Search found 447 matches

by alexdz
Thu Jan 18, 2024 4:41 pm
Forum: Miscellaneous Quizbowl
Topic: Interested in Quiz bowl but school has no team
Replies: 5
Views: 590

Re: Interested in Quiz bowl but school has no team

Hi! Without knowing more information about where you're located, it's going to be difficult to answer your question. Some states have organizations with restricted membership rules about who can compete, and others don't. That said, I teach (and coach) at an independent school and would be happy to ...
by alexdz
Tue Nov 14, 2023 3:52 pm
Forum: Theory
Topic: Questions for 5th/6th grade?
Replies: 5
Views: 2985

Re: Questions for 5th/6th grade?

Hi Chris, thanks for the compliment about past SAGES sets. My apologies for my communication this year; I've had several other ongoing large commitments (both in quizbowl writing and beyond) and have not been as good as I'd like at responding about where I stand as I try to knock those off my plate....
by alexdz
Mon Aug 21, 2023 1:40 am
Forum: Middle School Quizbowl Announcements & Discussion
Topic: CYBER set (MS or Novice HS) for 2023-24
Replies: 2
Views: 3091

Re: CYBER set (MS or Novice HS) for 2023-24

Is CYBER primarily written with a MS audience in mind or with a novice audience in mind? I ask because there are probably many circuits or areas (mine included) where there is a need for "introductory" sets for middle schoolers who have played little to no quizbowl before. So, I guess I'm ...
by alexdz
Mon Aug 07, 2023 3:37 pm
Forum: Miscellaneous Quizbowl
Topic: NAQT rules and policy changes for 2023–2024
Replies: 5
Views: 4173

Re: NAQT rules and policy changes for 2023–2024

So then, if a charter school and public magnet school, which happened to share a campus and whose students play together on the same state-sanctioned athletics teams, were to have a unified quiz bowl team with players from both schools, said team would be NAQT-eligible? Probably not, at least from ...
by alexdz
Thu May 18, 2023 7:50 pm
Forum: Trash
Topic: I've Heard That Song Before: A Musical Theatre Audio Set
Replies: 7
Views: 4033

Re: I've Heard That Song Before: A Musical Theatre Audio Set

If this were online and at a convenient time, I would be in for sure.
by alexdz
Thu Apr 20, 2023 5:45 pm
Forum: Miscellaneous Quizbowl
Topic: Set Collaboration Thread-2023-2024 Season
Replies: 1
Views: 3013

Re: Set Collaboration Thread-2023-2024 Season

Tangentially related to producing a proper "quizbowl set," but probably of interest to the folks in this thread... I'm happy to take on some more writers who would be interested in helping produce academic multiple-choice quizzes for a competition. Multiple subjects need to be covered in t...
by alexdz
Thu Apr 20, 2023 12:32 pm
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: A curatorial approach to choosing set content
Replies: 2
Views: 1897

Re: A curatorial approach to choosing set content

I really like this analogy, and I think it's something that holds up when we consider the sorts of sets written for specific audiences (by geography, age, etc.). As Halle mentioned, a museum's collection should probably be understandable by a wide audience, but there are also specific local details ...
by alexdz
Wed Apr 05, 2023 4:33 pm
Forum: Quizbowl History Forum
Topic: Best Debut Performances?
Replies: 18
Views: 8135

Best Debut Performances?

Reading the Greatest Upsets thread has got me thinking. What are some of the most impressive debut performances by a person/team new to quizbowl? Specifically, I'm not really interested in a "new" college team led by an experienced player, for example, or other cases where a person has exp...
by alexdz
Sat Feb 25, 2023 11:35 am
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: Are question sets "goods" and is being a writer/editor a "service?"
Replies: 8
Views: 2454

Re: Are question sets "goods" and is being a writer/editor a "service?"

As someone whose primary side income is writing and editing questions (in my case, elem/MS level), the answer to the question that titles this thread is 100% absolutely yes. Whether that means people should tick a box on Venmo or PayPal is a question of personal preferences and comfort levels, but i...
by alexdz
Thu Nov 10, 2022 9:17 pm
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: Can we cool it a bit with the "note-spelling"?
Replies: 27
Views: 7837

Re: Can we cool it a bit with the "note-spelling"?

