Barrington Invitational Tournament VIII (CMST II)

[the return of AHAN]

(Cross-posted in regular season tournament announcements)

Barrington Middle School's Station Campus Scholastic Bowl team is pleased to announce the 8th edition for the Barrington Invitational Tournament will take place on March 12th, 2011 at 9 AM. This tournament will be staged at Barrington Middle School – STATION CAMPUS (215 Eastern Ave), Barrington, IL. Each match will consist of 20 toss-up (individual) questions, and a maximum of 20 bonus (team) questions overall. This middle/junior high school tournament will be conducted using IESA rules to govern most of match play, with two notable exceptions. We will use modified Academic Competition Federation rules to govern the answering of the bonus questions in an effort to conserve paper, and we will disregard the IESA ‘slaughter’ rule. To summarize, the mACF rules for bonus questions will be the same as what you may have experienced if your team attended the Northwestern Jr. Wildcat in 2009, or last year’s Barrington Invitational.
• All bonus questions will be 3 parts and worth a total of 30 points. Each part is asked one at a time, with the controlling team having up to 10 seconds (15 on math computations) to respond.
• Players on both teams may quietly confer, even while the bonus question is being read (a definite departure from current IESA practice), but any such discussion should not disrupt the other team’s ability to hear the question.
• The first answer clearly directed towards the moderator will serve as the team’s answer. If conflicting answers are offered, the captain will be prompted to choose. If an answer is incorrect, the rebounding team will be offered a chance to answer within 3 seconds (or the remainder of time on math computation, if more than 3 seconds remain).
• If neither team answers correctly, the correct answer is read and the next bonus part is read to the controlling team.
In an effort to avoid the scoring issues that bogged down last year’s tournament, I’d like to limit each team to 8 players, and we are also only going to permit substitutions at halftime, or prior to overtime. Each school is welcome to enter multiple teams, but each team must be accompanied by an adult I am also going to only provide a moderator for each room, which means a coach from each team will need to share the scoring duties, unless the moderator wishes to keep their own score. Each school will be guaranteed five games. If there are enough teams to support it, there will be separate pools for the B teams, with their own championship trophy.
Please fax the attached reservation form as soon as possible, or send me an e-mail (jprice@barrington220.org) to hold your spot. You are free to send the $65.00/team entry fee (payable to Barrington Middle School, Station Campus) at a later time, but I would like to have all payments in hand by February 28th. A letter of confirmation with further details will be e-mailed in January. Entry fees will not be refunded to teams that withdraw after February 28th, 2011.
We look forward to your participation on March 12th, 2011. Teams should arrive no later than 8:30 A.M. The final tournament games should conclude by 4:00 P.M.

[the return of AHAN]

Field updates to be posted here:

Barrington Station (3)
Rockford Washington (2)
Lincolnshire Daniel Wright (2)
Palatine Quest (2)
Barrington Prairie (3)
Lake Zurich South (2)
Beecher
Normal Thomas Metcalf (2)
Buffalo Grove Aptakisic
Cary JHS (2)
Deerfield Holy Cross (2)
New Lenox Martino (2)
Northfield Sunset Ridge (2)
Bloomington JHS (1)
Winnetka Faith, Hope, and Charity
Buffalo Grove Twin Groves (2)
Villa Park Albright
Crystal Lake Lundahl (2)
Wadsworth Millburn Central
Antioch (2)
Crystal Lake Hannah Beardsley (2)
Elm Grove St. Mary's (WI) (2)
New Lenox Liberty (2)
Wadsworth Millburn West (2)
River Forest Roosevelt
Schiller Park Lincoln (2)
Rockford Keith Country Day
Burbank Liberty (2)
49 teams ... 27 "A" teams; 22 "B" teams.

