Tournament Dates 2009-2010

[jonah]

I added a list of dates that have tournaments but no tournaments on good questions (by my best-guess estimation; if you disagree with my assessment, please let me know).

Bago and Springfield used an IS set last year, and Springfield's F/S division mirrored Auburn's F/S set. That doesn't mean they'll get those sets again, or even that those tournaments are explicitly open to all teams. For the purposes of Chicagoland, though, it's likely those weekends need help.

I have indicated that on the above list. If more details become available, let me know.

[jonah]

I have updated the top post based on the tournament calendar draft.

According to HSAPQ's website, HSAPQ will be producing six ACF-format sets. We seem to have five tournaments planning to use a HSAPQ ACF-style set: Earlybird, Wildcat, The Decemberist, Loyburn, and Huskie Bowl. Unless Ultima doesn't end up as a Dunbar mirror and thus needs to use the sixth set, I propose that a tournament somewhere be set up to use the sixth. (I could talk to the UChicago people about hosting one when I get there, but I have no influence so that isn't necessarily likely to be successful.)

Assuming the timeliness of availability isn't an issue, good dates for a sixth tournament include October 17, January 16, January 23, January 30 if Loyburn isn't then, or one of the many free dates in April and May as a nationals warmup. Anyone interested in hosting that?

HSAPQ is also producing three four-quarter format sets. (Hopefully these are the same questions as the league sets, which I think I remember reading; otherwise that seems to make no sense.) It's weird for Illinois, but the questions will presumably be good, so those could be hosted too.

[Sen. Estes Kefauver (D-TN)]

Just keep in mind, just because there are 6 HSAPQ sets doesn't mean that all of them are available at a given time - it looks like 3 of the tournaments you listed are traditional fall dates, so I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes impossible to host a fourth set in the fall too.

[jonah]

Just keep in mind, just because there are 6 HSAPQ sets doesn't mean that all of them are available at a given time - it looks like 3 of the tournaments you listed are traditional fall dates, so I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes impossible to host a fourth set in the fall too.

I did think about that, but only two of the tournaments I listed (Earlybird and Wildcat) are actually fall dates. To be fair, both they and the only other open fall dates are early in the season, so it could be a problem. However, assuming there are to be three sets for fall and three for spring, I'm hoping it would work out.

[Dan-Don]

Just keep in mind, just because there are 6 HSAPQ sets doesn't mean that all of them are available at a given time - it looks like 3 of the tournaments you listed are traditional fall dates, so I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes impossible to host a fourth set in the fall too.

I did think about that, but only two of the tournaments I listed (Earlybird and Wildcat) are actually fall dates. To be fair, both they and the only other open fall dates are early in the season, so it could be a problem. However, assuming there are to be three sets for fall and three for spring, I'm hoping it would work out.

We *might* be hosting a tournament on October 17th if we get the Fall Novice Set. But, if we don't, I'd still like to host on an HSAPQ set. Is it too late to get one for the fall?

[jonah]

Just keep in mind, just because there are 6 HSAPQ sets doesn't mean that all of them are available at a given time - it looks like 3 of the tournaments you listed are traditional fall dates, so I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes impossible to host a fourth set in the fall too.

I did think about that, but only two of the tournaments I listed (Earlybird and Wildcat) are actually fall dates. To be fair, both they and the only other open fall dates are early in the season, so it could be a problem. However, assuming there are to be three sets for fall and three for spring, I'm hoping it would work out.

We *might* be hosting a tournament on October 17th if we get the Fall Novice Set. But, if we don't, I'd still like to host on an HSAPQ set. Is it too late to get one for the fall?

I would imagine not, though Shawn Pickrell <[email protected]> is who you need to talk to. Also: good! I know you guys could do with a bit of fundraising, so if you can, I encourage you to host the novice set on the 17th and an HSAPQ set tournament in the winter/spring.

[Dan-Don]

I would imagine not, though Shawn Pickrell <[email protected]> is who you need to talk to. Also: good! I know you guys could do with a bit of fundraising, so if you can, I encourage you to host the novice set on the 17th and an HSAPQ set tournament in the winter/spring.

OK, I'll shoot him an e-mail. Yeah, I'm very exciting about the possibility of this Novice Set. Our coach seems to think they'll let us have the building, but the person that makes that decision is out of town until next week. So, when we find out for sure, I'll put our bid in. Hosting again in the Spring might be difficult, because we do have get the building on another Saturday for our League meet.

[gack1224]

Bettendorf could host an HSAPQ event in April... but I'm not sure most of the interested teams from Chicago would be willing to make the trip after the "season" is over.