I've engaged directly in the performance of many, many pieces of music throughout high school and college. It might seem as though score clues would be a big help to me. Yet, I can almost never make sense of them because of the reverse of Christopher's comment: ... if you're confused by transposing ...
by alexdz
Sun Sep 11, 2022 8:19 pm
Forum: Miscellaneous Quizbowl
Topic: Seeking writers in French and/or Spanish
Replies: 0
Views: 1312

Seeking writers in French and/or Spanish

Hi everyone, I'm coordinating the writing of some multiple-choice quizzes for another organization, and am looking for some folks who speak (at least somewhat) fluent French and/or Spanish to assist in the process for the foreign language subject quizzes, testing knowledge of grammar, comprehension,...
by alexdz
Sat Mar 12, 2022 11:48 am
Forum: Trash
Topic: DRAMA Musical Theater Set Announcement
Replies: 8
Views: 6123

Re: DRAMA Musical Theater Set Announcement

This is awesome and I am looking forward to things coming together!
by alexdz
Fri Feb 25, 2022 9:47 pm
Forum: Theory
Topic: I Want To Help Grow My Home Quizbowl Circuit
Replies: 2
Views: 4314

Re: I Want To Help Grow My Home Quizbowl Circuit

Something to think about -- it might be worth developing a sort of "middle ground" between the league play these schools are used to and a full Saturday tournament. Several locations in Missouri have had some success with weeknight mini-tournaments -- 3 to 5 games, just a few teams, hyperl...
by alexdz
Tue Feb 15, 2022 8:08 pm
Forum: Miscellaneous Quizbowl
Topic: Tournament Directors, Keep a Box of Tampons and/or Pads in Your Control Room
Replies: 5
Views: 2560

Re: Tournament Directors, Keep a Box of Tampons and/or Pads in Your Control Room

If anyone has feedback about better places to put them please say so here. This isn't something I've done, but just thinking. What about if there was a box or tub sitting on an easily-accessible table that contained all of the things that Em listed in the previous post? And then, crucially, there w...
by alexdz
Sun Feb 06, 2022 9:04 pm
Forum: Theory
Topic: AGQBA Quizbowl
Replies: 22
Views: 7771

Re: AGQBA Quizbowl

I grew up playing (and outright defending) the format that used to dominate in Missouri. Like Arkansas, it was a four-quarter format, and also like Arkansas, the questions were almost always badly written. Trickery, failing to state what they are looking for, and even straight-up falsehoods were qui...
by alexdz
Thu Feb 03, 2022 3:01 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Logomachy (side event, late 2022)
Replies: 13
Views: 4980

Re: Logomachy (side event, late 2022)

This tournament is for me and I love it.
by alexdz
Wed Feb 02, 2022 1:04 pm
Forum: Community Discussion
Topic: Quizbowl-"Trivia" Community Relations: What Are They? What Should They Be?
Replies: 25
Views: 15758

Re: Quizbowl-"Trivia" Community Relations: What Are They? What Should They Be?

I've always wondered at what point yesterday's "trash" becomes today's "history/fine arts" (or other topic). I attempted during my years at the helm of writing VHSL questions to separate that into "classic pop culture" and "current pop culture", with a deline...
by alexdz
Sat Jan 29, 2022 5:44 pm
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: College quizbowl stats website
Replies: 4
Views: 2045

Re: College quizbowl stats website

Jem Casey wrote: Sat Jan 29, 2022 10:12 am For now, I'd like to collect reports via a google form, ...
FYI, I just tried to use this form and it says it's only accessible to members of the owner's organization, so it looks like some settings may need to be tweaked to collect data with the form.
by alexdz
Tue Nov 16, 2021 12:04 am
Forum: Theory
Topic: Myths about Westphalia
Replies: 8
Views: 7491

Re: Myths about Westphalia

Was I very briefly confused that I was going to learn myths about the hometown of the Fatima High School quizbowl team ? I'm not ashamed to admit that yes. But more to the point, what Bruce has said is true: ...Words are defined by speakers of the language... And thus in the perennial game of teleph...
by alexdz
Tue Oct 05, 2021 8:54 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Why does ACF have children do its work?
Replies: 6
Views: 3919

Re: Why does ACF have children do its work?

