The quizbowl decades project

[bsmith]

As for who directed the most tournaments, isn't R. Robert Hentzel the official TD of all of the HS tournaments in Minnesota that use NAQT questions? Between that and HSNCT/ICT, it would be hard for others to come close.

How many tournaments has Charlie Steinhice done? Having several of his competition weekends span two tournaments helps his tally.

[nobthehobbit]

On the note of low bonus conversion, the 2007 Northwest SCT (on D1 questions) had an overall conversion of 7.39, but before Zarya showed up for round 8, the overall conversion was 6.83. It may also have set the record for most games played between the same two teams, with 11 (since only two teams showed up).

Also, while I've not run very many tournaments, I wouldn't be surprised if I've staffed more tournaments than I've played, and I'm almost certain that's true if you exclude my six VETO appearances.

[cvdwightw]

2. Fewest tossup points scored by a team that reached 100 points, Single Game.

The house team at the 2009 Ottawa Hybrid got 30 TU points (and 70 bonus points) in a 100-point first-round loss. Unless a team with many tossups negs like crazy, I think this is about the limit.

Rancho Bernardo went 1-5-10 in a 120-95 win over UCLA House at Aztlan Cup V (FIChTE II mirror).

Incidentally, Lucas went 2-13-19 on the day and Zhao went 0-9-12, so unless there's a team out there with 3 or more people to all finish under the 1:1 TU:neg ratio, I think they'll at least tie the record for most teammates finishing below a 1:1 TU:Neg ratio at the same tournament.

[jonpin]

2. Fewest tossup points scored by a team that reached 100 points, Single Game.

The house team at the 2009 Ottawa Hybrid got 30 TU points (and 70 bonus points) in a 100-point first-round loss. Unless a team with many tossups negs like crazy, I think this is about the limit.

Rancho Bernardo went 1-5-10 in a 120-95 win over UCLA House at Aztlan Cup V (FIChTE II mirror).

Incidentally, Lucas went 2-13-19 on the day and Zhao went 0-9-12, so unless there's a team out there with 3 or more people to all finish under the 1:1 TU:neg ratio, I think they'll at least tie the record for most teammates finishing below a 1:1 TU:Neg ratio at the same tournament.

Among teams of good faith, they surely are at least tied for the lead, though the Wofford "F this bye" team mentioned earlier had three players with negative scoring, and the team as a whole had -5 points on tossups over the day.

[Down and out in Quintana Roo]

Wait, 18 negs in one round?

[huff paste]

Wait, 18 negs in one round?

I don't think they were too happy with the difficulty of the tournament and negged out in protest. (Then again, that tournament seemed to be a little on the hard side for the field in general.)

[49-Mile Scenic Drive]

Wait, 18 negs in one round?

I don't think they were too happy with the difficulty of the tournament and negged out in protest. (Then again, that tournament seemed to be a little on the hard side for the field in general.)

From what I could infer, that is what they did. Having been at the tournament, I would agree that it was a decent bit on the hard side for the Div. II field, but of course part of the tournament's title is "Open." However it was my first experience into "Good Quizbowl" and was a nice break from IS and A-Sets we play in the CC Circuit, no matter how long the rounds were and how difficult I found the questions.

[STPickrell]

Lots of interesting posts here.

A similar story to Mike's 'Win one for the Flipper' speech would have to be the Spotswood-Salem match, the 2003 Group AA VHSL state championship. This was Marian Suter's last VHSL match as a coach and was the only Game 7 that year, so there were probably 100 or more people in the room at the time. (As another aside the coach of that Salem team was Fred Campbell, the current VHSL Commissioner.)

A Spotswood player buzzed in early on with 'Van der Waal force' and tried to correct himself by adding the 's'. He was ruled incorrect, and then protested. Of course, the match required a protest.

I then had to rule against her in the ensuing protest, because I didn't hear the 's' in the guy's initial answer and none of the officials heard it. It was, perhaps, one of the hardest protest resolutions I ever had to make.

As for neg efficiency, I believe I have a contender for 'worst half in history not done on purpose' in a game against Georgetown my senior year @ Randolph-Macon (year it was in the 1990s, but it can start a discussion). Up 125-25 at the half, we proceed to neg five times in that half and lose 135-100. For added irony, my own contribution was saying 'Sun Microcomputers' instead of 'Sun Microsystems' -- I am now a Solaris admin.

When I retired in 2000, I was probably on the top 10 'most career losses' list. I'm sure others have long since eclipsed me.

