The Quizbowl Resource Center

This is the official global announcement for ACF Regionals 2017, which will take place on February 18, 2017.


EDITORS

Head editor: Andrew Hart
Co-editors: Stephen Liu, Nathan Weiser, Benji Nguyen, Cody Voight, Adam Silverman


REGISTRATION

All teams must register through the centralized form, linked here: https://goo.gl/forms/eG6MUxgT25mHRgQH2


HOSTS

We are actively seeking hosts in all of the regions listed below. Please contact us at [email protected]. Bidding is open until November 30th. If you serve a different region than the ones listed but still think you could attract teams and run a viable site, please feel free to bid anyway. Depending on where the sites are distributed within the regions below, we may add or subtract sites.

Canada/Niagara: Queen's University
Northeast: MIT
Mid-Atlantic: VCU
Southeast (North): Louisville
Southeast (Central): Georgia Tech
Texas/Louisiana: LSU
Florida: UCF
North: Minnesota
Great Lakes: Michigan State
Great Plains: Oklahoma
California: Stanford
United Kingdom: Warwick
Rocky Mountains:

We are also open to allowing high schools to host high-school-only mirrors of the set. Interested hosts of such tournaments should also email [email protected].


PACKET SUBMISSION

Any team with at least one person on it who played a regular, collegiate, academic quizbowl tournament* (either as a college student or as a high school student) prior to September 1, 2015 is required to submit a packet.

* For these purposes, all ACF tournaments, NAQT Division I or Division II SCT, NAQT ICT, and typical academic invitationals and summer opens count as regular collegiate academic tournaments. Trash or “hybrid” tournaments, College Bowl/HCASC, and tournaments played on NAQT's Collegiate Novice series sets do not.

The submission schedule for this tournament is:
December 11th, 2016: -$50
December 28th, 2016: -$25
January 8th, 2017: No penalty
January 22nd, 2017: +$25
February 5th, 2017: +$50
After that, +$10 for each additional day that you're late.
After February 12th, you will be dropped from the tournament, with no exceptions.

Please submit your packet to [email protected]. The actual e-mail with the attached packet should have a subject-line reading: School + Team Letter (if applicable) PACKET." In order to meet a deadline, you must submit your packet before 11:59pm Pacific Time on that date. Packets should be submitted in Microsoft Word .doc or .docx format.


FEES

Base fee: $135
Buzzer: -$5/functional system
Staffers: -$10/staffer
Shorthanded fee (teams of 1 or 2 players): $60
New to quizbowl discount: -$100

"New to quizbowl" discount is intended for schools that did not send a team to any regular collegiate academic tournament (exclusively Novice tournaments do not count) since September 2015, and have no one on the team(s) claiming this discount who played those tournaments for another school


ACCESSIBILITY

We are continuing last year's initiatives to make ACF Regionals a more accessible tournament. Please take the following guidelines into account when submitting your packet:

* At least 50% of tossup answers should be things that can be tossed up at ACF Fall. This does not mean that you write an ACF Fall-style tossup. Your tossup should still be a "regular-difficulty tossup on a Fall-level answer line."

* For the remaining 50% of questions, stick to solid regular-difficulty answer lines, and don't push the envelope.

* Easy parts for bonuses should be genuinely easy, once again along ACF Fall lines.

* While hard parts should still be "regular-difficulty" hard parts, we encourage you to ask about deep things connecting to easy material. Try to guess at what someone who really knows a lot about the subject matter might find interesting or memorable, rather than simply repeating a clue or answer line that you recall hearing at a more difficult tournament.

* Tossups will be hard-capped at 7 lines. Every tossup will have some text on its seventh line. Please feel free to submit tossups that are longer than 7 lines, but do not submit any tossups that are shorter than 7 lines, or we will send them back to you.


