The Quizbowl Resource Center

This is the official announcement of the main site for (This) Tournament is a Crime (more details about the question set can be found here). As this is an open tournament, there are no eligibility restrictions.

Location and Time

The tournament will be held at Mason Hall, the usual location for our events. Registration will open at 8 AM in 3330 Mason and games will begin by 9.

Cost Structure

Base Fee - $150
$10 discount per working buzzer
$30 discount per competent moderator
$50 discount if all members of the team attend the same institution

Registration

Email me at [email protected] to register for the tournament. Posting in this thread does not constitute registration.

Side Events

The main tournament on Saturday will be followed by SCATTERGORIES in the evening, followed by ACRONYM and HIT (in that order) on Sunday. For those fortunate enough to be in Ann Arbor at a reasonable time Friday night, there will be some pre-tournament merriment and festivities. The spreadsheet for team organization is here, but check each thread on details on how to actually register.

Miscellaneous

Neither breakfast nor lunch nor dinner will be provided, but there are plenty of options available on State St and N University Ave a 5 minute walk away. If you have any concerns, feel free to email me.

Current Field (teams/buzzers/staffers)

Michigan - 1/3/5
Michigan State - 2/0/0
Kurtis Droge, Ramapriya Rangaraju, Ashvin Srivatsa, Will Alston - 1/0/1
Rob Carson, Andrew Hart, Billy Busse, Tejas Raje - 1/0/3
Mike Bentley, Mike Cheyne, Jerry Vinokurov, Naveed Chowdhury - 1/0/0
Alex Fregeau, Tyler Vaughan, Chinmay Kansara - 1/0/0
Maryland - 1/0/0
Illinois - 1/0/0
Chris Ray, Clark Smith, Athena Kern, Siddhant Dogra - 1/0/0
WUSTL - 1/1/0
Chicago - 3/1/0
Minnesota - 1/3/0
Ryan Westbrook, Matt Lafer, Mike Sorice, Dylan Minarik - 1/0/0
DCC - 1/1/1-2
Sudheer Potru, Andrew Ullsperger - 1/0/0

Waitlist:

Total: 18/9/8-9

I'm looking for teammates for this. I have not been involved in quizbowl for a few years, so I'm pretty rusty.

Me and other MSU people will want to play this as well. I'm not sure we will have enough for a team of 4, so I'd be happy forming a mixed team or something.

Assuming they haven't forgotten about it, I will be playing with Andrew Hart, Tejas Raje, and Billy Busse. If ACRONYM isn't run I will cry.

I'm interested in playing this. I fucking suck at quizbowl these days.

But you are a top trash player!

Cheynem wrote:But you are a top trash player!

Will that help?

I'm in to play this. I fucking suck even more than all the other old people in this thread pointing out how much they suck.

I may have a hard side tournament for people to play at this event, if there's time in the schedule, and if I finish writing it.

A shadowy consortium of voters has decided upon the event schedule for the weekend, which has been edited into the opening post.

It'd be nice if someone planning to come could volunteer to direct ACRONYM, since I'll be busy with the main tournament production and logistics.

People who are running side events: can you make final determinations for team size, please?

Auroni wrote:followed by HIT and ACRONYM (in that order) on Sunday.

Isn't it usually standard to play the full tossup/bonus tournament first and then the niche tossups-only side event afterward?

There'll be some sort of Canadian delegation attending that I'll be driving down, likely consisting of mostly (if not all) UofT players. We'll try to confirm numbers ASAP, but there'll be at least 2 of us, and we'll definitely have a buzzer set, and possibly a staffer. Thanks!

I will set a preliminary field cap of 16 for the main tournament. Don't forget to email me to actually register.

Some notes about FRENCH (formerly known as HIT):

1. Please address concerns about FRENCH to me, not Auroni, at [email protected].
2. Given the interest expressed on Auroni's side event spreadsheet and the restricted scope of the set, I'm limiting teams to two people. Register with the spreadsheet by following the "here" link in the side event section of Auroni's first post. Though I doubt it'll be necessary, I'll set the field size to 16. Also, please name your teams, both for my convenience in planning and because it's fun.
3. It'll be $10 per person to play (to be paid the day of).
4. Anyone who staffs for me will be treated to a nice lunch and my eternal gratitude. If interested, fill in the spreadsheet appropriately and email me so I can contact you with more details in February.

Preliminary field cap has been reached. I've put out entreaties for additional staffers, so we may be able to expand further, but it's not guaranteed. Feel free to still email me to register to be on the wait list.

I need teammates for the non-main event stuff (not trash, I think). I will not do well.

Auroni wrote:I've put out entreaties for additional staffers.

If ACRONYM runs first on Sunday, I would probably be able to make it work that I could staff on Saturday. (If it runs second on Sunday, I would need to fly in to Michigan on Saturday to avoid missing two days of work just to play a trash tournament.) The only caveat is the well-known fact that I can't read.

I've now switched ACRONYM and HIT on Sunday (they are now in that order) to help my staffing situation.

The staffing situation has improved, and we are on the cusp of being able to expand the field to 18 teams, but it would be ideal if another team expressed interest in signing up so that we reach that even number.

