Their team will receive a score of -6 for all rounds in which this player participated. 

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I. Play 

1. Round 1 begins with question 1. 

2. Question 1 is read aloud and displayed on screen. Most questions will remain on screen for 3 seconds (high school) or 5 seconds (middle school) after they have been read aloud. 

3. Questions continue to be read and shown until all twelve questions have been read. 

4. Following the last question, Players have three minutes to complete the answer sheets for all except mathematics topics. 

5. All mathematics rounds will begin with the distribution of the question list on paper to each team. Teams will have a total of nine minutes to complete their answer sheet for each math round. 

6. Time remaining in the round will be shown on screen and read by the moderator. The moderator will notify Players at the three minute, two minute, one minute, and 12 seconds remaining. 

7. Once the end of the round is called, all Players must immediately put down their pencils. Answer sheets are immediately collected. 

8. If a team continues to write after time is called, that team shall be penalized six points. 

9. Answer sheets submitted without team name are penalized two points. 

10. Once answer sheets are collected, answers to the previous round are shown on-screen. 

11. Players return to their teams and Players for the next round take their place. Once all teams are seated and ready, round 2 begins. 

12. Round 2 and all subsequent rounds are played exactly as round 1. 

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J. Scoring 

1. Each correct answer is worth one point. 

2. Incorrect or no answers are worth no points. 

3. To receive credit, an answer must be accurate (correct) and precise (unambiguous). 

4. Unless essential to the answer, correct spelling and punctuation are not required. 

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K. Protest

1. Only coaches may protest answers. 

2. Protests shall be submitted to the head judge only between rounds, and no later than three minutes following the display of the answers to the final round. 

3. All decisions of the head judge are final. 

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L. Advancement

1. The top team from each Region will advance to the state finals. 

2. Additional wildcard teams based on the highest score are advanced until twelve teams advance to the State Final. 

3. If there is a tie score to determine the final team from a Region to advance to the state finals, all tied teams will advance. 

4. If an advancing team is unable to participate in the state finals, the next highest scoring team from all teams will take their place. 

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M. Tiebreaker

1. Only the state final will use a tiebreaker to determine a winner. 

2. The final score in Round 12 will break all ties. If teams are still tied, Round 11, and so on will be used until a tie is broken.