The Muslim Interscholastic Tournament is a 3-day tournament held in several regions across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The tournament gives young Muslim high school students a chance to showcase their talents and creative abilities in various competitions, including non-religious competitions like short film, mobile app development and poetry to more Islam-centric competitions such as a religious knowledge test and memorization of the Quran.
Overview
There are two levels of MIST competitions: regional and national. As of 2019, regional MIST tournaments either occur over a single weekend or are divided into three days over two weekends. For regional tournaments taking place over two weekends, Saturday and Sunday are reserved for competitions, and an awards ceremony takes place on the following Sunday. For regional tournaments taking place over a single weekend, competitions take place Saturday and Sunday while the awards ceremony takes place on the same Sunday. Trophies and medals are given to the top three places of various competitions, qualifying them for the national tournament held in the summer. The national MIST tournament, however, takes place over three consecutive days on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The awards ceremony takes place on the same Sunday evening.
History
MIST was founded by Shazia Siddiqi in 2002 at Houston, Texas and the non-profit has been completely run by volunteers ever since.
After graduating high school, people who still want to be a part of MIST can register as volunteers. Volunteers are needed for various tasks such as assisting judges and hosting keynote speakers.
Coaches
Each team has a coach that must be 21 years or older to oversee all the high school students during the weekend and keep everything in check during registration.
Judges
Every competition has judges who volunteer during the weekend of MIST to decide the recipients of first, second, and third place awards of each competition.
Notable participants
, a Libyan American journalist and producer of documentary "The Trouble They’ve Seen: The Forest Haven Story" and "Sold in America", participated in MIST in high school and was a keynote speaker at multiple MIST tournaments including MIST Chicago in 2016.
Demographics
Out of the MIST participants in 2007, 60% were South Asian, 20% Arab, 17% Black, and about 3% were of other races or ethnicities. Additionally, about 82% were estimated to be Sunni Muslims, 15% Shia Muslim, and 3% non-Muslim.
Preparation
Preparation for regional MIST tournaments starts early November, when board members start planning, looking for sponsors, venue, and volunteers. They have weekly board meetings to keep up with progress. Registration for MIST regional tournaments begins in winter, high school students choose their competitions and start practicing, creating, and studying for their events. Regional MIST tournaments are usually held in late March or early April, while the national MIST competition can take place anytime from late July to early August.
National tournament
The top 3 places in regional tournament for each competition qualifies for nationals. national tournaments take place in a different city each year.
