Dear Academic Team Coach:

This letter is to announce the 2002 Texas Academic Challenge State Championship.

Who is eligible: Public and private high schools in Texas who have had some degree of success in Academic Challenge competition in their local areas. Invitations will be based on a team’s record, taking into account the degree of competitiveness in local contests and the need for geographic diversity to broadly represent the state.

Format: In each individual match, teams of four students from two high schools compete by answering questions in a "College Bowl" style contest. Questions vary in both type and level of difficulty and cover a wide range of subjects. Individual matches last about 25 minutes, and we will try to guarantee each school a minimum of four matches, resources permitting. Matches will begin around 9:00 a.m. on Friday and 8:00 a.m. on Saturday and continue until late afternoon.  The question sets for matches held on Friday and Saturday morning are from Patrick's Press.  The questions for the seeded rounds that start on Saturday afternoon are from Questions Unlimited.

Deadline: The last possible date to apply is Friday, March 22, but it would be best to apply as early as possible since only 24 teams may compete.  If your school is slow about processing the entry fee check, please let me know your intentions to compete as early as possible.  Any school that submitts an application but does not complete the payment process by March 22nd will be asked to confirm its intention to compete before being included in the competition schedule.  This confirmation should be done via telephone to (936)294-1480 where voice mail is available.

Arrangements: Matches are held at Sam Houston State University in the Administrative Building 1 (second floor). Information on the contest such as maps and the rules can be accessed on the web. A detailed schedule will be available on the web page by Monday, April 1. If for some reason you are unable to access the web page, please contact me and I will fax the schedule to you. The initial match ups in the contest will be determined by a random draw.

Awards and Corporate Support: There will be a suitable trophy for the winning high school and medallions for individual team members and coaches. Coca Cola supports the tournament with a generous supply of Coca Cola products. Finally, the winning school earns the exclusive right to represent the state of Texas at the Panasonic National Academic Challenge at Disneyworld in Florida, June 22-25, 2002 at the Contemporary Resort and Convention Center.

To Apply: Complete the application and send toDr. Tracy Steele, Coordinator SHSU Academic Challenge Program, Department of History, Box 2239, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX 77341. You may call (936) 294-1480 or Fax (936) 294-3938 or Email: his_tls@shsu.edu.  The Academic Challenge web address is http://www.shsu.edu/~acp_www .   There is a $250.00 registration fee which covers contest expenses such as the question sets, complimentary juice/coffee breaks, souvenir tee shirts for each participant, and the Friday evening banquet. The registration fee is based on each team having six students and two adults. If your team is somewhat larger, please contact me for a special rate. Travel and meals other than the Friday banquet are the responsibility of each participating school. This is a non-profit event, and so SHSU faculty and Honors students are donating their time to serve as hosts, judges, moderators, scorekeepers, etc.

Hope to see you in April,
Tracy Steele
Coordinator, SHSU Academic Challenge Program