The Quizbowl Resource Center

Ian, Thanks for the update. And if your analysis of the players you mentioned is correct, Ward Melville will surprise many teams---but now that you've publicized this, any success they have will be less surprising. A humorous "Catch-22" consequence, don't you think? Seriously, two players each scori...

Some questions or comments for three of our previous posters: First, CzarMan: You started this thread---any comments on what you've read so far? On predictions? On the proposed Fall League? And, given your connections to Bloomfield & previous involvement with BATE, any news on BATE for the upcoming ...

Thanks for the clarification---and a warm-up before Princeton seems like an excellent idea, especially for inexperienced teams.

Saint Joseph's would be love to get involved with two teams. And, a point of clarification Coach: Did you mean the Fall league would begin in September & run through December ( requiring 16 A Sets at 4 matches per month), or will it run from October through December to match the 12 sets per A packet...

I agree that Hunter will be the best in this region and contend for national honors as well. After that, my guess is that Kellenberg could still be quite good---I believe James and possibly Nik & Hunter are back, and their B team was very good last year. Bergen is always dangerous; Jay, Gabe, Dennis...

Mehdi, Fred Morlan has just emailed all on his regional tournament notification list that QuAC IS scheduled for the 21st of November. Is he correct---is this date now SET IN STONE, or are you still waiting to determine the degree of interest in both your Tournament and the tentatively announced date...

Thank you Trey. We will pencil in the 17th---but keep an eraser close by---just in case you need to change it to the 24th. :smile: And given the passion & thoughtfulness you always seem to express for quizbowl, it is my guess that your tournament will be quite successful, and hopefully many of the g...

Trey, Last time we spoke was in June, so I thought I'd re-connect and see how your plans are going---any news on the date yet---the 17th or the 24th of April? I ask because my school tends to like busing schedules as early as possible, so the sooner I know, the better the chances are that we can com...

My students have been waiting for this posting all summer, given the quality of the field last year, and this seems to be an excellent date. So, that said, Saint Joseph's is quite interested in bringing TWO TEAMS.

Saint Joseph's is definitely coming---with two teams.

I can certainly appreciate the distinctions you make here. To treat quizbowl as merely the mastery of mindless facts memorized in rote fashion has never appealed to me. Yet I know that there are some teams, even successful ones, that do emphasize such rote memorization. So your greater joy in compet...

Aidan--you are too modest perhaps. But I will let you be the final judge of that. My deeper point was simply this---quizbowl offers you and others who share your passions an opportunity to share in a culture that honors your curiosity and love of learning rather than ridicule it. And coaches, especi...

Given the lack of response since my last two commentaries, I guess I will fulfill my promise to distill what I think I have learned from the converse on this thread & then end my participation here as well---unless this commentary triggers natural follow-ups. Of course, implicit in my original inqui...

Your gratitude is greatly appreciated, but it is we who should be thanking you, Trey, for offering to host in the first place, for without hosts, what would the rest of us do? So, thank you---you and everyone else at CR who will be responsible for organizing this potentially wonderful event. And, gi...

Assuming the dates work out, I would certainly offer to read in order to help. My assistant could travel around with my team(s). As for Westchester being Chip territory, there are some good teams up there that have verbally stated to me that they do wish to spread their wings and try other formats. ...

I cannot speak for other New Jersey schools, but Charlie is right in suggesting that we give you specific dates to help you with your planning, so, here goes. Saint Joe's has been in two leagues in Westchester county since 1995, and our leagues have already scheduled January 31st and February 6th fo...

Saint Joseph's of Metuchen is interested, and we could try to talk to some New Jersey & New York teams---after all, Virginia, DC & Maryland ARE difficult for us to get to---4 hours each way, not really do-able in a day, but Delaware seems more possible, since it would only be roughly 2 hours each wa...

