2022 Wisconsin State Invitational Championship Tournament
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2022 Wisconsin State Invitational Championship Tournament
Below you will find the following Tournament information including:
▪ History
▪ Tournament Format and Scheduling
▪ Player Eligibility
▪ Team Selection and Enrollment Process
▪ Additional Information for teams that have returned the Enrollment Form
▪ Rosters and Liability Waivers
▪ All Tournament Team Selections
The Wisconsin State Invitational Championship Tournament ("WSICT") is an annual event for 5th
through 8th grade teams, played between late February and mid-April. All teams invited to the WSICT
for the first time are contacted in the fall and winter before the next spring's events. Teams that were
scheduled to play in previous WSICT events will be invited to the 2022 event.
This posting will answer some basic questions and streamline the enrollment process for those teams
that are very competitive and are single-school district feeder teams. For the teams that do not qualify,
either because they aren't sufficiently strong, or are not true high school feeder teams as provided for by
our eligibility rules, this posting will help coaches understand the selection process before contacting us
about entering the tournament.
History of Tournament: The tournament was first organized in 2001 by The Great Northwest
Basketball League ("GNBL"). Our motivation in starting the tournament was to provide an opportunity
for the best teams in the area covered by the GNBL (northern, western and central Wisconsin) to play
the best teams from the rest of the state. The size of the field has grown from 215 total teams in six
grades (6th, 7th and 8th grade boys and girls) in 2001 or about 36 teams per grade, to over 650 teams in
past years. The average field size per grade/gender is about 85 teams. Results from all previous WSICT
events can be viewed on this website by clicking ‶WSICT Archives." The score of every pool and play-
off game is listed, as well as the All Tournament Team in each division.
Tournament Format: Each team at the WSICT is guaranteed six games, with no team playing more
than seven, in the two-day event (Saturday and Sunday only; there are no Friday games). The field in
each grade is divided into four divisions tracking with the five divisions of the WIAA but combining
Divisions 4 and 5 due to lower participation numbers in Division 5. We occasionally will move a team
down or up one division (we only do that with the team coach's permission) in order to get a manageable
number of teams in each division for pooling purposes. When asking teams to do this, our sole factor is
size of high school enrollment (not perceived team strength), so that school districts of comparable size
play only other communities their relative size.
▪ WSICT Pool Assignments: WSICT participants typically play two or three games against
another pool or companion pool, and then three or four more in either the championship or
consolation bracket. When putting together the pools for Saturday pool play in the 2022
WSICT, we will look at these factors:
Page 1 of 6o We’ll try to achieve geographic diversity – neighboring communities will generally not be
scheduled to play each other in pool play.
o We’ll try to achieve balance by quality of teams. Top finishers in each division at the
previous WSICT will be evenly-dispersed amongst the pools. For new teams to the 2022
WSICT field, we’ll rely on what we are provided regarding their record, as well as anecdotal
information we’ve heard about each team from other coaches, in order to achieve balance by
ability between the pools.
o We’ll try, where possible, to not match up teams that played each other in WSICTs. For
new teams in 2022, we’ll rely on their answer to the question on their enrollment form about
other strong teams they’ve played; we’ll try not to pool them with teams they’ve played
frequently during the season.
▪ WSICT Scheduling: Each WSICT participant will play either four games on Saturday and two
on Sunday, or three on Saturday and three on Sunday (for those teams playing seven, there will
be four games on one day and three on the other). Games are scheduled 1 hour 15 minutes apart,
starting Saturday at 9:00 a.m., with the last games on Saturday tipping off at 8:15 p.m. On
Sunday, the first games of the day start at 8:00 a.m. and the last games at 2:15 p.m. or 3:30 p.m.
Teams will usually have a one or two game break between games.
Tournament Entry Fee: The fee to play in the WSICT for 2022 will be $355 for all teams, with six
games guaranteed (some teams will play seven). Your entry fee covers the cost of officials, printing
(programs, admission wrist band, and mailings), postage, awards, website construction and maintenance,
phone calls and human resources. The host community at each grade level retains all profits from
concessions and admission sales, they have an enormous organizational job in terms of volunteer hours
to help serve teams and host the games.
