Louis: Hamza Jalal Toronto: Nesa Huda Washington DC: Naeem Baig Volunteers 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 Noor Tagouri, 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. National tournament locations 2011: Atlanta 2012: Toronto 2013: Detroit 2014: Washington DC 2015: Houston 2016: Toronto 2017: Detroit 2018: New York 2019: Baltimore 2020: TBD 2021: Online 2022: Washington DC References Islamic education