DISTRIBUTION

Each packet should contain 24 tossups and 24 bonuses, distributed as follows:

5/5 Literature (1/1 American, 1/1 British, 1/1 European, 1/0 or 0/1 World, 1/2 or 2/1 Misc.)
5/5 History (1/1 American, 3/3 European, Canadian, or Australian, 1/1 World)
5/5 Science (1/1 Biology, 1/1 Chemistry, 1/1 Physics, 1/0 or 0/1 Math or Comp sci, 1/0 or 0/1 Astronomy, Earth Science, or Geology, 1/1 Misc. Science)
2/2 Religion and Myth (1/1 Religion, 1/1 Mythology)
2/2 Philosophy and social science (1/1 Philosophy, 1/1 Social Science)
3/3 Fine arts (1/1 Painting, 1/1 Non-opera classical music, 1/0 or 0/1 Misc. visual arts, 1/0 or 0/1 Misc. auditory arts)
1/0 or 0/1 Geography
1/0 or 0/1 Current events
1/0 or 0/1 Trash
1/0 or 0/1 Misc. academic

Failure to conform to this distribution will result in the packets being returned to its authors, with instructions to fix the distribution.

For further details about distribution, please consult the ACF website.


FURTHER QUESTIONS

If you have any further questions, please send them to [email protected].


RECEIVED PACKETS

-$50 deadline

Oxford A
UCSD B
Johns Hopkins B
Florida A
Maryland B
Maryland A
Johns Hopkins A
Maryland C
Georgia A
Rutgers A
Toronto A

-$25 deadline

Harvard A
Liberty A
Georgia C
Oxford B
Virginia B
Ohio State A
Rice
Kenyon
Illinois A
Caltech A
Carnegie Mellon A
Virginia A
Delaware A
Waterloo
Michigan A
UCSD A
Georgia B

No-penalty deadline

Toronto B
Princeton
Duke A
McMaster A
Carleton College B
Columbia A
Carleton College A
Yale B
Georgia Tech
Cambridge B
Cornell A
Columbia B
Michigan State
Wisconsin A
McGill A
Georgetown A
Michigan B
Northwestern
Berkeley A
Penn B
WUSTL A
Kentucky B
Berkeley D
Chicago A

+$25 deadline

Yale A
Cornell B
NYU B

This post is reserved for future/overflow information from the initial announcement.

Hey, I've received bids for the UK, Great Lakes, and Mid-Atlantic regions. That means we still need hosts in most regions. Bidding is open through the end of November, so please get them in quickly! Thanks.

Can high school teams play at college sites?

luke1865 wrote:Can high school teams play at college sites?

High school teams cannot play at college sites, sorry about that.

luke1865 wrote:Can high school teams play at college sites?

Jeff is correct. High school teams cannot play this tournament at college sites.

Hi folks. I have not received bids for several important regions, chief among them being the Northeast, North, California, the Pacific Northwest, and the Rockies. I just sent emails to contacts who may be able to help line up hosts in those regions, but if your school is still thinking of bidding and you're from one of those places, now's the time.

I will announce as many hosts as possible this weekend after consulting with my fellow editors. Thanks to everyone who bid!

Also, the first packet deadline is arriving in under ten days! I hope to see lots of packets on December 11.

The hosts are now up in the original post. I've instructed hosts to get their hsqb site announcements posted this week.

A few notes:

* I'm still trying to line up a site for the Northeast, and I've reached out to some people at various teams up there to make sure that we get it figured out soon.

* I'm working with folks in the Midwest to make sure that the current slate of sites is sufficient from both a staffing and geographic point of view.

* Adam Silverman pointed out that teams in the Southeast may have a tough time without a more central site. I'm reaching out to see if this is the case.

* We're still looking for a site in the Pacific Northwest. Mike Bentley suggested that Washington is likely to send a team to California rather than host themselves, but if there are other teams in the region (or in western Canada) that are interested in playing and won't be able to make it, please let me know so I can see if we can figure out a site.

* Colin McNamara and I agreed that a Rockies site probably wouldn't be viable, but I'd be happy to be proven wrong. If you're at BYU, Colorado, New Mexico, or other teams in the region, and are interested in seeing whether a Rockies site is viable, please get in contact with me.

Please contact me at [email protected] if you have any input on the above, or any other questions about the hosts! Thanks.