[the return of AHAN]

31-33 teams registered at this point. Definitely splitting off B teams into their own tournament.
Anyone interested in staffing this event should send me an e-mail... j p r i c e <<at>> b a r r i n g t o n 2 2 0 <<dot>> o r g

[the return of AHAN]

Putting out a call to all potential staffers. I need moderators for this event on March 12th, 2011. Please let me know if you can join us by posting here or shooting me an e-mail. I'll compensate you for your time and feed you. At this point, I have the following non-D220 personnel;

C. Martin
J. Geringer
N. Bergeon
J. Trimberger
N. Hollinsaid
S. Server
N. O'Laughlin

D. Donohue
C. Haala
A. Shah
D. Taylor (Stats/Deputy TD)
M. Perovanovic (Stats)
(YOUR NAME HERE!)

[Dan-Don]

I'll be there to staff.

[the return of AHAN]

Bumping this b/c I could use a few more moderators...

[Papa's in the House]

Bumping this b/c I could use a few more moderators...

There will be a full car (5 people) from UIUC. I don't know exactly who those people will be yet.

[the return of AHAN]

Bumping this b/c I could use a few more moderators...

There will be a full car (5 people) from UIUC. I don't know exactly who those people will be yet.

Martin
Geringer
Is Bergeon at U of I? I don't rightly recall...
Garb? Is someone gonna be in charge of making sure he wakes up? I'm not beyond making a wake-up call....
Messner?

[Edward Elric]

Bergeon goes to UW- Madison.

[the return of AHAN]

That's what I thought. That's good news then, since I'm all but guaranteed 3 more than what's on my list!

[dtaylor4]

Bumping this b/c I could use a few more moderators...

There will be a full car (5 people) from UIUC. I don't know exactly who those people will be yet.

Martin
Geringer
Is Bergeon at U of I? I don't rightly recall...
Garb? Is someone gonna be in charge of making sure he wakes up? I'm not beyond making a wake-up call....
Messner?

If Garb sleeps through this again, he may not make it to BIT IX.

[Papa's in the House]

Bumping this b/c I could use a few more moderators...

There will be a full car (5 people) from UIUC. I don't know exactly who those people will be yet.

Martin
Garb? Is someone gonna be in charge of making sure he wakes up? I'm not beyond making a wake-up call....
Messner?

These two have spoken with me about receiving a ride from me (though I don't remember if they said they would absolutely be coming). The remaining spots will be filled by freshmen.

[the return of AHAN]

Field updated...PLUS new signature! I've neglected it lately.

EDIT: typo

[the return of AHAN]

I'm gonna need more staff... From the U of I contingent, I only have the names of Martin and Geringer, though I'm told there'll be a couple more in the car... Any idea who those will be? In any event, as of this morning, I have 5 empty slots to fill.

[the return of AHAN]

We're just TWO weeks away and I'm actually starting to feel good about the preparations. I think I've got a decent playoff system set up where I can even use an advantaged final if there's a re-match in the championship or 3rd place games.
At this point, "A"team-wise, I have 3 pools of 6 teams and 2 pools of 5 teams, so I'll have a cross-over match in each round of those last two pools. 5 pool winners and 3 wild cards, based on highest points per bonus controlled, will be seeded into two playoff pools of 4... Should PPBC only be among those 2nd place pool teams? Or should it be open to any non-1st place team?

The winners of those two playoff pools will play in an advantaged (if necessary) final. The runners-up of those two pools will play in an advantaged (if necessary) 3rd place match. This will be my first time possibly using an advantaged final... Am I correct that it'll apply only if the teams have faced each other previously?

[Stephen Colbert]

We're just TWO weeks away and I'm actually starting to feel good about the preparations. I think I've got a decent playoff system set up where I can even use an advantaged final if there's a re-match in the championship or 3rd place games.
At this point, "A"team-wise, I have 3 pools of 6 teams and 2 pools of 5 teams, so I'll have a cross-over match in each round of those last two pools. 5 pool winners and 3 wild cards, based on highest points per bonus controlled, will be seeded into two playoff pools of 4... Should PPBC only be among those 2nd place pool teams? Or should it be open to any non-1st place team?