And isn't it a little overkill to have 3 HSAPQ events in October (if you include perhaps Oct. 17)? Gotta save some for later, you know.

[jonah]

And isn't it a little overkill to have 3 HSAPQ events in October (if you include perhaps Oct. 17)? Gotta save some for later, you know.

Well, if there are three sets for the fall, it seems sensible to make sure they all get used. All the other possible dates are already taken with high-quality tournaments. I'm not sure why it's "a little overkill" to host several tournaments on good questions in the same month.

[JackGlerum]

And isn't it a little overkill to have 3 HSAPQ events in October (if you include perhaps Oct. 17)? Gotta save some for later, you know.

Well, if there are three sets for the fall, it seems sensible to make sure they all get used. All the other possible dates are already taken with high-quality tournaments. I'm not sure why it's "a little overkill" to host several tournaments on good questions in the same month.

I don't think Cresston is completely unreasonable here. His motivation, anyways. I like HSAPQ as much as the next guy, but I wouldn't wanna play 'em 3 weeks straight. I can think of Earlybird, NTV, HFT, and Fall Novice off of the top of my head as non-vendor tournaments (Not to mention things like EFT, THUNDER, and ACF Fall--all early in the season). Sprinkle in IS sets (see: NU, Decemberist, Fenton, Kickoff) and HSAPQ stuff between those, and you're set. I only bring it up because there was a time last year when I was dreading more vendor sets--not because they were bad quality, just because I wanted variety.

[gack1224]

I suppose you're right, Jonah; the calendar looks really full this fall and Oct. 17 looks like a good date for another HSAPQ event. Theoretically, though, teams could just wait until January or February to use that third set.

And I do not want to contend with the idea that it's not overkill to have many good tournaments on good questions, just that HSAPQ tournaments don't need to be clustered together, perhaps preventing some teams from going to all of them.

[jonah]

I suppose you're right, Jonah; the calendar looks really full this fall and Oct. 17 looks like a good date for another HSAPQ event. Theoretically, though, teams could just wait until January or February to use that third set.

And I do not want to contend with the idea that it's not overkill to have many good tournaments on good questions, just that HSAPQ tournaments don't need to be clustered together, perhaps preventing some teams from going to all of them.

What you and Jack have said is fair; I guess it comes down to the question of which of these options is preferred: no quizbowl tournament on a given weekend, an excellent-quality tournament similar in style to surrounding ones, or a decent-not-excellent-quality tournament different in style from surrounding ones (i.e., a tournament on an IS set).

You may be right about waiting to use the third set; however, HSAPQ might want to publicly release the first three sets after the new year, precluding that. I don't know whether that's the case, of course.

[Irreligion in Bangladesh]

I think a real problem here is that right now there are conflicts on the dates of both EFT and ACF Fall, both of which should be played by Illinois high school teams. Has Ultima settled on a set yet? EFT might be doable there.

[jonah]

I think a real problem here is that right now there are conflicts on the dates of both EFT and ACF Fall, both of which should be played by Illinois high school teams. Has Ultima settled on a set yet? EFT might be doable there.

I added both of those dates to the calendar. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that many teams would be able to go to either: EFT conflicts with SchoBowlFest, which many coaches will presumably attend, and ACF Fall is the same date as Northwestern, and the two are likely to have similar groups of interested teams.

[Irreligion in Bangladesh]

I think a real problem here is that right now there are conflicts on the dates of both EFT and ACF Fall, both of which should be played by Illinois high school teams. Has Ultima settled on a set yet? EFT might be doable there.

I added both of those dates to the calendar. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that many teams would be able to go to either: EFT conflicts with SchoBowlFest, which many coaches will presumably attend, and ACF Fall is the same date as Northwestern, and the two are likely to have similar groups of interested teams.

Exactly - what I'm saying is (now keep in mind, I haven't slept in 24 hours), if possible with regards to nearby mirror sites, use the EFT and ACF Fall sets at one or both of those two tourneys, both for variety and difficulty's sake.

[jonah]

I think a real problem here is that right now there are conflicts on the dates of both EFT and ACF Fall, both of which should be played by Illinois high school teams. Has Ultima settled on a set yet? EFT might be doable there.

I added both of those dates to the calendar. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that many teams would be able to go to either: EFT conflicts with SchoBowlFest, which many coaches will presumably attend, and ACF Fall is the same date as Northwestern, and the two are likely to have similar groups of interested teams.

Exactly - what I'm saying is (now keep in mind, I haven't slept in 24 hours), if possible with regards to nearby mirror sites, use the EFT and ACF Fall sets at one or both of those two tourneys, both for variety and difficulty's sake.

