Below are the divisions offered at this tournament along with their entry cost, prize and roster max. If you are not certain which division is right for you or what it overlaps with, please email us at [email protected] to make sure! No refunds will be given for accidentally registering in multiple divisions that are not guaranteed to not overlap!
*PRO and Open Divisions - Full Cash Prize at 10+ teams, if less $250 per team entered.
The graphic below lays out which divisions will and will not overlap for Friday, Saturday & Sunday, September 2, 3 & 4.
Notice that some styles will play throughout more than one time block.
*5v5 Air-It-Out Women's and *6v6 Contact Women's will NOT overlap but both will be played in the Evening Time Block
5v5 Gauntlet divisions will play Friday only
You may NOT play in more than one division of a single format. i.e. If you are on a roster for 5v5 PRO, you may not play in 5v5 Comp or Rec
Below are the different divisions we offer for many of our styles along with who is expected to participate in each. You may only play in ONE of the PRO/Comp/Rec divisions per style, but may also play in an O35 division.
The top division with teams who are used to competing at the National and International level, featuring top cash prizes and the best athletes in the world.
This division is for teams who may be top teams in their area and very experienced with top athletes, but no National experience or missing some key contributors to make a PRO run.
This division is for teams who are possibly experienced and still competitive, but newer as a team or lacking the top athletes to push the top divisions.
Our division for players 35 years of age or older. Age cutoff is January 12, 2023, so if you will not 35 by that day you are not eligible to play in this division. All players MUST have a valid ID on them throughout the event to verify age in the event of a protest.
AIRPORTS: The closest and largest airport we recommend booking through is O’Hare International Airport (ORD), which is about 20 minutes from the facility.
Another option is Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW), which is about 50 minutes from the facility.
It is recommended that you plan on arriving the day before your games start and leaving on Monday.
Each division does have a maximum amount of teams that can be accepted and divisions do fill up quickly! We expect each one to sell out. So it is important that you register your team early and pay in full by the deadline date to guarantee your place in the National Championships! You can see how many spots are left by going to the team list page HERE.
Zoom Drafts will be held the week leading into the tournament. Date and time is TBD.
Draft order will be determined by those with guaranteed top 4 seeds earned from previous tournaments first (some divisions have less than 4 guaranteed seeds), then remaining teams will be seeded by date/time of team registration.
All teams with 4 or more teams in their division will battle to select their placement on the schedule, where you’ll have a say in who you play, what time and on what field. Captains will select which seed they want on the schedule in reverse order of the day/time they registered and you can take any spot on the board, bumping out another team if desired, who would be forced to take an open spot.
Team A has the least Ranking Points and selects first, and is on the clock (1 minute to decide) . They select the 5th seed on the schedule so they can start at a later time. Team B is up next, and selects the 1st seed to avoid being in the same pool as Team A. Team C is up next, and decides they want to bump Team A out of their spot and steals the 5th seed. Team A then is forced to take an open spot on the board, and selects the 2nd seed place themselves in the same pool as Team B who they think they matchup well against. This continues all the way through the draft until the last 3 teams are left. The only rule exception is that if any of the top teams (top 3 teams for divisions with 19 or less teams; top 4 teams for divisions 20+ teams; top 5 teams for divisions with 30+ teams) get bumped out of their spot, they are allowed to bump again. So if Team Z registered first and is the last to draft and bumps Team X out of their spot who was also one of the top teams, Team X would be allowed to bump another team out so they’re not stuck with the only open spot on the board having earned one of the top team spots draft position. The team they bump would have to take the last open spot on the board, and the draft would be complete! It is a fun way to select your pool play positions and gives each team some input on when, where and who they play!
Since we do pool play for most styles, we’re able to do schedule blocks so you’re guaranteed to be able to play in at least 2 styles. You can still play in multiple styles that may overlap, but we cannot guarantee anything and will not be accommodating any schedule requests.
However, a player CANNOT play on multiple rosters in the same format (i.e. 5v5 Contact PRO and 5v5 Contact Competitive). You CAN play in multiple formats though (i.e. 5v5 Contact PRO and 4v4 Non-Contact PRO).
Pool play divisions / 3 game guarantee – 3 pool play games, plus single elimination bracket for top teams in each division.
Gauntlet divisions are single elimination.
The number of teams that make playoffs will be determined solely by the number of teams in each bracket. The breakdown is as follows:
3-4 teams = 2 Teams in Playoffs
5-8 teams = 4 Teams in playoffs
9-12 teams = 6 Teams in playoffs
13-16 teams = 8 Teams in playoffs
17-20 teams = 10 Teams in Playoffs
21-24 teams = 12 Teams in Playoffs
25-28 teams = 14 Teams in Playoffs
29-39 teams = 16 Teams in Playoffs
40-49 teams = 20 Teams in Playoffs
50+ teams = 24 Teams in Playoffs
After you finish all of your pool play games, playoffs brackets/seeds will be determined by factors IN THIS ORDER
Cash Prizes (PRO, Competitive and O35 divisions only), 4X Ranking Points, Team Trophy, Individual Medals & MVP’s. Full Paid Bid to 2023 Tampa World Championships if 10 or more teams, half paid bid if 9 or less. 1st Place & 2nd Place teams earns #1 & #2 seeds at 2023 Tampa World Championships. Top 4 qualify for Worlds.
ALL TEAMS will use Sonic Flag-a-Tag flags for all 4v4, 5v5, 7v7 and 8v8 Screen (mushroom flags and Shruumz ARE allowed in 4/5/7/8man screen styles). Triple Threat flags will be used in all 8v8 Contact formats.
ALL TEAMS must provide their own flags, you can purchase them on-site as well but they will not be provided.
FFWCT rules. Click here for more info.
If you earned a full or a 1/2 paid bid through winning any of the FFWCT events or sanctioned events this year that you’ll be redeeming for the National Championships, you’ll want to register your team in the “My Team Has a Paid Bid” division. This will allow you to pay the $50 deposit that is required no matter what so we know the team is coming, and will ask you for your division in which we will then move you to that division in short order and will lock you into your registration date draft seed position.
If you had a 1/2 bid, we will apply your credit and you will still have a small outstanding balance that will need to be paid by August 5th. For teams with a full bid, this is all you’ll have to do.
*Rosters for teams playing Gauntlet consist of players from one home state, or players living in any directly bordering state from their declared home state only. Residence is determined by each players drivers license, passport or recent utility bill proving a change in residence within the last 30 days.
All payments are final as of August 5, 2021 and no refunds will be allocated for teams not attending of their own accord but may request a credit towards any FFWCT operated tournament within a calendar year. If a division is cancelled, a full refund will be given regardless. Click here to read though our full terms and conditions.
We do not take schedule requests here at FFWCT. We have pre-made schedule blocks, so you can see what time which formats play to avoid schedule conflicts. You can also impact your first games start time by selecting a better spot during the draft.
Group Rates (10+ rooms) $84 per night! You'll find us located about 20 minutes from the O'Hare International Airport and close to the Schaumburg Convention Center. Every guest can start each morning with a free newspaper. Enjoy free WiFi throughout your stay.
Each room features plush pillows and premium bedding, a TV, hairdryer, microwave, refrigerator, and an iron and ironing board. We also have a fitness center, free parking, and a popcorn machine for guests.
Getaway from the hustle and bustle of the Windy City at our Quality Inn® hotel in Schaumburg. Just northwest of downtown Chicago, this city is a major commercial district with your pick of shopping centers, like the Woodfield Mall. It’s also near a variety of waterparks, golf courses, and attractions, including LEGOLAND and the Allstate Arena—where numerous big acts come to perform every year.