The winners of those two playoff pools will play in an advantaged (if necessary) final. The runners-up of those two pools will play in an advantaged (if necessary) 3rd place match. This will be my first time possibly using an advantaged final... Am I correct that it'll apply only if the teams have faced each other previously?

Who is more deserving of a wild-card berth: a 4-1 team from a weak preliminary pool with 18 PPB or a 3-2 team from a strong preliminary pool with 23 PPB? What happens if a team goes 0-5 but converts well on the few bonuses it controlled? I'm not sure how I would handle selecting the wild-card teams (perhaps these possibilities are unrealistic).

What's the procedure for breaking ties within playoff pools, especially if there's a three-way tie? Would you use half-packets? If so, will there be enough packets for the final?

[the return of AHAN]

We're just TWO weeks away and I'm actually starting to feel good about the preparations. I think I've got a decent playoff system set up where I can even use an advantaged final if there's a re-match in the championship or 3rd place games.
At this point, "A"team-wise, I have 3 pools of 6 teams and 2 pools of 5 teams, so I'll have a cross-over match in each round of those last two pools. 5 pool winners and 3 wild cards, based on highest points per bonus controlled, will be seeded into two playoff pools of 4... Should PPBC only be among those 2nd place pool teams? Or should it be open to any non-1st place team?

The winners of those two playoff pools will play in an advantaged (if necessary) final. The runners-up of those two pools will play in an advantaged (if necessary) 3rd place match. This will be my first time possibly using an advantaged final... Am I correct that it'll apply only if the teams have faced each other previously?

Who is more deserving of a wild-card berth: a 4-1 team from a weak preliminary pool with 18 PPB or a 3-2 team from a strong preliminary pool with 23 PPB? What happens if a team goes 0-5 but converts well on the few bonuses it controlled? I'm not sure how I would handle selecting the wild-card teams (perhaps these possibilities are unrealistic).

What's the procedure for breaking ties within playoff pools, especially if there's a three-way tie? Would you use half-packets? If so, will there be enough packets for the final?

I'm figuring on using PPB (controlled) to break multi-way ties. Head-to-head ties will be broken on the match result from that pool. After Junior Wildcat, I really don't know what to do with the wildcards... I mean, Daniel Wright B, a decent enough team, got the wildcard on PPB, but I think the sample size was too small. Aside from Station A, they played ZERO A teams in preliminary play. So... I don't know.

[the return of AHAN]

On another note, I see a "Usman Haseeb" on the roster of Rockford Washington B....
Anyone know if this kid comes from a quizbowl-playing family, by chance?

[David Riley]

Yes, he does

[in on these shenanigans]

I'm figuring on using PPB (controlled) to break multi-way ties. Head-to-head ties will be broken on the match result from that pool. After Junior Wildcat, I really don't know what to do with the wildcards... I mean, Daniel Wright B, a decent enough team, got the wildcard on PPB, but I think the sample size was too small. Aside from Station A, they played ZERO A teams in preliminary play. So... I don't know.

You should consider not using head-to-head results as a tiebreaking criterion. I'm at work and pressed for time, so if you'd like to see the logic behind it, someone else might be able to outline it, but H2H is less fair than statistical measurements like PPG (if just tiebreaking for pool winner/pool 2nd place/pool 3rd place/etc.) or PPcontrolledB (if comparing across pools).

[Charley Pride]

On another note, I see a "Usman Haseeb" on the roster of Rockford Washington B....
Anyone know if this kid comes from a quizbowl-playing family, by chance?

I think I know him from somewhere...

Easily the best Haseeb middle school quizbowler ever. Also the only one thus far.

[Papa's in the House]

I'm figuring on using PPB (controlled) to break multi-way ties. Head-to-head ties will be broken on the match result from that pool. After Junior Wildcat, I really don't know what to do with the wildcards... I mean, Daniel Wright B, a decent enough team, got the wildcard on PPB, but I think the sample size was too small. Aside from Station A, they played ZERO A teams in preliminary play. So... I don't know.