It would be great if Northwestern considered that, assuming they'd keep it for high school teams only and the Fall editors decided to allow it. The EFT/SchoBowlFest conflict is irreconciliable unless SchoBowlFest is moved or Brown lets EFT be mirrored the following weekend. (SchoBowlFest is a coaches' conference of sorts, not a tournament, for those who don't know.)

[Sen. Estes Kefauver (D-TN)]

Just keep in mind, just because there are 6 HSAPQ sets doesn't mean that all of them are available at a given time - it looks like 3 of the tournaments you listed are traditional fall dates, so I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes impossible to host a fourth set in the fall too.

I did think about that, but only two of the tournaments I listed (Earlybird and Wildcat) are actually fall dates. To be fair, both they and the only other open fall dates are early in the season, so it could be a problem. However, assuming there are to be three sets for fall and three for spring, I'm hoping it would work out.

Isn't the Decemberist taking place in December, as its name suggests?

[jonah]

Just keep in mind, just because there are 6 HSAPQ sets doesn't mean that all of them are available at a given time - it looks like 3 of the tournaments you listed are traditional fall dates, so I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes impossible to host a fourth set in the fall too.

I did think about that, but only two of the tournaments I listed (Earlybird and Wildcat) are actually fall dates. To be fair, both they and the only other open fall dates are early in the season, so it could be a problem. However, assuming there are to be three sets for fall and three for spring, I'm hoping it would work out.

Isn't the Decemberist taking place in December, as its name suggests?

Oops; yes. Although it now seems that it may not be on a HSAPQ set after all.

[evilmonkey]

So, if i'm reading this correctly, there are no tournaments happening in Northeastern Illinois on November 14? So, hypothetically, if there were to be a tournament run in South Bend on that date, some of the Chicago-area teams might come down?

[David Riley]

It's possible, but depends on several factors, one of which is how long it takes to get through the Skyway. Seriously, some teams will not be able to leave for such a tournament until that morning, and don't want to leave at 3am for an 8am checkin time.....

[jonah]

It's possible, but depends on several factors, one of which is how long it takes to get through the Skyway. Seriously, some teams will not be able to leave for such a tournament until that morning, and don't want to leave at 3am for an 8am checkin time.....

Taking the Bishop Ford is actually not all that bad. (In fact, Google Maps claims it only adds six minutes without traffic over the Skyway. That's questionable, I'll admit.)

[marnold]

(I could talk to the UChicago people about hosting one when I get there, but I have no influence so that isn't necessarily likely to be successful.)

Let me just drop in here: to my knowledge, Chicago has never hosted a high school tournament and I strongly doubt we ever will - certainly not during my term as club president next year and likely/hopefully not under the eventual presidencies of the current younger officers. Besides the fact that we just don't care about high school quizbowl (an attitude I don't expect to change), it doesn't make sense for us to take the hosting profits that would do more good elsewhere; we are fortunate to have sufficient university support to run our club from our allocation by the school and the occasional college tournament. It would be needlessly taking money out of the local high school circuit should we host a tournament.

That said, we have put in a bid to host ACF Fall next year and I can't imagine a problem with high school teams attending our tournament should we get the bid and assuming there aren't separate logistical issues.

[Stained Diviner]

Chicago hosted a very good house written tournament in 1994. They have not hosted anything since then. Two teams from Michigan took 1st and 2nd, and New Trier beat Stevenson in the 3rd place match.

In reference to an earlier discussion, SchoBowlFest is not changing dates. I don't know if any high school teams would attend UIUC's EFT Mirror anyways, which is unfortunate given the fact that it is a very good tournament with very good questions.

[dtaylor4]

Chicago hosted a very good house written tournament in 1994. They have not hosted anything since then. Two teams from Michigan took 1st and 2nd, and New Trier beat Stevenson in the 3rd place match.

In reference to an earlier discussion, SchoBowlFest is not changing dates. I don't know if any high school teams would attend UIUC's EFT Mirror anyways, which is unfortunate given the fact that it is a very good tournament with very good questions.

Given that two high school teams last year did, it is my hope that they come again, coach or no.

[evilmonkey]

It's possible, but depends on several factors, one of which is how long it takes to get through the Skyway. Seriously, some teams will not be able to leave for such a tournament until that morning, and don't want to leave at 3am for an 8am checkin time.....

In my quizbowl driving experience (albeit driving the other direction), there is little traffic at 7am CT on a Saturday morning on the Skyway, and I'd imagine there would be even less at 6. However, I understand that leaving early is... undesirable.

