SEASON PLAY REQUIREMENTS
All USQ teams are invited to participate in one of four divisions at US Quadball Cup.
College Division 1 (D1): 12 teams max
College Division 2 (D2): No cap
Club Competitive Division: 16 teams max
Club Open Division: No cap
Uncapped divisions will have a structure designed to obtain a winner, but their primary objective will be to provide all teams with games at or close to their competitive level.
For a team intending to play at US Quadball Cup in either the Club Competitive Division or College Division One, there are specific season play requirements that must be met in addition to registering the team and its players. The deadline for these requirements is March 21, 2027 for all teams.
SEASON CHECKLIST BY DIVISION
Select your desired USQ division to view the Season Checklist for your team. Our Season Checklists include everything from suggested dates for logistical items to membership registration deadlines to gameplay requirements. If you have additional questions, email membership@usquadball.org.
PRE-USQ NATIONAL QUALIFIERS
The journey to US Quadball Cup for competitive teams begins with play at local or smaller national tournaments. All teams must play a minimum number of official games before their national qualifier in order to be seeded. The official USQ Standings will be used to seed teams as needed.
Two weeks before attending a national qualifier, official teams wishing to be seeded at that qualifier will be required to:
☐ Compete in at least five USQ official games
☐ Compete against three different teams
☐ Attend two USQ-official events
☐ Complete the officials requirements
Should a team fail to play the required number of official games, they will be counted as unseeded.
USQ NATIONAL QUALIFIERS
Information regarding national qualifier dates and locations will be added here within the next month.
While all teams may attend a national qualifier, those who have their eye on a competitive division must attend at least one national qualifier. Teams will be assigned to a national qualifier by USQ. Teams will rank their top three choices upon team registration. College teams will only be assigned to one* national qualifier. Club teams can note if they have an interest in attending more than one qualifier when registering.
The official USQ Standings will be used to seed teams as needed at qualifiers. All teams that have not yet played sufficient official games will be counted as unseeded.
At each qualifier, a specific number of bids for College Division One and/or the Club Competitive Division will be up for grabs.
NATIONAL QUALIFIER ASSIGNMENTS
All teams must attend at least one national qualifier to qualify for College D1 or the Club Competitive Division at US Quadball Cup.
Teams will be assigned to a national qualifier by USQ. To facilitate this process, college teams will rank their top three choices during team registration, and will only be assigned to one national qualifier*. Club teams will rank up their top three choices upon team registration and can also note if they are interested in attending more than one qualifier.
Qualifier bids will be calculated and publicly announced in early December, along with the list of teams attending each national qualifier. National qualifiers will be allocated bids based on the number of registrants by 11:59 pm PST on Dec. 1. The remaining at-large bids will be awarded in beginning March 21.
For qualifiers, the official USQ Standings will be used to seed teams as needed. All teams that have not yet played sufficient official games will be counted as unseeded (see Season Play Requirements).
USQ requires a minimum qualifier size for the collegiate division. The minimum will be five teams. If a national qualifier does not have five college teams committed to attend by Dec. 1, or if the number of collegiate teams drops below five after that point, USQ Gameplay and Events Departments will determine whether a qualifier for that collegiate division will occur. If the collegiate division at a qualifier cannot occur, USQ will establish dedicated at-large bids based on the number of teams registered for that qualifier by Dec. 1.
Additional information regarding national qualifier dates and locations will be added here.
HUNTINGTON-HILL METHOD
The Huntington-Hill method of apportionment is used to determine the collegiate bid allocation. Of the 32 collegiate competitive division bids, 27 will be awarded at national qualifiers. These 27 bids will be distributed to the regions using the Huntington-Hill method. The remaining bids will be distributed at large. The Huntington-Hill method ensures each region is represented at the US Quadball Cup according to the size of the region.
Using this method, we first determine a standard divisor by dividing the number of registered teams by the number of available event bids (27). We then calculate a standard quota for each region, representing the number of bids each region would receive if the bids accurately represented the region’s size. Unfortunately, ¼ of a team cannot receive a bid to represent their region at the event, so some rounding must occur, which is why using this mathematical method is necessary.
Suppose a region’s standard quota is less than the geometric mean of the integers between which it is located. In that case, a region is allocated to the lower of those integers. Suppose the region’s standard quota is greater than the geometric mean of the integers. In that case, it is allocated to the higher integers.
If the total sum of those initial quotas adds to the total number of bids, the initial quotas are used. Otherwise, a modified divisor is used in place of the standard divisor so that the modified quotas sum correctly, and those modified quotas are then used.
In order to allocate each division’s bids to D1 and D2, each region’s quota will be multiplied by 0.46 and 0.54, respectively, to generate the divisional quota for D1 and D2. If the divisional quotas do not add up to the total number of bids in each division, a modified multiplier is used in place of the standard multiplier so that the modified divisional quotas sum correctly, and those modified divisional quotas are then used.
You can find further reading on the Huntington-Hill method here.