You should consider not using head-to-head results as a tiebreaking criterion. I'm at work and pressed for time, so if you'd like to see the logic behind it, someone else might be able to outline it, but H2H is less fair than statistical measurements like PPG (if just tiebreaking for pool winner/pool 2nd place/pool 3rd place/etc.) or PPcontrolledB (if comparing across pools).

See here for a discussion of statistical tiebreakers and their merit. If you are choosing between two tied teams from the same pool to determine who plays in the championship bracket, you should use PPG. If you must pick amongst teams from different pools, I would argue that you should use PPB.

EDIT: I don't appreciate being yelled at by Donald Taylor, but he does make a good point, so I've edited this post until I can offer better proof of my personal opinion.

[the return of AHAN]

I think I'm ready for tomorrow. One staffer is safely ensconced in my guest bedroom. Hopefully the remaining 20 something will arrive of the own volition!!!

[abnormal abdomen]

Soooooo. What's happening at this tournament?

Edit: Coherence

[Charley Pride]

Barrington Station won over Daniel Wright for the A title. Prairie A over Station B for 3rd.

Station C over Daniel Wright B for the B title. Twin Groves B over Rockford Washington B for 3rd (read by me).

Gosh darn I am a good Deputy TD.

EDIT: Naughty words by Donald are naughty.

[Edward Elric]

Yeah the tournament ran pretty well. A few hiccups but nothing major. Stats are presumably going to be posted by Donald later tonight. From what I heard, the set was well recieved.

Edit: I hate Subapalooza.

[dtaylor4]

What Jeff posted.

Stats are almost done, I have yet to enter round 8 and the finals for the A side, as I had to read the TG B/RW B game after a reader left.

Once I recover, I'll make a theory thread about something that happened during the game.

[the return of AHAN]

Results of the 8th Annual Barrington Invitational Tournament (A Mirror of the CMST II set)...

A pools (28 teams)
1st place: Barrington Station A
2nd place: Lincolnshire Daniel Wright A
3rd place: Barrington Prairie A
4th place: Barrington Station B
Consolation Champions: Rockford Washington A

B pools (20 teams)
1st place: Barrington Station C
2nd place: Lincolnshire Daniel Wright B
3rd place: Buffalo Grove Twin Groves B
4th place: Rockford Washington B

[the return of AHAN]

Survey results....
Coaches were given a CMST II survey asking them to rank the set from 1-5 with 1 being not enough and 5 being too much, and A-E with A being too easy and E being too hard on the following categories:
English Language Lit...... 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 4, 4, 4, 5 ........... E, E, C, B, C, E, E, D, E
Juvenile Literature........2, 3, 1, 2, 4, 4, 2, 3, 2, .............D, D, C, C, C, C, C, C, B
Other Literature & Lang Arts... 4, 3, 3, 2, 3, 5, 3, 3, 3 ....... D, C, C, B, D, D, D, C, E, C
Religion................... 5, 4, 3, 4, 3, 5, 5, 3, 4 ................E, D, A, C, C, E, C, C, D
Mythology................4, 3, 3, 3, 5, 5, 4, 4, 4, ................ C, C, C, C, E, E, C, C, C

American History....... 3, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2 ............... C, C, C, C, C, C, D, C, C
American Government.... 1, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3 ........... A, C, D, D, C, C, C, C, C
European History.......... 4, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3............. D, CD,D, C, C, D, C, D (the CD is someone who circled both together)
World History............ 4, 4, 5, 5, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 .............. C, D, DE, C, C, C, C, C, D (see above)
Current Events ........... 1, 3, 2, 3, 3, 3, 2, 3, 2 ............. B, C, B, D, C, C, C, C, C
Geography................ 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2 .............. B, C, C, C, C, C, C, C, C