Matt Lafer and I have registered as a team. Please shoot one of us an email if anyone is looking for teammates.

A few questions:

* Where is the spreadsheet for the history tournament?
* Anyone interested in splitting a hotel room and/or cost of vehicle rental?
* When and where will the "festivities" alluded to in the announcement be taking place?

I am looking for teammates for Scattergories and ACRONYM. We also have two spots available for the main tournament if anyone still needs a team.

I think I'm still looking for a team for the history thing, as Mike Bentley's flight precludes him from playing it. Also totally amenable to being jammed into an existing two-person team, if that makes scheduling easier!

Alright, assholes! What am I bid for my services?!

(I'll be there; I'll play anything with anyone.)

I too would love some ACRONYM teammates! Especially people who know about sports things, because boy do I suck at those!

I am about 99% sure I'll be there - I'll moderate everything but ACRONYM, and am on the free agent list for that. I can offer decent sports knowledge, the tiniest sliver of music knowledge, and a nose for "description acceptable"/"this action" style tossups.

I will also be staffing everything but ACRONYM, which I'd like to play. I am (I think) good at non-American and "other" sports (and decent, but less good, at sports in general), and I know a fair amount of trash lit and current events (and "internet content", however much of that is in the set).

My teammmates cannot actually come to this, so Northwestern is dropping from the field and I'm a free agent now. Send me an e-mail/PM/Facebook message if you would like to solicit my services for the main event!

The Top Percentage of Rattatas wrote:My teammmates cannot actually come to this, so Northwestern is dropping from the field and I'm a free agent now. Send me an e-mail/PM/Facebook message if you would like to solicit my services for the main event!

On that note, if anyone wants to sign up to get the field back to an even number, here's your opportunity.

Dylan and Mike Sorice have joined Lafer and myself on a team.

I'm a free agent, I'll play whatever (except the action packets) with whomever.

I hope you mean you're a free agent for everything but the main tournament!

Cheynem wrote:I hope you mean you're a free agent for everything but the main tournament!

Yeah, I meant to clarify that I have a team for the main event. I'm a free agent for the side events though. My bad.

My team (me, Clark Smith, Athena Kern) has had a drop - currently seeking someone to join our roving band if misfits. Especially someone who knows science.

My team is also looking for a fourth, ideally one who knows more science.

Hey, I'm a person who "knows" science! I'll play this tournament if I can join one of your teams.

Uh, if any caravans are travelling from Chicagoland and/or through Madison to which I can attach myself in the manner of a well-heeled remora, I'd be much obliged.

EDIT: I have joined Will Alston and company.

Also, we should have listed that we're bringing one set of buzzers.

Just sent out a logistics email to at least one representative on each team. Contact me if you didn't get it, or if you have any questions.

So that I can draw up schedules before Sunday, please express your interest in playing FRENCH on the spreadsheet (link in Auroni's first post in this thread ["here"]) before Friday. Free agents, please form teams among yourselves/find someone else to play with you or remove your name from the spreadsheet before Friday; if your name is still under the free agent column on Friday, I'll make teams randomly out of whomever is still there. The team cap is set at 16, so assuming all free agents play, there is room for one more person. I've added a wait list column just in case more than 32 people are interested.

As it currently stands, I have 8 staffers including myself, which, given expressed interest, is the minimum I need to run the tournament without byes. I would greatly appreciate having a few extra people to moderate and/or keep score to keep the tournament moving and let me work on stats. A nice meal (or its monetary equivalent [~$15]) and my gratitude will be given to my staffers. If interested, please fill out the spreadsheet appropriately.

Before the party on Friday, we'll have an informal practice open to anyone who wants to attend. It'll be from approximately 6:00 to 8:00, and we'll meet in the third floor of Mason Hall.

I'll attempt to be there with a packet of some sort.

Update: Sorry, got busy tonight, so no go.

The mysterious "action packets" on the side event sheet will be read at the party, so prepare yourselves (and if you haven't written a packet, there's still time! Any length!).

On the off chance anyone is heading to the party from the Detroit area, I get in at 7:30 and would love to catch a ride, if it's convenient.

Looking at the list of who's coming, I think enough people might be new to driving in Ann Arbor that it's worth repeating my past parking advice.

-The nearest parking structure is the Maynard Street parking structure, which will be free on Sunday.

-Metered street parking is free every day after 6:00 p.m., and all day on Sundays.

-If you don't want to pay for parking on Saturday, I'd recommend one of the lots by the School of Nursing, which become open and free to the public on weekends. Alternatively, you can try parking on the street in the residential area north of Huron Street and east of State Street (near the School of Nursing), or the residential area south of Hill Street and east of State Street.

I lied. I do have a "packet" of extremely dubious quality.

We'll be in 3411 Mason for practice.

women, fire and dangerous things wrote:We'll be in 3411 Mason for practice.

Actually, we're in 3437.

3448 is the room now...for now. Ha. Ha. Ha.

Cheynem wrote:I lied. I do have a "packet" of extremely dubious quality.

It was, in fact, amazing.