...for ACF to place adults and minors in equivalent positions and to have them work together indicates that in ACF's view, those adults and minors are peers. I feel strongly that it is irresponsible for any organization to blur the lines between adults and children in this way. ... Is it equivalent...
by alexdz
Mon Aug 30, 2021 9:24 pm
Forum: New Collegiate Teams
Topic: Starting a team at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa
Replies: 10
Views: 6081

Re: Starting a team at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa

There's a fairly healthy Missouri college circuit that often includes tournaments hosted at Truman State in Kirksville (north-central MO), WashU in St. Louis, and the University of Missouri in Columbia. I think you'll find tournaments in St. Louis offer pretty much the exact same travel time for you...
by alexdz
Wed Jul 21, 2021 11:07 am
Forum: Collegiate Discussion
Topic: Where Are You Going Next Year? (Collegiate 2021)
Replies: 51
Views: 49025

Re: Where Are You Going Next Year? (Collegiate 2021)

I'm happy to share that I'm moving back home to Missouri, where I'll be teaching at an independent school in Kirkwood, just outside of St. Louis. I'm thrilled to be back in the state that launched my quizbowl career and to get back into a more active role with my compatriots in MOQBA. I have a goal ...
by alexdz
Wed May 19, 2021 8:45 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: RIVERS: A Multidisciplinary Experience
Replies: 1
Views: 1196

RIVERS: A Multidisciplinary Experience

Coming at you sometime in 2022 (I hope) will be RIVERS: Recalling Interesting Various Expertise in Riparian Studies ! The set will test your knowledge of all things rivers and cover a to-be-determined mixture of all of the usual major categories of academic quizbowl (with a helping of river popular ...
by alexdz
Sun May 16, 2021 11:47 pm
Forum: Quizbowl History Forum
Topic: Génies en Herbe
Replies: 1
Views: 5374

Re: Génies en Herbe

Hmm.... this seems like something I could probably help with. The school I teach at currently is a French/English bilingual international preK-8 school, and we're a member of the association for such schools in North America ( FISNA ). I have always wondered if this would be a good network for quizb...
by alexdz
Mon May 03, 2021 8:45 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Using Carl-Bot to Assign People to Teams for Discord Tournaments
Replies: 3
Views: 3826

Re: Using Carl-Bot to Assign People to Teams for Discord Tournaments

I strongly urge against making pronoun roles mandatory. Emphasis in the quote added by me. I just want to echo this, as I actually read it wrong the first time and worry others may do the same. Please definitely do not make pronoun labels a mandatory part of however you choose to use them publicly....
by alexdz
Sun May 02, 2021 4:05 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: HSNCT and its Problems
Replies: 30
Views: 16294

Re: HSNCT and its Problems

Not necessarily related to HSNCT directly, but coaches and players better make sure their internet doesn't drop out in the middle of a tossup, especially on Sunday playoffs! NAQT will not be flexible with their online rules (https://www.naqt.com/online/technical-problems.jsp) and will allow a phant...
by alexdz
Fri Apr 23, 2021 12:36 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: The Quizbowl Packet Archive DESPERATELY needs an overhaul.
Replies: 11
Views: 5950

Re: The Quizbowl Packet Archive DESPERATELY needs an overhaul.

Perhaps the "quality" column could be more like "Highly recommended or recommended?" -- basically, the database would be neutral to most submissions, and a select few could be marked as either recommended or highly recommended for new teams.
by alexdz
Tue Mar 23, 2021 12:25 pm
Forum: Middle school area archives
Topic: Bay Area April Middle School Tournament (April 10)
Replies: 2
Views: 4356

Re: Bay Area April Middle School Tournament (April 10)

Can you clarify the date of this event? Your post here says April 10 but the NAQT site has it on April 24.

[[EDIT: Turns out April 10th is correct, but now the issue is just the wrong NAQT link.]]
by alexdz
Sat Mar 13, 2021 5:10 pm
Forum: Middle school area archives
Topic: Pennsylvania MS Tournament Online (3/13)
Replies: 4
Views: 7102

Re: Pennsylvania MS Tournament Online (3/13)

Big kudos to everyone who organized, staffed, and played this tournament. It was great to see so many young people with so much knowledge. Every team had some clutch buzzes and dove really deep on a few bonuses! Perhaps one of these days a French language tournament would be doable... but for now, w...
by alexdz
Fri Mar 12, 2021 10:10 pm
Forum: Middle school area archives
Topic: Pennsylvania MS Tournament Online (3/13)
Replies: 4
Views: 7102

Re: Pennsylvania MS Tournament Online (3/13)

Just wanted to say my students are *very excited* to have this opportunity tomorrow, so I want to thank everyone in advance for all their hard work. We can't wait to make our debut performance at this event and see what the MS teams of PA have to show off!
by alexdz
Wed Mar 10, 2021 11:47 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: HSNCT and its Problems
Replies: 30
Views: 16294