NATIONAL QUALIFIER BIDS
A bid is a team’s ticket to a competitive division at US Quadball Cup. Qualifier bids are given out at qualifiers. At-large bids are bids that were not distributed at qualifiers for reasons such as uneven numbers of teams, bid deferment, etc.
The number of bids per qualifier is calculated and publicly announced in early December, along with the list of teams attending each national qualifier. National qualifiers will be allocated bids based on the number of registrants by 11:59 pm PST on Dec. 1. The remaining at-large bids will be awarded in March.
AT-LARGE BIDS
Teams that do not earn bids for US Quadball Cup at a national qualifier must complete expanded season play requirements to earn at-large bids. At-large bid requirements for all teams are listed below. This must be completed by March 21, 2027.
Teams going for at-large bids will be required to:
Compete in at least 10 USQ official games.^
Compete against at least 8 different official teams.^
Attend 4 events, of which one must be a USQ national qualifier.
Alternatively, teams going for at-large bids can do the following if they compete against at least one opponent who attended a different national qualifier:
Compete in at least 8 USQ-official games.^
Compete against at least 6 different official teams.^
Attend 3 events, of which one must be a USQ national qualifier.
Games played at national qualifiers will count towards all above season play requirements for all teams.
COLLEGE DIVISION ONE QUALIFICATION
At least 10 bids will be awarded at national qualifiers, proportional to the number of teams competing at each qualifier. The remaining two at-large bids will be assigned based on the USQ Standings as of 11:59 PM ET on Sunday, March 21, 2027. Teams will not be able to decline any bid they receive at a qualifier, nor an at-large bid if it is made available.
USQ will use the Huntington-Hill method of apportionment in determining collegiate bid allocation. If the Huntington-Hill method does not yield an equitable distribution of 10 bids, additional bids shall be added until an equitable distribution can be reached.
COLLEGE DIVISION TWO QUALIFICATION
No College D2 bids will be awarded at national qualifiers. All teams who do not qualify for College D1, nor are offered an at-large bid, are eligible for College D2.
NOTE: If a college team requires an official invitation to the 2027 USQ Cup from the league for any reason, including to request funding, please email gameplay@usquadball.org.
CLUB COMPETITIVE DIVISION QUALIFICATION
There will be 16 bids to the 2027 USQ Cup Club Competitive Division awarded at national qualifiers, proportional to the number of bid-eligible teams competing at each qualifier.
If a club team that already received a bid to the 2027 USQ Cup is attending another national qualifier and that team places high enough to earn a bid, the additional bid they would have earned becomes an unassigned at-large bid. At-large bids will be assigned based on the USQ Standings as of 11:59 PM ET on Sunday, March 21, 2027. If a club qualifier does not have the minimum number of teams to compete, USQ will discuss alternative opportunities.
The champion of each national qualifier will be given pot priority at the 2027 USQ Cup. Similar to last year’s structure, if the number of champions does not divide evenly into the size of each pot, then the highest-ranked teams in the USQ Standings will fill the remainder of the pot.
Per the Gender Maximum Policy, a club team will be required to play three max + two women minimum in all official games in order to be eligible for a bid to the 2027 USQ Cup Club Competitive Division. To opt out of this eligibility voluntarily, teams must fill out the Opt Out Form by January 15, 2027. Teams who opt out of competitive division eligibility may still attend national qualifiers, and games between teams that have opted out will be prioritized to the fullest extent possible. If a team has opted out, they must play four max. Any team seeking a less-competitive experience during the regular season and national qualifiers are encouraged to opt out regardless of their ability to adhere to the Gender Maximum Policy for Club Competitive Division teams.
Finally, in order to play in the Club Competitive Division, individual players are required to register their USQ membership by 11:59 PM ET on March 21, 2027. Players who fail to register by this date for any reason will not be permitted to be rostered for any team in the Club Competitive Division of the 2027 USQ Cup. This requirement does not apply to the Club Open Division or either college division.
CLUB OPEN DIVISION QUALIFICATION
The Club Open Division is open to all club teams and does not require qualification.
CLUB COMPETITIVE DIVISION FORMAT
A standard pool play into single-elimination bracket is likely to be used for the Club Competitive Division.
CLUB OPEN DIVISION FORMAT
For the Club Open Division, teams may be placed in stacked pools based on their performance throughout the season, depending on the size of the division. A single-elimination bracket is likely to be used for the Club Open Division.
*In cases where a national qualifier does not have enough collegiate teams to occur, other teams may be allowed to attend that national qualifier in addition to their assigned qualifier. If a college team that has already received a bid to US Quadball Cup 2025 is attending another qualifier, and that team places high enough to earn a bid, the additional bid they would have earned becomes an at-large bid. It does not go to the next highest-placing team at that event.
^ Club teams will only be able to fulfill this requirement by competing against other club teams. College teams may use games against club teams to count for these requirements. Cross-division games (college vs. club) will not count for the USQ Standings.