Qualifying for the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions (NIETOC)

There are three ways to qualify for the NIETOC: automatic, a bid system, or an at-large process.

1. Novice-level results are not applicable for automatic, bid or at-large qualification.
2. Although a host school's team may compete in their tournament, they are not eligible for a bid or an at-large qualification from that competition.

Option 1 - Automatic Qualifier*

To automatically qualify for the NIETOC, students must meet one of the following criteria:

A. Semifinalist or Finalist at previous year's NIETOC contest (beginning 2010)
B. Top three finish at current year's state tournament (if held prior to entry deadline of March 20th)

Option 2 - Bid Qualifier*

A. To qualify via the Bid System for the NIETOC, students must earn two bids in a given event at NIETOC-designated tournaments throughout the country.

The bids are gained at the following levels:

Less than 20	1st place
20-34 Contestants	1st, 2nd or 3rd place
35-50 Contestants	Finals Round bid *
51-70 Contestants	Semifinals Round bid *#
71+ Contestants	Quarterfinals Round Bid *

* Rounds must be held to earn a bid at the appropriate level.

# Hosts may use the Champs/Honors final format in lieu of a semifinal.

For clarification: one duo = two contestants, so 18-25 duos provide a finals round bid.

B. Post-Season Bids -- Contestants in the finals of their state tournament (if held prior to entry deadline of March 20th) will receive one bid in that event.

Option 3 - At-Large Qualifier* (Requires a $25 non-refundable application fee)

To be considered under the At-Large system, a student must earn four "legs" that accumulate to a total ranking of 11 or less. To illustrate:

Tournament	Joe Smith's DI ranks	Sarah Jones' HI ranks
Tournament A	2nd place	4th place
Tournament B	6th place	3rd place
Tournament C	4th place	1st place
Tournament D	3rd place	2nd place
Tournament E	8th place	12th place
Tournament F	5th place	2nd place

In this scenario, Joe's best 4 tournaments result in a total of 14, while Sarah's best 4 result in a total of 8. Thus, Sarah would qualify for consideration as an at-large entry to the NIETOC but Joe would not.

*Students meeting any of the above qualification criteria must complete the NIETOC application form online and submit payment of $25.00 by March 20th, 2010.

The NIETOC reserves the right to deny or refuse to accept the application from any participant to the competition. The NIETOC reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to change, modify or alter the procedures, rules or regulations regarding any aspect of the competition without notice.

Students who qualify for the NIETOC are able to enter up to two main events and two supplemental events. The choice of events to participate in is up to the student(s), along with coaches and parents.