[Sen. Estes Kefauver (D-TN)]

Let me just drop in here: to my knowledge, Chicago has never hosted a high school tournament and I strongly doubt we ever will - certainly not during my term as club president next year and likely/hopefully not under the eventual presidencies of the current younger officers. Besides the fact that we just don't care about high school quizbowl (an attitude I don't expect to change), it doesn't make sense for us to take the hosting profits that would do more good elsewhere; we are fortunate to have sufficient university support to run our club from our allocation by the school and the occasional college tournament. It would be needlessly taking money out of the local high school circuit should we host a tournament.

I forgot to bring this up earlier, but I think this is a shame. I am aware that many of you at UChicago didn't play in high school, and that you get tons of funding. However, you have a lot of things going for you - lots of staff, fantastic tournament directors, and plenty of local teams to draw from. I would agree with the logic that someone else should be making your hosting profits if you were in a circuit like Virginia and DC, where every IS set and HSAPQ set and a bunch of good housewritten sets are played, saturating the circuit with good events. However, in Chicago, if you don't host a good event, there isn't anyone that will pick up that slack that doesn't already host something since there are a bunch of events run on IHSA sets by vendors like Questions Galore. In other words, it's not like that money is going to go to something else worthwhile. I know it's hard to get space for a huge tournament at your school, but even just an 16 team tournament or something like that would be enough to improve the circuit in your area. I hope you reconsider your apparently vehement distaste for running high school events, since I think where you are there is a lot of good your club could do just to give teams that are looking hard for good quizbowl something better to spend their time on than Bob Brown's insulting hoses, and knowing that usually makes me feel much better about myself when I run a good high school event. You guys run such good tournaments that I think a lot of people in your area would immensely appreciate you running something for high school.

[AKKOLADE]

Yeah, I agree with Dees that the U of Chicago hosting high school events would be beneficial to the local and, in turn, national circuits.

[Susan]

Let me just drop in here: to my knowledge, Chicago has never hosted a high school tournament and I strongly doubt we ever will - certainly not during my term as club president next year and likely/hopefully not under the eventual presidencies of the current younger officers. Besides the fact that we just don't care about high school quizbowl (an attitude I don't expect to change), it doesn't make sense for us to take the hosting profits that would do more good elsewhere; we are fortunate to have sufficient university support to run our club from our allocation by the school and the occasional college tournament. It would be needlessly taking money out of the local high school circuit should we host a tournament.

I forgot to bring this up earlier, but I think this is a shame. I am aware that many of you at UChicago didn't play in high school, and that you get tons of funding. However, you have a lot of things going for you - lots of staff, fantastic tournament directors, and plenty of local teams to draw from. I would agree with the logic that someone else should be making your hosting profits if you were in a circuit like Virginia and DC, where every IS set and HSAPQ set and a bunch of good housewritten sets are played, saturating the circuit with good events. However, in Chicago, if you don't host a good event, there isn't anyone that will pick up that slack that doesn't already host something since there are a bunch of events run on IHSA sets by vendors like Questions Galore. In other words, it's not like that money is going to go to something else worthwhile. I know it's hard to get space for a huge tournament at your school, but even just an 16 team tournament or something like that would be enough to improve the circuit in your area. I hope you reconsider your apparently vehement distaste for running high school events, since I think where you are there is a lot of good your club could do just to give teams that are looking hard for good quizbowl something better to spend their time on than Bob Brown's insulting hoses, and knowing that usually makes me feel much better about myself when I run a good high school event. You guys run such good tournaments that I think a lot of people in your area would immensely appreciate you running something for high school.

I might suggest pitching this at Northwestern, IIT or Loyola (if there will be a team starting up there), since those teams could use the money and we could probably send a small number of people to help staff. I really don't think there's a high likelihood of Chicago hosting high school events anytime soon; over the ten years I was at Chicago, this was something we considered many times (not all of our leadership has been as anti-high-school-quizbowl as Michael is!), and we never, ever ended up doing it. We have a hard time getting rooms (not just "lots of rooms", but rooms, full stop), we have, several times lately, had a fair amount of trouble finding sufficient staff for the tournaments we've hosted, and I don't think we're very enthusiastic about asking our team members to:( a) give up going to a collegiate tournament to stay home and host a high school one, or (b) give up an extra weekend in an already full calendar.

[cdcarter]

Man, too bad we don't have some sort of awesome database to keep track of when tournaments are. Too bad indeed.

[jonah]

There's an updated calendar at the IHSSBCA website. No longer does Wildcat conflict with ACF Fall, so you guys should go to Fall The midwest site is at the University of Chicago. The top post has been updated to reflect this.