Life Sciences............. 3, 3, 1, 3, 3, 2, 4, 3, 3 .............. C, C, A, C, C, C, C, C, C
Physical Sciences....... 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 3, 3, 3 .............. B, D, D, C, C, C, C, C, C
Astronomy.............. 4, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3 .............. D, C, C, C, D, C, C, D
Math Computation..... 1, 2, 2, 3, 2, 2, 3, 4, 3 .............. A, D, A, B, C, C, C, C, C
Math Non-comp....... 1, 2, 1, 3, 5, 2, 3, 3, 3 .............. A, C, no answer, C, E, C, C, C, C

Visual Arts............... 2, 4, 5, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 3 ............. C, C, C, D, C, C, B, C, C
Auditory Arts ........... 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 .............. C, C, C, D, E, C, C, C, C
Pop Culture.............. 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3 .............. A, C, C, no answer, B, A, C, C, C, C

Comments (4 people added the following to their survey):
* English Language Lit <----high school
* Too much foreign lit!....amendments OK (with arrow drawn to American Govt response of D)..... Consumer Economic questions.... no agriculture [TD note: I can only assume the writer meant this as a complaint and not praise. I, for one, wouldn't be sad to see no more TU on commercial jingles or tractor colors in IESA format]
* Too many constellations (with arrow drawn to Astronomy response of D)
* High school level texts (with arrow drawn to English Language Lit response of E).... WAY too many literature questions - and what's with all the Mesopotamian mythology questions?.... It's very hard to follow the long list of the attributes of mathematical properties (with arrow drawn to Non-Computational Math response of E)... Too much opera (with arrow drawn to Auditory Arts response of E).... I know it is a challenge to find volunteers for this meet, but the pronunciation in many questions was mangled to the point where it made it extremely difficult to answer many of the questions.

[the return of AHAN]

And finally, a special thanks to all of the workers I was able to lure out to Barrington to augment my array of school district staffers.... Donald Taylor (A stats/ deputy tournament director), Mike Perovanovic (B stats), Charles Martin, Adam Sperber, Nick Bergeon, Nathan Hollinsaid, Steve Server, Dan Donohue, Matt Cummings, Katherine Woodrow, Anant Shah, David Garb, Matt Laird, Neva O'Laughlin, David Reinstein, Adam Fifield, Zack Moser, Jack Trimberger, Tim Akerlund, Jon Schening, and Pat Crane. Special thanks to the handful of 8th grade students of mine who spent the shank of their Saturday guiding people around their school building!
Thank you to all of the writers of the CMST II set, and especially Dwight Wynne and Andy Watkins for supervising the whole thing. Despite what you see in the surveys, I've also received the following e-mails:

"Thank you Jeff for putting on another great tournament. The questions were fantastic; the moderators were top rate. My kids had an amazing time. "
"Jeff, thank you for hosting a wonderful tournament! The entire team had a great time and I thought everything ran so smoothly. The moderators were all terrific, and I appreciate your consideration of our protest. I and the team respect your decision. I can only imagine the huge amount of work that goes into such an undertaking and thank you for taking it on.

The questions were awesome! Kudos to the writers! "
" Dear Jeff,
Thank you for putting together such a GREAT tournament! My kids had a great
time, we met a lot of wonderful kids and coaches, and everything was just
very well done. Thank you for a terrific first scholastic bowl tournament!"

[ether a go-go]

Thanks to Coach Price for running a solid tournament. I was very impressed with what I saw from the students.

[Papa's in the House]

Thanks to Coach Price for running a solid tournament. I was very impressed with what I saw from the students.

Ditto. I know that others I drove from UIUC say they enjoyed the experience and feel much the same way as the above post.

[dtaylor4]

The stats are complete, and have been emailed to Jeff and Dwight.

[the return of AHAN]

I have A bracket stats:
Through Preliminary Rounds
Overall

And here are the B bracket stats:
Through Preliminary Rounds
Overall