[Susan]

I might do a serious post in this or the other thread later, but I'm procrastinating right now and this is quicker. I searched the UChicago quizbowl archives for "best" to see what UChicagoans have thought the best tournaments, questions, players, etc. were since the listhost archives begin (January 1, 2000; unfortunately we lost the earlier stuff in a University-wide listhost "cleanup").

Best things to avoid saying to your opponents during matches, per Seth Teitler: "You're a pack of no-account ruffians!" "I can't believe you don't know this!" "You must use cheap pomade!" "We're better than you!" "This should be an easy win!"

Best moment in Bruce Arthur's life: When Andrew Yaphe (his teammate) buzzed on a "Moneymaker" question to win a very low-scoring round on a very bad poker theme packet in the 2005 edition of the Chicago IM tournament.

Best performance in the field of keeping late-nineties era spite alive, by a person who will go unnamed: "You know what the best thing about this weekend is? It's that [DASTARDLY OPPONENT] didn't win. That's better than the fact that you won. Does that make me a bad person?"

Best highlight in a tournament recap (also, most ridiculously lengthy tournament recap):
"...As former college bowl host Robert Earle proceeded to tell the heartwarming story of a love at first sight that blossomed at a College bowl tournament back in the day between one Brian from MIT and Sally from Wash U, [unnamed Chicago player] had his best line of the tournament. According to Earle, this was when during the time CBI was still on TV, and for some reason or other inclement weather postponed a taping, so Brian and Sally decided to go snow inner tubing together. Sally dislocated her shoulder and so was unable to play the next day as her team took on Brian's in the final.

But this is where the story gets good. Brian, so afflicted by the sight of his true love in pain, cannot concentrate and so negs 20 times in one round [20] as Wash U takes the National Championship.

Now why did I just tell you all this? Here's why. Mr. Reed then remarked that he always maintained a seed of doubt as to whether or not Sally had an ulterior motive to getting injured, and thought she may have decided to "take one for the team." At which point our dear [unnamed Chicago player] [21] gets half out of his chair and says, loudly enough for Earle, who needs a hearing aid, to hear it 20 feet away: "I BET SHE TOOK MORE THAN ONE!" [22]. The whole room bursts into guffaws. Needless to say, [unnamed Chicago player] [23] did not win the sportsmanship award. Richard "Shoe-bomber" Reed also gave him a two-minute long glare of death as he tried to put a match to his shoelaces."
I'm not going to bother to copy the footnotes on that one.

Best bar in the Palo Alto area: The Nut House.

[cvdwightw]

Best highlight in a tournament recap (also, most ridiculously lengthy tournament recap):
"...As former college bowl host Robert Earle proceeded to tell the heartwarming story of a love at first sight that blossomed at a College bowl tournament back in the day between one Brian from MIT and Sally from Wash U, [unnamed Chicago player] had his best line of the tournament. According to Earle, this was when during the time CBI was still on TV, and for some reason or other inclement weather postponed a taping, so Brian and Sally decided to go snow inner tubing together. Sally dislocated her shoulder and so was unable to play the next day as her team took on Brian's in the final.

But this is where the story gets good. Brian, so afflicted by the sight of his true love in pain, cannot concentrate and so negs 20 times in one round [20] as Wash U takes the National Championship.

Now why did I just tell you all this? Here's why. Mr. Reed then remarked that he always maintained a seed of doubt as to whether or not Sally had an ulterior motive to getting injured, and thought she may have decided to "take one for the team." At which point our dear [unnamed Chicago player] [21] gets half out of his chair and says, loudly enough for Earle, who needs a hearing aid, to hear it 20 feet away: "I BET SHE TOOK MORE THAN ONE!" [22]. The whole room bursts into guffaws. Needless to say, [unnamed Chicago player] [23] did not win the sportsmanship award. Richard "Shoe-bomber" Reed also gave him a two-minute long glare of death as he tried to put a match to his shoelaces."
I'm not going to bother to copy the footnotes on that one.

Please tell me that this recap also includes the "Butterflies Prefer Blondes" speech and the alleged hot-tub party between teams and CBI staffers. CBI Nationals 2004 has no competition for the "Most Surreal Tournament Experience of the Decade" award.

[silverscreentest]

Best highlight in a tournament recap (also, most ridiculously lengthy tournament recap):
"...As former college bowl host Robert Earle proceeded to tell the heartwarming story of a love at first sight that blossomed at a College bowl tournament back in the day between one Brian from MIT and Sally from Wash U, [unnamed Chicago player] had his best line of the tournament."

Robert Earle was no longer the host of College Bowl at the time. It was Art Fleming.

"According to Earle, this was when during the time CBI was still on TV, and for some reason or other inclement weather postponed a taping, so Brian and Sally decided to go snow inner tubing together."