Now that PACE, NAQT and the academic year are over, people interested in the themes on this thread might just have the leisure time to make fuller contributions to the core topic that emerged from the various interchanges here---how is excellence cultivated in quizbowl players and teams? Any one els...

Thank you. I was pretty sure it would be more complicated than the example I came up with.

Ed Powers
Coach
SJHS Academic Team
Metuchen, NJ

So how do tomorrow's playoffs work---with 71 teams, will GDS get a first round bye, and then the teams ranked 2-71 play each other based upon seedings, such that #2 plays # 71, # 3 plays # 70....and so on until #36 plays # 37?---in these cases it would be # 2 Dorman A vs. # 71 Temple, # 3 Charter A ...

A great tournament final---down to the last toss-up which SC won!!!---and then missed the decisive bonuses!?!? Anyone have any idea what the topic of the final bonuses were that a team as outstanding as SC would miss them? What a heartbreaker for State, and what exhilarating steals for Charter. I fo...

Dwight, your link to What Got You Into Quizbowl was simultaneoulsy funny, poignant and revelatory, and it ultimately supports your claim that quizbowl is self-selecting---although this link also reveals the initial importance of the ties of friendship--- and humorously sometimes even hopes of romanc...

It seems that good conversation, about quizbowl specifically and its deeper educational benefits more generally, is alive and well in this forum. The most recent responses given by Gautam, Mike, Doug and Sam, as well as earlier ones by other players with generous and insightful spirits, certainly de...

I guess the discussion of the excellences displayed by Sam and others like him around the nation has died---or has it? Anyone care to contribute to the discussion concerning the art and/or science of excellence in quizbowl, especially those who have achceived objective levels of success as recogniza...

Thank you Mike and Daichi---I appreciate your insights and the time you took to offer them. I also enjoy the humor behind Daichi's "Law" on posting.

Ed Powers
Coach
SJHS Academic Team
Metuchen NJ

Sam---thanks for responding. To be brief---yes, I was serious and still am. If you read my original post in this thread, you will discern this. But I noticed what appeared to be some fellow posters having a little fun with my inquiry, which I also understood---we CAN get too serious about quizbowl. ...

Ah---I can see that the demons of humor have overtaken this thread, which is probably a good thing, indeed, a wondrous thing. We can get tooooooooooo earnest about quizbowl, I know. So---thanks for the humor, and to those who did give more candid answers---for example, Aidan---thanks, and best of lu...

Brendan---thank you for your contributions. The links on Sam were both interesting and informative---and the steps for improvement that you outline are certainly good, and as a coach I have used these as well as others, as I am sure you can imagine. More interesting to me is the fact that you indica...

I was just perusing the Quizbowl site and came across this small tournament. Curiosity invited me to view the stats, and, for whatever reason, although I had periodically seen comaparbly majestic statistical performances before, I was stunned by Sam of Chaska's overall performance---130 ppg? This le...

Any updates on the Cornell Tournament?

Ed Powers
Coach
SJHS Academic Team
Metuchen New Jersey

Congratulations and thanks to Chatham and Bergen for all of their efforts to revive this Championship, and to Seton Hall Prep for all of its previous efforts on its behalf as well.

Saint Joe's will be there with 2 teams and 1 buzzer.

Ed Powers
Coach
SJHS Academic Team
Metuchen, NJ

Depending on the date chosen, Saint Joseph's of Metuchen would also be interested, but would also recommend, as others have, that you NOT adopt the Jeopardy format. Of course, final decisions are up to you, but I suspect that many teams will choose not to come if the Jeopardy format is chosen---most...

If it is possible to still have a New Jersey State Championship, as Coach Fineman suggests, I would certainly volunteer to help as a reader or offer other help if I could. So, count Saint Joe's in, and, hopefully, perhaps other coaches who have both the time & inclination can also volunteer to help ...

Any update on the field besides Kellenberg, Wilmington, Seton Hall and Saint Joe's??

Ed Powers
Coach
Saint Joseph's Academic Team