Eligibility Rules and Game Rules: Complete 2022 Wisconsin State Invitational Championship
Tournament Rules are posted on the website at gnbl.org, click on "WSICT" and then "2022 Rules." The
Rules include game rules, a detailed discussion of eligibility and seeding procedures for every field size.
The most often asked question by coaches is: what do I need to do to demonstrate that my team is
strong enough to play in this tournament? While team strength is a critical part of the selection process,
the first criterion is player eligibility. Every year there are a number of strong teams that we must
decline because their players live in multiple school districts. While private schools (which have no
territorial districts) are welcome to participate in the WSICT, the eligibility requirements for non-public
schools in this tournament are as stringent as those for public schools, with all players required to attend
a feeder school of the same denomination or affiliation within the high school's geographic drawing
area. We provide exceptions for students currently open-enrolled at a different public school district
than the one in which they currently live. We do NOT, under any circumstances, consider where an
older sibling attends or attended a particular high school, or where parents say they are planning to send
a son/daughter to high school (unless they are already open enrolled by the time of the 8th grade WSICT
for a player going into 9th grade in 2022-2023). For a very detailed discussion of tournament player
eligibility requirements, see WSICT Rule 11, which can be accessed on this website by clicking on
"2022 WSICT Rules." We also encourage coaches who anticipate that they want to enroll in the 2022
WSICT to read all the rules, especially those relating to game situations.
Page 2 of 6Selection Process: In deciding which teams to invite to the WSICT, tournament organizers spend a
great deal of time researching the strength of potential invitees. That includes:
▪ Monitoring traveling league website results and standings. Most of the larger traveling leagues
in the state (e.g., The Great Northwest, YGSBL, WYBL, etc.) maintain websites that post
standings and/or game results. We monitor these on a weekly basis during the fall/winter season.
If you coach a team that plays in a smaller league that maintains a website that is actively
updated with game results, let us know what that website is by emailing us at: terri@gnbl.org.
We only monitor leagues that are organized on an A/B basis, or where the communities
participating field only one team. We will not monitor leagues where participant communities
have multiple, evenly-divided teams, because the results of games involving such teams do not
accurately reflect the relative strength of a community's "A" team once the strongest players are
put together on one team for our tournament.
▪ Recommendations from alumni coaches. The coaches of the teams that enrolled in the 2021
WSICTs were asked to recommend younger teams (last season's 4th grade) from their community
or other communities, that they felt would be sufficiently strong to play in the 2022 WSICT.
▪ Varsity coaches and tournament directors. Throughout the year, we talk to many varsity coaches
and tournament directors about strong teams in their area that they have seen.
▪ Peer coaches. When enrolling in the WSICT, teams are asked about other strong teams they
have faced. Once we hear about a team for the second or third time from peer coaches, we add
that team's coach to our "call" list.
Coaches are welcome to initiate the invitation process. Such overtures should be directed to Terri Green
at 715-386-4317 or terri@gnbl.org. When calling or emailing, be prepared with the following
information:
▪ One of the team's coaches (not a parent, scheduler or team manager) must call initially so we can
ask questions about opposing teams played.
▪ If sending an email, or leaving a voice mail, identify the specific public high school or private
high school into which your youth team feeds. If you say you are from the Milwaukee "area" or
you are from "Green Bay" or "Madison," (when we don't know which of the numerous high
schools in those communities your team feeds into), we will not respond. Please be certain to
leave a phone number so that we can call you back.
▪ We will ask you about results against the best teams you played this season and last season.
Enrollment Process: The enrollment process for the 2022 WSICTs will work as follows:
▪ Teams that played in past WSICT events will be invited for 2022.
▪ Teams from eastern, southern or south central Wisconsin will be sent invitations if the coach
makes a compelling case for their level of competitiveness.
▪ Teams that were invited to a previous WSICT (2019, 2020 or 2021) and declined, or didn’t
respond to the invitation, will not be sent an invitation for 2022 unless the coach of that team
first calls or emails Terri Green. If you coach an "excellent" or "very good" team that declined a
previous invitation, getting into the field on a second-chance basis, shouldn't be that difficult.