CBI was not on TV, it was on the radio. Snow did not stop any of the tapings. The only delays were on the part of the audio equipment.

"Sally dislocated her shoulder and so was unable to play the next day as her team took on Brian's in the final.

But this is where the story gets good. Brian, so afflicted by the sight of his true love in pain, cannot concentrate and so negs 20 times in one round [20] as Wash U takes the National Championship.

Now why did I just tell you all this? Here's why. Mr. Reed then remarked that he always maintained a seed of doubt as to whether or not Sally had an ulterior motive to getting injured, and thought she may have decided to "take one for the team." At which point our dear [unnamed Chicago player] [21] gets half out of his chair and says, loudly enough for Earle, who needs a hearing aid, to hear it 20 feet away: "I BET SHE TOOK MORE THAN ONE!" [22]. The whole room bursts into guffaws. Needless to say, [unnamed Chicago player] [23] did not win the sportsmanship award. Richard "Shoe-bomber" Reed also gave him a two-minute long glare of death as he tried to put a match to his shoelaces."
I'm not going to bother to copy the footnotes on that one.

Then again, it's not actually an account of what happened the year of Brian and Sally, but the snarky comeback several years later.

[Susan]

Best highlight in a tournament recap (also, most ridiculously lengthy tournament recap):
"...As former college bowl host Robert Earle proceeded to tell the heartwarming story of a love at first sight that blossomed at a College bowl tournament back in the day between one Brian from MIT and Sally from Wash U, [unnamed Chicago player] had his best line of the tournament."

Robert Earle was no longer the host of College Bowl at the time. It was Art Fleming.

"According to Earle, this was when during the time CBI was still on TV, and for some reason or other inclement weather postponed a taping, so Brian and Sally decided to go snow inner tubing together."

CBI was not on TV, it was on the radio. Snow did not stop any of the tapings. The only delays were on the part of the audio equipment.

"Sally dislocated her shoulder and so was unable to play the next day as her team took on Brian's in the final.

But this is where the story gets good. Brian, so afflicted by the sight of his true love in pain, cannot concentrate and so negs 20 times in one round [20] as Wash U takes the National Championship.

Now why did I just tell you all this? Here's why. Mr. Reed then remarked that he always maintained a seed of doubt as to whether or not Sally had an ulterior motive to getting injured, and thought she may have decided to "take one for the team." At which point our dear [unnamed Chicago player] [21] gets half out of his chair and says, loudly enough for Earle, who needs a hearing aid, to hear it 20 feet away: "I BET SHE TOOK MORE THAN ONE!" [22]. The whole room bursts into guffaws. Needless to say, [unnamed Chicago player] [23] did not win the sportsmanship award. Richard "Shoe-bomber" Reed also gave him a two-minute long glare of death as he tried to put a match to his shoelaces."
I'm not going to bother to copy the footnotes on that one.

Then again, it's not actually an account of what happened the year of Brian and Sally, but the snarky comeback several years later.

If I recall correctly, the consensus on the Brian and Sally anecdote back in 2004 was that it was entirely fabricated (considering the other festivities at that particular NCT, a made-up romance garnished with my erstwhile teammate's uncouth remark was merely the tip of the crazypants iceberg). I mean, if we're going to be sticklers for accuracy here, I should point out that Richard Reid, the president of CBI, and Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, are TWO TOTALLY DIFFERENT GUYS!

[millionwaves]

I mean, if we're going to be sticklers for accuracy here, I should point out that Richard Reid, the president of CBI, and Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, are TWO TOTALLY DIFFERENT GUYS!

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[Grams's Go-Go Boots]

I mean, if we're going to be sticklers for accuracy here, I should point out that Richard Reid, the president of CBI, and Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, are TWO TOTALLY DIFFERENT GUYS!

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

So there were never any shoes given as neg prizes?

[cvdwightw]

I mean, if we're going to be sticklers for accuracy here, I should point out that Richard Reid, the president of CBI, and Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, are TWO TOTALLY DIFFERENT GUYS!

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

So there were never any shoes given as neg prizes?

No, but there was a FREEZE FRAME award given for "wearing sparkly shoes."

[fleurdelivre]

the four games VCU played with Vanderbilt at the 2005 to 2007 Nationals and ICT, each of which came down to the last one or two tossups and three of which decided who went on to the championship bracket

The first mention I witnessed as a competitor rather than spectator/staffer. Oh, the joys of coming in 16th at ICT...

[Susan]

I mean, if we're going to be sticklers for accuracy here, I should point out that Richard Reid, the president of CBI, and Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, are TWO TOTALLY DIFFERENT GUYS!

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

So there were never any shoes given as neg prizes?

