ATROPHY V @ Northern Illinois University: April 26, 2014

[Irreligion in Bangladesh]

Northern Illinois University's Quiz Bowl Association will host the fifth annual April Tournament Run On Pennies, Halfpence, and Yen on April 26th, 2013. This year's tournament will again mirror the fine BHSAT set; we'd like to thank Grace Liu and Yale for again letting us mirror it.

Schools can register up to two teams initially; C teams and further will be waitlisted until April 1st, and will be allowed into the tournament after that date on a first-come-first-served basis. The initial field cap is set at eighteen teams, but this number may rise if we have significant interest and staff.

This tournament has traditionally served as a preparatory tournament for nationals-caliber teams at a significant price discount to assist the nationals-weary budget. As Huskie Bowl has been canceled for this year, we cannot maintain the level of that price cut; the entry fee will, therefore, rise from $30 to $40 per team. All teams are welcome, and we may split the field into divisions if a) we have enough registrations to merit doing so, and b) a significant number of registered teams would prefer we do so.

Register by emailing Kristin Strey at [email protected] with the number of teams you wish to register and the discounts you will receive (buzzer, moderator, etc.).

Fees
Entry Fee per team: $40
Extra team: -$5
Working buzzer set: -$5
Experienced moderator without laptop: -$5
Experienced moderator with laptop: -$10
Minimum fee: $10/team

We look forward to seeing you in DeKalb in April!

[TheDoctor]

This post will be kept updated with a current field.

Registered: 21
Auburn A, B, C
Belvidere North
Bloomington A, B, C
Classical Consortium Academy
The Country Bears
Fenton
Keith Country Day School
Latin
Mantis Shrimp
Palatine School for Norse Children
Raiders of the Lost Ank A, B
Springfield
St. Joseph
St. Viator
THE TEAM WITH NO NAME

[TheDoctor]

Despite our previously announced field cap, we are closing the field pending confirmation from three teams that will bring our total up to 16. A waitlist will be kept open in case of last-minute cancellations.

[TheDoctor]

With two more interested teams and some extra staff, we have increased the field to 18.

[TheDoctor]

And it just increased again to 21. We will only increase the field again if it gets us all the way to 24, with enough staff to accommodate two additional game rooms.

[JHuh33]

I apologize for pulling out so lately, but please take Carbondale out of the field.
There is just no possible way for me to get there and back.

[TheDoctor]

So noted. Have a good weekend!

[TheDoctor]

The tournament went off beautifully, thanks to the great teams who attended and to our amazing staffers: Ben Dillon, Tom Egan, Brad Fischer, Linda Greene, Alec Krueger, Matt Laird, Mike Laudermith, Victoria Likeum, Danielle Long, Dylan Minarik, Greg Peterson, Elissa Pape, David Reinstein, and Franz Varga.

The championship pool ended its playoff rounds with a three-way tie at second place between Springfield, St. Joseph, and Bloomington A. Springfield arose from tie playoffs to challenge Auburn in the finals. Congratulations to our champion, Auburn, to our runners-up, Springfield, and to St. Joseph and Bloomington A, who put up a great fight in their final rounds!

Jennie Yang of "Palatine School" took top individual honors, followed by Jackson Myers (Springfield) and Greg Krzywicki (Fenton). Full statistics for the tournament can be viewed at the tournament's database page.

Thanks again to everyone who staffed and attended!

[Irreligion in Bangladesh]

I want to thank everyone involved in every facet of this event. In a year with plenty of unsavory mistakes and unpredictable mishaps, it was an incredibly fun, competitive day, and a great way to kick off the nationals grind.

First, the staff -- from all the coaches who volunteered to read, to all the great independent staffers who drove out to DeKalb, to the sizeable crew of NIU quizbowlers that Alec Krueger is growing -- thank you for making this tournament run like clockwork. We can't do it without you.

Second, the teams; I can't remember a tournament where I had more lively games. The camaraderie that these players have is something to be cherished; thank you for sharing your love of the game with us moderators.

Finally, the set. Yale put together a phenomenal set of questions, and it was a pleasure to read it. If you're in a circuit where BHSAT hasn't been played, host a tournament on it next Saturday. Seriously. I don't care if you only get 6 teams -- do a double round robin, it's worth it. Nobody else on this side of NAQT does mixed academic as well as these guys. The science was incredibly, satisfyingly, "real" in a way I can't describe without question specifics. The set's bonuses hit a great balance of challenging top teams with the third parts while keeping the rest of the bonus at regular difficulty. Not once did I groan after a question that I thought was a clunker -- they all hit their mark. It was simply stellar.

After all the random things that have made this a trying year -- the Kickoff issues, personal car troubles, Huskie Bowl getting canceled, not to mention IHSA! -- thank you to everyone who came out for getting a bright spot in our minds as nationals approach.

[Harpie's Feather Duster]

From my day moderating this tournament, I can say that this year's BHSAT was not only superior to the 3 that I played, but easily the best high school set I got to see all year. Not only that, but games were very interesting and competitive for all tiers of teams, and I most certainly got to read some of the most entertaining games of my staffing career last weekend.

Illinois high schoolers: If you're still looking for a last quizbowl fix before Nats, come play Midwest and Wildcat on the 17th and 18th of May! Last time I checked, we still had sots open in both fields. If not, best of luck at HSNCT and NSC!

[NLiu]

Saint Joseph High School really enjoyed this tournament. As previously noted, this year's BHSAT was excellent and very fun to play, and I personally found the competition and the skill level of the field a very fun and difficult experience (in a good way).