Hey, please note that I stated the new to quizbowl discount incorrectly in the first draft. The discount is -$100, not a base fee of $100. Hosts, please update your announcements accordingly. Thanks.

The -$50 deadline has passed; thanks to the ten teams who submitted packets! I've listed them at the end of the first post in this thread. If you're not on there and think you should be, please email [email protected].

theMoMA wrote:The -$50 deadline has passed; thanks to the ten teams who submitted packets! I've listed them at the end of the first post in this thread. If you're not on there and think you should be, please email [email protected].

I was told that Toronto A submitted their pack a couple days ago, but it doesn't appear on the list. Could I get some clarification on this? Thanks.

Calculus? wrote:

theMoMA wrote:The -$50 deadline has passed; thanks to the ten teams who submitted packets! I've listed them at the end of the first post in this thread. If you're not on there and think you should be, please email [email protected].

I was told that Toronto A submitted their pack a couple days ago, but it doesn't appear on the list. Could I get some clarification on this? Thanks.

obviously it's because the list is only for people who submitted packets

I haven't received a packet for Toronto A.

Edit: packet went to my spam. Toronto A's packet is in.

Any news regarding a Northeast site?

Urech hydantoin synthesis wrote:Any news regarding a Northeast site?

I've heard from two potential sites, and I'm hoping to have an announcement in the next day or two.

I'm pleased to announce that the Northeast regional will be held at MIT. Thanks to everyone who submitted bids or helped with feedback on the Northeast site.

Will there be a central registration form posted soon?

We'll have the registration form posted soon.

The second packet deadline is tomorrow; I hope to see several packets!

The first post has been updated with the 17 teams that submitted for the -$25 deadline. If you think you should be among these teams but aren't listed, let me know.

Hi quizbowl teams, please find the registration form for Regionals at: https://goo.gl/forms/eG6MUxgT25mHRgQH2

If I'm missing something, please let me know.

Note that every team that plays Regionals *must* register through the centralized form that Gautam just posted. I apologize for the delay in getting the form up; it was my fault for emailing Gautam at the wrong address. If you've already submitted your packet, please take the time to register in the next week or so. Thanks!

The no-penalty deadline is tomorrow. Please put the finishing touches on your packets and make sure to register at the form listed at the top of the first post!

Will there be a link to the Google form results to see the fields at each site, as there has been for ACF events in the past?

Charbroil wrote:Will there be a link to the Google form results to see the fields at each site, as there has been for ACF events in the past?

Yes, later today.

EDIT: Here ya go.

I've updated the initial post with the teams that submitted for the no-penalty deadline. If you're not on the list and feel you should be, let me know.

Hello, I think I might have made a mistake with regards to eligibility. In the registration form, it links to a 2015 archived page, which has a different eligibility requirement of Division 2 for Regionals than the new revised 2016-17 one. In the former case, we would be considered eligible since we are all undergraduates and have never played ACF Nationals; for the latter case, two of us are past our sophomore year and thus ineligible. Can someone make me aware of which outcome is correct, and change it if necessary? Clearing up this issue would be great, since it doesn't seem at all unlikely that I am the only one who could have made this mistake.

Peter13 wrote:Hello, I think I might have made a mistake with regards to eligibility. In the registration form, it links to a 2015 archived page, which has a different eligibility requirement of Division 2 for Regionals than the new revised 2016-17 one. In the former case, we would be considered eligible since we are all undergraduates and have never played ACF Nationals; for the latter case, two of us are past our sophomore year and thus ineligible. Can someone make me aware of which outcome is correct, and change it if necessary? Clearing up this issue would be great, since it doesn't seem at all unlikely that I am the only one who could have made this mistake.

The eligibility rules at https://acf-quizbowl.com/official-acf-e ... ity-rules/ are the ones in effect for this year. In particular, Division II teams are those consisting of players in their first or second year after enrolling in college.

Announcement on packet submission:

We already have many packets for this event and don't need more. We will thus allow teams to submit no packet for a flat $40 penalty. Teams that would like to submit for the +$25 deadline may still do so, and receive the +$25 penalty, but it may be worth the additional $15 to save your questions for later use (this is entirely up to you). I don't feel it's respectful of the effort that people put into their packets to continue requiring submissions when there is little chance that they'll be used, so this is the compromise solution we've devised. We haven't received any packets for the +$25 deadline yet, so everyone should be able to take advantage of the choice to retain their questions if they decide to.