Re: HSNCT and its Problems

...the fact that a school is sending 8 teams to a NATIONAL tournament capped at 128 teams... I want to build on this with some additional nuance. Of course, presumably this school was able to qualify 8 teams for the tournament, which is an awesome accomplishment. These students certainly earned a s...
by alexdz
Mon Jan 18, 2021 11:20 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Announcement: MIKE (Online, Asynchronous Audio Tournament)--February 8-13, 2021
Replies: 15
Views: 7184

Re: Announcement: MIKE (Online, Asynchronous Audio Tournament)--February 8-13, 2021

Dominator wrote: Mon Jan 18, 2021 9:53 pm When someone pays for the event, they get a registration code. Each player on the team then enters that code on their Qblitz home page to get added to the team.
That's the missing piece! Thanks for clarifying!
by alexdz
Mon Jan 18, 2021 8:58 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Announcement: MIKE (Online, Asynchronous Audio Tournament)--February 8-13, 2021
Replies: 15
Views: 7184

Re: Announcement: MIKE (Online, Asynchronous Audio Tournament)--February 8-13, 2021

I'm happy to Venmo my teammate for that part of the logistics. But when my teammate signed up, they said there was no spot to register my name or anything... so I guess I'm confused as to how I'll actually have access to the games if I never "sign up" for the contest on Qblitz since my tea...
by alexdz
Mon Jan 18, 2021 7:27 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Announcement: MIKE (Online, Asynchronous Audio Tournament)--February 8-13, 2021
Replies: 15
Views: 7184

Re: Announcement: MIKE (Online, Asynchronous Audio Tournament)--February 8-13, 2021

So, the original announcement lists that the tournament will cost $12 per player. When you log in to Qblitz to sign up, the only option is to register a "team" which costs $24. The math, of course, works out, but how do we sign up as just individuals to pay our portion of the entry fee?
by alexdz
Mon Dec 28, 2020 3:35 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Best Song of the 1980s Bracket [FINALS, SUBMIT BY 1/5]
Replies: 420
Views: 2144482

Re: Best Song of the 1980s Bracket [QUARTERFINALS, SUBMIT BY 12/30]

BRACKET LEFT 5 Tracy Chapman, "Fast Car" vs. 7 Dexy's Midnight Runners, "Come on Eileen" 16 Pixies, "Where is My Mind?" vs. 3 Prince, "When Doves Cry" BRACKET RIGHT 1 Michael Jackson, "Billie Jean" vs. 6 Joy Division, "Love Will Tear Us Apart&qu...
by alexdz
Mon Dec 07, 2020 4:41 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Best Song of the 1980s Bracket [FINALS, SUBMIT BY 1/5]
Replies: 420
Views: 2144482

Re: Best Song of the 1980s Bracket [ROUND ONE, PART THREE: SUBMIT BY 12/9]

1 Michael Jackson,"Billie Jean" vs. 16 Billy Bragg, "A New England" 8 Metallica, "Master of Puppets" vs. 9 David Bowie, "Modern Love" 5 U2, "With or Without You" vs. 12 Def Leppard, "Photograph" 4 The Police, "Every Breath You Take&qu...
by alexdz
Fri Nov 20, 2020 6:39 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Best Song of the 1980s Bracket [FINALS, SUBMIT BY 1/5]
Replies: 420
Views: 2144482

Re: Best Song of the 1980s Bracket [WILD CARD ROUND TWO; SUBMIT BY 11/21]

9A/9B: AC/DC, "Back in Black" vs. Eurythmics, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" 10A/10B: Tears for Fears, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" vs. The Police, "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" 11A/11B: Culture Club, "Karma Chameleon" vs. Marvin G...
by alexdz
Fri Aug 28, 2020 2:26 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: An idea for a "tournament" structure for the online semester
Replies: 1
Views: 1079

Re: An idea for a "tournament" structure for the online semester

Several small local events in Missouri are essentially doing exactly this. I'm not actively there anymore so I don't know a lot of details about how it's being organized, but the spirit is the same -- get through several packets over the course of a week or so, a few each night, and crown a winner b...
by alexdz
Fri Jul 17, 2020 6:07 pm
Forum: Community Discussion
Topic: On HS Teams Without Coaches
Replies: 68
Views: 48437

Re: On HS Teams Without Coaches

For as many downsides as there can often be to having quizbowl be an official activity for some statewide organization (EDIT: like a state activities association, not just a quizbowl group) , one of its biggest benefits is that it is more likely that coaches (at least head coaches) are paid, which m...
by alexdz
Fri Jul 17, 2020 11:18 am
Forum: Community Discussion
Topic: On HS Teams Without Coaches
Replies: 68
Views: 48437