Page 3 of 6▪ Great Northwest Basketball League Teams (note: if your community's teams are not in the area
covered by the GNBL, this bullet does NOT apply to you): Teams in communities from northern,
western and central Wisconsin that are located in the area covered by the GNBL, can also contact
Terri Green for consideration of their team applying for the WSICT. Since we have current
records on your team, we will not need detailed information on who your team has played.
GNBL 5th grade teams that register as an "A" or "B+" team, will be invited to the WSICT, but
ultimate acceptance into the field will be based on actual performance at the A/B+ level. GNBL
5th grade teams that register at the "B" level or below, will not automatically receive a WSICT
invitation, but their results will be monitored throughout the season as well and an invitation
extended later where game results warrant.
Great Northwest teams must submit their completed enrollment form along with the fee
before they will be accepted into the field. We do not call teams to remind them to send in
their enrollment forms.
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Teams that apply for entry into the 2022 WSICT field should be aware of the
following additional information:
Hotel Accommodations: Once the venues for the events have been confirmed, we will block a large
number of hotel rooms in that community. All hotel information will be listed on our website under
"Hotel Information." While you are welcome to contact hotels on your own, you may find that many of
them will be “filled” because of the extensive number of rooms we will block.
When making reservations, please follow the instructions online. Accommodations for different
grades/genders are made by local convention and visitors bureaus or by our staff. Please request rooms
blocked for “Wisconsin State Invitational Championship Tournament (WSICT)” or reference “The
Great Northwest Basketball League.” Be sure to put the rooms in your team’s (or coach’s) name so
that the hotel does not inadvertently give them to someone else requesting WSICT rooms. We
recommend that you call hotels between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on a weekday, because you are more
likely to talk to knowledgeable staff than you will on evenings and weekends.
Rosters, Liability Waivers/Concussion Agreements: All teams that play in the Wisconsin State
Invitational Championship Tournament are required to have the following two items on file with our
office at least four weeks in advance of the event at their grade/gender level. These items will be
explained in more detail in the invitation.
1. A completed “Team Information Form” including roster with players names, jersey
number, address, school attending and current grade. This “Information” form will be an
attachment to the invitation email. This form can be returned to us by mailing to: WSICT,
PO Box 506, Hudson WI 54016; emailing to tracie@gnbl.org or faxing to 715-749-4198.
2. A "Consent for Medical Treatment and Voluntary Release, Acknowledgement and Acceptance of
Risks Indemnity Agreement" (hereafter "Liability Waiver/Concussion Agreement") for every
player on the team. We have combined the Liability Waiver, the "Parent and Athlete Concussion
Law Agreement" and the coach’s Concussion Agreement into one document to simplify the
paperwork for coaches.
Page 4 of 6All coaches and assistant coaches are also required to complete the online Waiver/ Concussion
Agreement. The Coach Concussion Agreement has been made a part of the Liability
Waiver/Concussion Agreement – so if you have signed this document for your child, you are
good to go. If you are coaching and do not have a child participating, please complete the
Liability Waiver/Concussion Agreement form using your own name instead of the player name.
Liability Waivers/Concussion Agreements must be submitted for each player and each coach
listed on your roster or playing in the event. To submit Liability Waiver/Concussion forms
online, have each parent from the team visit our website at gnbl.org, then click on
"Waiver/Concussion Info" in the top menu bar. From there you can follow the online
instructions. If you have questions during the process, please contact Jen Myer at jen@gnbl.org.
If your team is a member of The Great Northwest and you have already submitted Liability Waivers/
Concussion Agreements for all members of your 2021-2022 team who will be on your roster for the
2022 WSICT, you do not need to submit them a second time.
All Tournament Team: Since the first year we organized this tournament, the coaches elected an All
Tournament Team, with separate teams for each division at each grade level. Award winners receive an
individual award to memorialize their selection. Players named to the All Tournament Team in a given
grade will be posted on the scoring results page for that grade/Division the Friday following each
tournament.