We will not accept packets after the +$25 deadline, so please don't send them. All teams that were required to submit packets will be charged the flat $40 penalty if they don't submit by this Sunday. (Note that we've engineered things so that there is no benefit to sending in questions for the +$50 deadline under this change.)

This system will not necessarily be in place for future years, so please don't take this as an indication that you'll be able to skate on your packet obligation with the expectation that you'll never have to write. I will ask ACF to look into half-packet submissions for Regionals, as we've done with Fall, and we may have a new system in place for next year.

Let me know if you have questions, either in the thread or at [email protected]. Thanks to all the teams that got their packets in for the first three deadlines! You made it very easy to get started on the tournament.

I don't understand why you're telling teams to not send questions and then charging them money for not sending questions.

Andrew is saying rather honestly, that they don't really need questions, so there might not be a point in sending them the questions. However, if we just said, "okay, you can play without sending in a packet," that perversely benefits teams that didn't send in the questions in the first place. The compromise seems to be "okay, no packet, but then pay a penalty fee."

AKKOLADE wrote:I don't understand why you're telling teams to not send questions and then charging them money for not sending questions.

We're still letting them send in questions, but giving them the option of not doing so for an added penalty. We're not letting them send in questions for the +$50 deadline because that costs more than the nonsubmission penalty, so it makes no sense to submit at that point.

The last submission deadline has passed, and I've updated the first post. Two teams elected to submit packets for the +$25 deadline. Thanks for the packets everyone; we'll get to work editing them, and have a tournament for you to play in a few weeks!

As long as I'm thinking about Regionals logistics, I'd like to reach out to see whether there are any high school mirrors planned for the tournament. I don't know if there were any high school tournaments on the set last year, but I copied over from the old announcement the language saying that we're open to hs-only mirrors of this tournament, and that remains true. Note that this set will be a regular-difficulty college set that would only be appropriate for a very experienced and talented high school field.

If I don't hear from anyone about hosting the tournament for high schoolers, I will open up the set for public discussion on the night of the 19th (because there are a few schools hosting on Sunday, that's the earliest possible time). If we end up having a high school mirror, I'll delay releasing the set and the discussion will take place in a private forum. So if you're planning to mirror the set for high schoolers, please let me know soon so I know whether we'll need to postpone public discussion.

Gautam wrote:

Charbroil wrote:Will there be a link to the Google form results to see the fields at each site, as there has been for ACF events in the past?

Yes, later today.

EDIT: Here ya go.

Anyteam which has a blank space on the packet discount field on the above spreadsheet will automatically be assessed the $40 fee (i.e. per my records the team was required to submit a packet but did not before Andrew's exemption deal.)

Also can the following teams please register before the weekend, so our TDs can have an accurate representation of what their field is looking like? If you're on the list below you have already submitted a packet.


Ohio State A
Caltech A
Columbia A
Columbia B
EDIT: cleaned up this list 1/31 @ 830 pm Pac

Is there a registration deadline for ACF Regionals for teams that don't have to submit a packet?

I'll let Gautam chime in if he has strong thoughts on the topic, but I'd suggest registering no later than three days after the final packet submission deadline would've passed.

cwest123 wrote:Is there a registration deadline for ACF Regionals for teams that don't have to submit a packet?

The sooner the better, so that your TDs can know how much staff to plan for. It's somewhat trivial for me to churn out a new invoice.

Gautam

Good news everyone!

I will get invoices out this weekend.

All US teams should have an invoice now. I'll update when the Canada/UK invoices are sent as well.

Gautam wrote:All US teams should have an invoice now. I'll update when the Canada/UK invoices are sent as well.

Is there an estimate as to when the Canadian invoices will be sent out? I think most of the teams up here would really like to get their books in order before having to plan for Nationals.