Re: On HS Teams Without Coaches

Yeah, one adult supervisor hiding in a classroom is nowhere near the appropriate level of adult supervision for that many middle schoolers. That's horrifying to me, both as an educator and as a reasonable adult person. I don't know what your school experience was like, Rohan, but I've been a teacher...
by alexdz
Thu Jul 16, 2020 12:49 pm
Forum: Community Discussion
Topic: It can happen to anyone (TW: Assault)
Replies: 3
Views: 7280

Re: It can happen to anyone (TW: Assault)

This serves as a reminder that no one is completely immune from unwanted sexual/romantic attention. Like women, LGBTQ+ folks also show statistically higher rates.
by alexdz
Thu Jul 16, 2020 12:00 pm
Forum: Community Discussion
Topic: On HS Teams Without Coaches
Replies: 68
Views: 48437

Re: On HS Teams Without Coaches

I'm curious as to why "school approval" would be a necessary precursor for attendance... I've brought this up before in this thread, but for tournaments hosted at K-12 schools, I would have a hard time believing that the host school's administration would be OK with a group of students fr...
by alexdz
Thu Jul 16, 2020 11:40 am
Forum: Community Discussion
Topic: On HS Teams Without Coaches
Replies: 68
Views: 48437

Re: On HS Teams Without Coaches

Coaching resources a big topic of discussion for us at the Missouri Quizbowl Alliance at our meeting this weekend. We'd really like to offer some training sessions for coaches (of all levels of experience) that would be accessible virtually. Local circuits are probably going to be more tied in to co...
by alexdz
Wed Jul 15, 2020 5:50 pm
Forum: Community Discussion
Topic: Resisting one-upmanship
Replies: 3
Views: 6120

Re: Resisting one-upmanship

I went to high school in the era just before good quizbowl happened in Missouri. My entire HS experience was largely on bad-to-mediocre questions, the kind where "learning" more was basically just binary association of title-author or achievement-president. I remember my first few practice...
by alexdz
Wed Jul 15, 2020 3:57 pm
Forum: Community Discussion
Topic: On HS Teams Without Coaches
Replies: 68
Views: 48437

Re: On HS Teams Without Coaches

And what is this adult for, anyway? To discipline the perpetrator? To blame when a student commits misconduct? To create a very clear chain of command for reporting and meting out discipline for any issues that may arise. Have a problem with a student on Team X? As soon as possible, speak with Team...
by alexdz
Wed Jul 15, 2020 1:25 pm
Forum: Community Discussion
Topic: On HS Teams Without Coaches
Replies: 68
Views: 48437

Re: On HS Teams Without Coaches

I completely agree that having some kind of adult whose presence is sanctioned by the school, be they an official coach or a volunteer school-sponsored chaperone, ought to be a requirement. As others have said, it turns a nebulous situation into one of more clarity -- should one witness a student do...
by alexdz
Tue Jul 14, 2020 5:50 pm
Forum: Community Discussion
Topic: Y'all need to pay attention to your own community
Replies: 51
Views: 64113

Re: Y'all need to pay attention to your own community

I would be willing to take a lead role in developing a free online training module (or more than one) and helping to manage a database of those who completed it. While I agree that it isn't the be-all-end-all of this situation, it is a concrete place to start and building it can help us as a communi...
by alexdz
Tue Jun 30, 2020 12:47 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: How do I study for quizbowl in a fun way?
Replies: 8
Views: 4474

Re: How do I study for quizbowl in a fun way?

Something you can consider, that would also help your teammates, is to do little mini-research adventures on topics you discover. So say, for example, you find out about a mythological figure you want to learn more about. Instead of just reading an article about them on your own, put together a slid...
by alexdz
Sun Jun 28, 2020 5:46 pm
Forum: National and Regional Comparisons and Discussion
Topic: On the Abundance of High School Sets During the Pandemic [And Its Problems]
Replies: 13
Views: 10841

Re: On the Abundance of High School Sets During the Pandemic [And Its Problems]

I do agree with mostly everything in this post. However looking back at my middle school years I think it would be nice if some schools and experienced writers could team up to write an mACF style MS set to bring more middle schools that cannot afford hosting a tournament based on MS series into th...
by alexdz
Sun Jun 07, 2020 11:58 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Trash Questions in College Sets
Replies: 19
Views: 6138

Re: Trash Questions in College Sets

What about taking the "current events" space and creating subcategories just like we have elsewhere. You could have "government/politics/economy" and "popular culture" subdistributions within current events.