Every April, the ICT (which confusingly stands for "Inter-Collegiate Tournament") is run by our American friends at NAQT. Featuring 64 of the best teams from across North America (and sometimes further afield), it is almost certainly the toughest buzzer tournament in the world. Some British student teams have in the past travelled to the US to take part - but now you can experience the tournament yourself without even needing to find your passport.

For Masoquizm, we ship over the ICT questions and play them in their entirety. Not only are the questions harder than anything anywhere else in Britain, we also leave their sheer Americanism unadulterated as well - for an extra kick, y'know? But this isn't quite masoquiztic enough for us, so we also add the unnecessary complication of trying to play as many games in one day as humanly possible: 16 20-minute games in ten hours.

If you've never been to a quiz tournament before, Masoquizm possibly isn't the one for you (but you're still very welcome). On the other hand, if "normal" tournaments are just too short and too easy, find yourself a team and sign up quickly. We're only accepting eight teams for this event, and it'll be first come, first served. The full details are below, and we look forward to proving to you that quizzing is physical as well as mental...

Where and when?

Date: Saturday 20 May, 2006

Doors open: 9:30 am
Tournament begins: 10:15 am sharp (don't be late!)
Approximate finish: 8:30 pm

A break for lunch of up to an hour will be taken around 1pm. Lunch will not be provided, but sandwich shops are nearby. Snacks will be provided during registration and during a break in the afternoon. A dinner break will not be taken.

Venue: St John's College in central Oxford (directions and accommodation information at the end)

Who can take part?

Anyone mad enough! Both student and non-student teams are welcome at this tournament. We are accepting only eight teams.

Up to four people can play for each team at any one time. However, given the length of the tournament, teams are strongly recommended to bring at least five players and rest people for games. Substitutions will be allowed between games as usual, and also during games (see below). Players can compete for only one team in the tournament.

Teams looking for players, or free agent players looking for a team, should look out for the free agent matching post that we'll put up soon.

By the way, we're not joking when we say this is a tough tournament. Participants are responsible for their own welfare, and should consider their own health and safety when choosing to take part. In particular, we recommend that the tournament is not suitable for participants below the age of 15, or for people with certain medical problems (particularly those relating to or exacerbated by fatigue).

The tournament venue is partially wheelchair-accessible - enough to take part fully. The venue requires some walking between rooms. If participants have mobility difficulties, please notify us in advance so that we can adjust the schedule to minimise their movement between rooms. Blind or partially-sighted people will be able to take part fully in the event. However, people who are deaf or hard of hearing may find participation difficult because of the nature of the game, but we're always willing to discuss what can be done. We may also be able to make adaptations with advance warning for participants for whom pressing the buzzer is difficult.

Tournament format

We aim to play 16 rounds of matches in a double round-robin with play-offs. This may need to be adjusted on the day, but teams are guaranteed a minimum of 12 games.

The BuzzerQuiz Official Rules will be in force, but with the following variations to recreate the US experience:

• Power starters (15 points for an early correct answer) will be in force.
• Bonus questions will be worth a total of 30 points, and all formats listed in Section I may be used.
• Games will be played for 20 minutes, with a half-time break after 10 minutes.
• Each team may call one time-out in each game if it wishes.
• Substitutions may be made between games, during half-time, during a time-out, or before extra time; substituted players may return to the game later.

The questions will be not be edited from their original form. They will be difficult, and contain considerable amounts of American subject matter. You have been warned.

Small prizes will be awarded to the top teams, and best players based on individual statistics.

Who's in charge?

The Tournament Director (TD) will be Rob Linham.

Tournament staff (readers and scorers) are needed (see separate article), and will be paid expenses of £15.

Entry fees

The fees for this tournament are a bit higher than usual because it's quite so long. The base entry fee for a team of any size is £60. Teams will receive a £10 discount if all players are current students.

Teams who bring a fully-working suitable buzzer system will receive £5 discount per system. Please tell us in advance if you intend to bring a system, and tell us about the system if we haven't seen it before. We need five systems for the tournament, and preference will be given to the most suitable systems available.

Printed questions as played will be available for purchase at the end of the day for £10, including four rounds that we don't plan to use. You can request a set in advance: only five sets will be available unless we receive more requests than that.

How to sign up

E-mail hello@buzzerquiz.com with:

• your team name;
• your contact details;
• the planned members of your team; and
• any discounts you intend to claim.

You can change the members of your team right up to the start of the event, but having some information in advance helps us with the paperwork.

For any questions or queries about the event, e-mail the same address, or call the TD on 07855 079433. It's also a good idea to let the TD know asap if you're interested in taking part, so we can get an idea of how many places are left.

Important: Because of the limited number of places, teams will be asked to pay in advance to confirm their places. Payment details (by cheque or postal order only, please) will be given when teams sign up.

Getting to the tournament

A series of maps showing how to access St John's can be found here; a wider selection can be found here. Upon arrival at the college, participants should ask at the Lodge (inside the main entrance on St Giles') to be directed to the tournament centre, in the Larkin Room.

By Train

Rail services connect Oxford station regularly with London, Bristol and Birmingham, among others, with journeys taking one hour from London Paddington. The station is a 15-minute walk or a £4 taxi ride from the college (this map shows the full journey, but not to scale).

By Coach

Two coach companies regularly connect Oxford with the centre of London with ridiculously frequent services which run all night: the Oxford Espress and the Oxford Tube. Both services terminate at Gloucester Green Coach Station, from where it is a 5-10 minute walk to the college. Other coach services also serve Gloucester Green, but teams should check the timetables if they plan to travel back on the (Saturday) evening of the tournament.

By Car

Driving into Oxford is a seriously bad plan, as the centre of Oxford is entirely paid parking. Pay and display parking is available on St Giles' outside the college, but it fills up very quickly on a Saturday; Museum Road and Blackhall Road immediately to the north of the college fill up slightly later. Information about the excellent Park and Ride service may be found here. Alternatively, north Oxford is outside the charging zone, from where it takes about 20-25 minutes (or a short bus ride) to walk back into the centre.

The forthcoming free agent post will also invite players to arrange car shares for the journey.

Accommodation

Teams requiring accommodation are suggested to try some of the establishments on this list. Hotels and guest houses on or just off Woodstock and Banbury Roads in North Oxford are particularly recommended as they are a simple bus ride from the venue (see "By Car" above). For those driving, there is a Travelodge at Peartree roundabout accessible from junction 9 of the M40, which is more accessible than their other hotel at Wheatley. The Premier Travel Inn is on the ring road to the south-east of the city, about three miles from the centre.

When booking any hotel, teams are advised to check its proximity to the centre first, as Oxford is a sprawling city, and even hotels as far away as Didcot (a cool 12 miles away) are sometimes advertised as "Oxford". The TD is always happy to help with advice or directions, particularly if it means teams turn up on time!