Coaches are asked to nominate between three and five players from their roster who they feel have been
the strongest players on their team all season. These players are the only individuals listed on the
printed ballot for each team, with write-ins allowed for other players. At the event, we have a two-level
selection process: 1) coaches voting for players from other teams based on strength of performance at
the WSICT (you can’t vote for your own players on this portion of the ballot) and 2) a second process,
where each coach rates the top performances on their own team after the event. Teams placing in the top
quarter of that Division field are guaranteed one selection on the All Tournament Team. This two-
pronged approach assures that top teams, with balanced rosters, receive recognition on the All
Tournament Team. In those cases where it is a close vote (a tie or a one-vote differential) as to which
one of two players on a given team should be placed on the All Tournament Team, we defer to the
perspective of that team’s coach when making the selection. When the vote is not close (two or more
vote differential), we solely follow the direction of the majority of opposition coaches.
We receive feedback about the All Tournament Team selection process after each WSICT. The biggest
frustrations voiced by coaches were that they couldn’t watch all the teams in their division play in order
to cast a more informed vote, and that they occasionally disagreed with opposing coaches about who on
their own team most deserved to make the All Tournament Team. The latter issue we’ve already
addressed, as best we can, as outlined above. As far as coaches not being able to watch the games of
teams they don’t play, while we obviously don’t require coaches to do that before they vote, the
opportunity to do so exists given the 1:15 and 2:30 breaks between games for all teams. However, even
if every coach voted only for players on the opponents their team plays, the players that impressed most
would still be the ones to make the All Tournament Team. The bottom line, however, is that the
majority of coaches (over 80%) want to keep selecting the team. While not perfect, as it has evolved,
we believe it is the fairest process possible.
Page 5 of 6As noted above, for the 2022 All Tournament Team selection process, each coach is required to
nominate a minimum of three, and maximum of five, players to appear on the ballot. The deadline for
submitting your All Tournament Team nominations is four weeks before the 2022 WSICT for your
grade/gender (the same deadline as for Liability Waivers/Concussion Agreements and rosters).
Awards: The championship teams in each Division at each WSICT will receive a large team trophy,
with smaller individual trophies for each team member. The trophies will read: “2022 Wisconsin State
Invitational Championship Tournament Champion.” Other teams receiving trophies will be as follows:
• All 2nd place and 3rd place teams in all eight or ten team fields.
• All 2nd place, 3rd place and 4th place teams in all twelve, fourteen or fifteen team fields.
• All 2nd place, 3rd place, 4th place and 9th place teams in all fields with sixteen or more teams.
All individual players on teams receiving trophies for a place other than 1st will receive neck medallions.
All individual players on teams not receiving a trophy will receive a large ribbon (2 ½" x 12"). All
medallions and ribbons will be inscribed as follows: “2022 Wisconsin State Invitational Championship
Tournament, ‘x’ place.” We will provide 12 individual awards per team at the event (whether trophies,
medallions or ribbons), but will provide extras after the event to teams with more than 12 players in
attendance at the WSICT at no charge to that team.
Souvenir T-shirt and Sweatshirt Sales: State Tournament t-shirts and sweatshirts have been very
popular souvenirs at past WSICTs. The 2022 t-shirts and sweatshirts will have a unique design to set
them apart from previous seasons. For teams included in the 2022 WSICT field, coaches will receive
information regarding how to order when they receive their acceptance email.
Press Releases: For the 2022 WSICT, all participants will be emailed a template to submit an
individualized press release to their hometown newspapers telling of their participation in the 2022
WSICT and how they did.
Referrals: If you have suggestions of other teams in your community or area that we should consider
for the WSICT, we'd appreciate receiving the contact person’s name and email address or phone number
so that we can contact them.
Questions: Questions about getting an invitation to the Wisconsin State Invitational Championship
Tournament, pool construction, rules, and recommendations of other teams, the All Tournament Team
and eligibility should be directed to: Terri Green at 715-386-4317 or terri@gnbl.org. Questions about
hotel accommodations, liability waivers/concussion forms, rosters and submission of paperwork should
go to Tracie Tilton at 715-749-9048 or tracie@gnbl.org.
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