No, but there was a FREEZE FRAME award given for "wearing sparkly shoes."

Were these ever given for anything that was actually funny or notable? I remember them being awarded for:
-having a quiet speaking voice
-failing to properly execute a high five
-giving an inappropriate answer to a question that went something like "a condition called 'ptosis' causes this body part to droop"

The entire concept of requiring competing schools to bring school logo apparel to award as stupid prizes for unfunny things seems flawed on many levels. I can't recall anyone not bothering to bring a prize, but we nearly forgot to do so both times I played CBI.

[Ukonvasara]

I mean, if we're going to be sticklers for accuracy here, I should point out that Richard Reid, the president of CBI, and Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, are TWO TOTALLY DIFFERENT GUYS!

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

So there were never any shoes given as neg prizes?

No, but there was a FREEZE FRAME award given for "wearing sparkly shoes."

Were these ever given for anything that was actually funny or notable? I remember them being awarded for:
-having a quiet speaking voice
-failing to properly execute a high five
-giving an inappropriate answer to a question that went something like "a condition called 'ptosis' causes this body part to droop"

The entire concept of requiring competing schools to bring school logo apparel to award as stupid prizes for unfunny things seems flawed on many levels. I can't recall anyone not bothering to bring a prize, but we nearly forgot to do so both times I played CBI.

The year I played CBI featured the "Don't You Wish Your Alternate Was Hot Like Me" Freeze Frame award, given in devastatingly creepy fashion to Sarah Whitfield of Florida.

/shudders

[quantumfootball]

I mean, if we're going to be sticklers for accuracy here, I should point out that Richard Reid, the president of CBI, and Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, are TWO TOTALLY DIFFERENT GUYS!

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

So there were never any shoes given as neg prizes?

No, but there was a FREEZE FRAME award given for "wearing sparkly shoes."

Were these ever given for anything that was actually funny or notable? I remember them being awarded for:
-having a quiet speaking voice
-failing to properly execute a high five
-giving an inappropriate answer to a question that went something like "a condition called 'ptosis' causes this body part to droop"
The entire concept of requiring competing schools to bring school logo apparel to award as stupid prizes for unfunny things seems flawed on many levels. I can't recall anyone not bothering to bring a prize, but we nearly forgot to do so both times I played CBI.

The year I played CBI featured the "Don't You Wish Your Alternate Was Hot Like Me" Freeze Frame award, given in devastatingly creepy fashion to Sarah Whitfield of Florida.
/shudders

Another freeze frame from that year was because Yogesh negged on a question about a breed of dog which apparently was the breed of Mik Larsen's dog. The year before that, Dwight Wynne got one for being repeatedly being punched by Charles Meigs.

[Tanay]

Never mind.

[Charbroil]

questions from 1988..."this nation, currently led by Salvador Allende"

Salvador Allende was deposed in 1973, so I imagine that it didn't say "currently led by"--unless it was really bad.

Still, I enjoyed your stories.

[Tanay]

questions from 1988..."this nation, currently led by Salvador Allende"

Salvador Allende was deposed in 1973, so I imagine that it didn't say "currently led by"--unless it was really bad.

Still, I enjoyed your stories.

My bad, I meant Pinochet.

[Joshua Rutsky]

So while people are compiling things, and in light of the really awful crap of the last few weeks, how about a list of really good moments in quizbowl sportsmanship? A couple years back, Lee Henry was running the Alabama NAQT state championship, and at the end of pool play, KDS DAR had a record of 7-1, while Hoover had a 6-2 record. Hoover had beaten DAR head-to-head, but the tournament rules had said that if there was a clear leader at the end of pool play, there would be no playoff. DAR had never won a state title, and did not have to do it, but when Lee went to Matt Dennis, the coach, and to his team and asked them if they wanted to declare victory without a championship playoff, they decided that they didn't want to claim the state title unless they had beaten all the other teams at the tourney to do it. They agreed to play an advantaged final against Hoover that they never had to play, and they lost both matches.

As we got to the end of the second match, and Hoover pulled away, the pain on the faces of the KDS team was obvious. They had given away their state title in pursuit of real sportsmanship. The Hoover players could see it, and as soon as the game was over, they came over to me and asked me if they could declare the state championship a joint title, since DAR had really already won, and had only lost the title because they tried to do what was right. I have never been prouder to be a coach than at that moment. What happened that day would likely never have happened in any other competitive activity, and while it may have bent the rules a bit, it was to me a great capsule of everything that quizbowl has ever meant to me as player or coach.

[etchdulac]

How about a list of really good moments in quizbowl sportsmanship

TJ Appreciation Thread, PACE NSC 2011