Quite frankly this situation is nothing short of an absolute clusterfuck on the part of ACF. Canadian teams have been actively following up with ACF over the 5 weeks since Regionals happened and continue to get half-answers at best and radio silence at worst. The host school can’t get the money they are owed, teams are unable to budget for Nationals because of this outstanding expense, and all of the blame rests squarely at the feet of ACF, whose incredibly flawed payment system is responsible for this whole disaster.

Attention potential hosts, take note: ACF won’t pay you in a reasonable fashion and then ignore you when you ask why.

Before distributions can be made to hosts, ACF must have payments from teams. Per the hosting guidelines, hosts are not paid until each team at their site has paid; this has been the system for the past five years, and all hosts were made aware of it going into the tournament. I don't have exact specifics on how many outstanding team payments remain for ACF Regionals, but based on emails from Gautam, there are several, and some sites may not be eligible to be paid as a result. We'll continue to work with hosts to get their payments tendered.

Hosts with questions about payments may contact me at [email protected]; please CC ACF Treasurer Gautam Kandlikar at [email protected] on these emails.

theMoMA wrote:Before distributions can be made to hosts, ACF must have payments from teams. Per the hosting guidelines, hosts are not paid until each team at their site has paid; this has been the system for the past five years, and all hosts were made aware of it going into the tournament. I don't have exact specifics on how many outstanding team payments remain for ACF Regionals, but based on emails from Gautam, there are several, and some sites may not be eligible to be paid as a result. We'll continue to work with hosts to get their payments tendered.

Hosts with questions about payments may contact me at [email protected]; please CC ACF Treasurer Gautam Kandlikar at [email protected] on these emails.

So this is a complete dodge. Hosts were aware of the system, but they were not made aware of the fact that it would be 5 weeks after the tournament and the teams that attended their site would not even have invoices. No Canadian teams have invoices, so none of them have paid, and so Queen's still doesn't have its money. Trying to push this back on teams not having paid yet is dishonest. Get your shit together.

I misread the above posts and didn't realize that Canadian teams hadn't been invoiced. (I mistakenly thought that the issue was hosts waiting on payment statements.) I'll make sure to follow up with Gautam.

On a related note, (as far as I'm aware in my capacity as treasurer) Oxford hasn't received an invoice (although I will admit to not having chased this), although I can't speak for the rest of the UK circuit.

Yes, it appears that the Canadian/UK teams have yet to be invoiced. I will try to work with Gautam to make sure this happens quickly.

TheRhymeMinister wrote:Quite frankly this situation is nothing short of an absolute clusterfuck on the part of ACF. Canadian teams have been actively following up with ACF over the 5 weeks since Regionals happened and continue to get half-answers at best and radio silence at worst. The host school can’t get the money they are owed, teams are unable to budget for Nationals because of this outstanding expense, and all of the blame rests squarely at the feet of ACF, whose incredibly flawed payment system is responsible for this whole disaster.

Attention potential hosts, take note: ACF won’t pay you in a reasonable fashion and then ignore you when you ask why.

Hi there. I will take all responsibility for the delay with the delay in getting the invoices out. I was just very busy for the last couple of months and did not have the time to put this together.

At this point all teams should have received an invoice (or an updated one had you requested an adjustment.) I have put in a due date of 30 days from today - I hope this suffices.

Thanks
Gautam

Someone asked me for a copy of the ACF Regionals set; is there a reason why it hasn't been posted yet? If it's still being used for NASAT tryouts, which states is it being used in? It would be nice to know so that we can know whom we can share it with.

Charbroil wrote:Someone asked me for a copy of the ACF Regionals set; is there a reason why it hasn't been posted yet? If it's still being used for NASAT tryouts, which states is it being used in? It would be nice to know so that we can know whom we can share it with.

The questions can be shared; I will post them to the database sometime soon.

theMoMA wrote:

Charbroil wrote:Someone asked me for a copy of the ACF Regionals set; is there a reason why it hasn't been posted yet? If it's still being used for NASAT tryouts, which states is it being used in? It would be nice to know so that we can know whom we can share it with.

The questions can be shared; I will post them to the database sometime soon.

Still waiting on this.