Bid Qualifier* — 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.

A – Regular Season Bids — The list of tournaments at which students can earn bids is posted on the NIETOC website.

During with the 2020-2021 competitive season, bids are gained at the following levels:

0-19 contestants = FIRST PLACE BID

20-34 contestants = FIRST, SECOND & THIRD PLACE BIDS

35-50 contestants = FINAL ROUND BIDS

51-70 contestants = SEMIFINAL ROUND BIDS

71-99 contestants = QUARTERFINAL ROUND BIDS

 100 + contestants = OCTAFINAL ROUND BIDS

The following adjusted criteria have been established for the determination of acceptance of tournament bid applications, beginning with the 2018 NIETOC Tournament.  In the event that the tournament reaches maximum room capacity, the following criteria will be taken into account, on an event-by-event basis, when accepting bid applications:

1.  Best two bid ranks earned

2.  Total number of bids earned

3.  Total number of entries in the event where bids were earned

4.  Contestant’s entry in another main event at this year’s NIETOC competition

5.  Contestant’s or contestant’s school attendance at least year’s tournament

B – Post-Season Bids — Contestants receive one bid for each of the following:
>One bid earned by being an Octafinalist or Quarterfinalist at previous year’s NIETOC in that event..
>One bid earned by being a Finalist at previous year’s state tournament in that event..
>One bid earned by being a Finalist at current year’s state tournament in that event.. We will also extend a bid to semifinalists at the current year’s state tournament if there are more than 50 contestants in that event.
>One bid earned by qualifying for the current year’s NSDA national tournament in that event.

At-Large Qualifier* (Requires a $25 non-refundable application fee) — To be considered under the At-Large system, a student must earn three “legs” which can be earned at NIETOC Bid or non-Bid tournaments that accumulate to a total ranking of 10 or less. To illustrate:

Tournament: Joe Smith’s DI ranks:       Sarah Jones’ HI ranks:

Tournament A 4th 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

In this scenario, Joe’s best 3 tournaments result in a total of 11, while Sarah’s best 3 results in a total of 6. Thus, Sarah would qualify for consideration as an at-large entry to the NIETOC but Joe would not.

*Students meeting the above qualification criteria must complete the NIETOC online registration via SpeechWire and upload documentation via Dropbox. Competitors will be placed on a waiting list until all supporting information can be confirmed.

If I attain at-large status, do I automatically qualify to compete??

No.  At-Large applications are put on a waiting list in lieu of students who qualify through the automatic and bid systems. We are going to do our best to get everyone who wants attend the NIETOC a spot in the tournament. However, we must stay within the parameters of the host school room constraints.

“Applicants for acceptance are reminded that completion of registration requirements does not guarantee acceptance to the NIETOC.” We do our best to notify the at-large candidates of acceptance by April 1^st.