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by Important Bird Area
Thu Nov 05, 2009 1:58 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: What should I tell an ACUI person?
Replies: 27
Views: 3990

Re: What should I tell an ACUI person?

nalin wrote:Regardless, NAQT will attract a lot more schools than college bowl, unless it's some watered down product (aka an IS set).
Rest assured that we have no intention of replacing SCT with IS sets.
by Important Bird Area
Wed Nov 04, 2009 7:40 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: The lost art of good teams getting easy tossups early
Replies: 17
Views: 6978

Re: The lost art of good teams getting easy tossups early

No one ever posts about questions that are bad because no one could possibly buzz in the first 4 lines, so that sort of behavior goes uncriticized I'd like to follow up on this by noting that it's actually very hard to make this sort of criticism with authority. It's quite easy for (say) a mediocre...
by Important Bird Area
Wed Nov 04, 2009 1:43 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: The lost art of good teams getting easy tossups early
Replies: 17
Views: 6978

Re: The lost art of good teams getting easy tossups early

Matt's post is essential reading for everyone who plans to write for college quizbowl in the future. Well done. Sorry, but in practice, if you write a packet full of six-line tossups on "core subjects" to be played in a room with Chicago A facing Minnesota A - the battlefield is gonna be p...
by Important Bird Area
Tue Nov 03, 2009 10:59 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: What should I tell an ACUI person?
Replies: 27
Views: 3990

Re: What should I tell an ACUI person?

ACUI wanted NAQT to move SCT to that date [February 20th], but since the contract only just got signed, that didn't happen. I'm assuming this was a minority opinion somewhere within ACUI, perhaps only at the local level. We have not been asked to move the 2010 SCT date, nor would we. (Because that ...
by Important Bird Area
Tue Nov 03, 2009 10:53 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: NAQT's agreement with ACUI
Replies: 242
Views: 66422

NAQT's agreement with ACUI

I'd like to go ahead and announce that NAQT has signed a partnership agreement with ACUI. Some of the details are still being negotiated; this thread is a placeholder until we can make those details public. (I hope that will happen in the very near future.) I'm preparing a draft FAQ document on the ...
by Important Bird Area
Tue Nov 03, 2009 10:41 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: What should I tell an ACUI person?
Replies: 27
Views: 3990

Re: What should I tell an ACUI person?

- ACUI has indeed recently signed a contract with NAQT. ... Apparently they're still working this all out, and additional information is supposedly forthcoming. I'll go ahead and confirm both of these statements from our end. I'll post a new thread in just a second. So does that mean that the ACUI ...
by Important Bird Area
Tue Nov 03, 2009 1:12 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Canceled: GUERRILLA II - West Chester, PA - 12/19/09
Replies: 30
Views: 6281

Re: GUERRILLA II - West Chester, PA - Holidays 2009

Ok, I am going to officially set the date of this tournament as Saturday, December 19th. We are going to do this in person in West Chester, assuming we get enough people to show up (5 teams is probably the minimum here). Please let me know if you're able to come to the main site. If you want to mir...
by Important Bird Area
Mon Nov 02, 2009 5:02 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: List places you'd like to see the 2011 HSNCT
Replies: 127
Views: 26151

Re: List places you'd like to see the 2011 HSNCT

this may be less of a factor among high school teams whose coaches often rent cars anyway, and NAQT has held HSNCT in places without great public transportation before (Austin, Myrtle Beach). We would very much like to avoid making people rent cars if at all possible. Therefore: it is a safe bet th...
by Important Bird Area
Sat Oct 31, 2009 1:44 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: List places you'd like to see the 2011 HSNCT
Replies: 127
Views: 26151

List places you'd like to see the 2011 HSNCT

Quoting Dwight's post that got buried at the bottom of the other thread: It may be productive to [start a new thread with] a "list of places you'd like to see 2011 HSNCT;" people in those areas could then possible approach reasonable sites in those places about the possibility of bidding f...
by Important Bird Area
Sat Oct 31, 2009 1:39 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: NAQT host call?
Replies: 22
Views: 4573

Re: NAQT host call?

mlaird wrote:I heard from someone who may or may not work for NAQT that you should probably book tickets to Chicago again.
It's true, and we now have a page up on naqt.com with the details. Thanks for your patience, everyone.
by Important Bird Area
Sat Oct 31, 2009 1:36 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2010 NAQT HSNCT
Replies: 228
Views: 45637

2010 NAQT HSNCT

NAQT is pleased to announce that its 2010 High School National Championship Tournament will be held at Chicago's Hyatt Regency O'Hare hotel and the adjoining Donald E. Stephens Convention Center on Memorial Day weekend, May 28-30, 2010. This is the same hotel as last year. Date: May 28-30, 2010 (Fr...
by Important Bird Area
Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:14 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: CaTO/TaCO Discussion
Replies: 84
Views: 13547

Re: CaTO/TaCO Discussion

Ukonvasara wrote:
Matt Weiner wrote:I am told that files of gross questions may exist, and may be posted if people actually have interest/use for such things.
That'd still be appreciated.
Here's the history I wrote for this event.
by Important Bird Area
Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:04 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Conferring on Tossups
Replies: 46
Views: 6743

Re: Conferring on Tossups

I've played conferring formats as well, and I never had an issue with anyone talking over the moderator during a tossup, nor did I see people buzzing madly and hoping someone could pull the answer. Depends on the conferring format. One of the high school formats I played allowed tossup conferral be...
by Important Bird Area
Wed Oct 28, 2009 11:41 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Greenville Tournament Format Discussion
Replies: 38
Views: 7317

Re: Greenville Tournament Format Discussion

Bad Boy Bill wrote:This viewpoint does not preclude offering standard quizbowl to those areas to see if there are interested teams. I recently offered to help set up a tournament in the Lancaster area and am waiting to hear back from a coach.
Please let me know if there's anything I can do to help out with this.
by Important Bird Area
Tue Oct 27, 2009 11:22 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: discussion of novice tournaments
Replies: 49
Views: 15955

Re: discussion of novice tournaments

The abolition of comp tossups will help the conversion rates a bit:

2009 HSNCT (less computational tossups):

75% conversion

14.5% of correct buzzes for power
by Important Bird Area
Tue Oct 27, 2009 10:31 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: NAQT IS Sets 86 and 88 Commentary (w/o answers)
Replies: 14
Views: 3149

Re: NAQT IS Sets 86 and 88 Commentary (w/o answers)

That is "shaped like the Eiffel tower" instead of a "pyramid" (because the middle clues aren't buzzable by most teams).
by Important Bird Area
Tue Oct 27, 2009 10:26 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: discussion of novice tournaments
Replies: 49
Views: 15955

Re: discussion of novice tournaments

The other thing, though, is that HSNCT has probably gotten harder since it's written for the best high school teams, which are often not novice teams in any plausible sense of the word. (At least) Three factors to sort out here: 1. Are the questions getting harder? (maybe) 2. Are the teams getting ...
by Important Bird Area
Tue Oct 27, 2009 5:17 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Greenville Tournament Format Discussion
Replies: 38
Views: 7317

Re: Greenville Tournament Format Discussion

Most of the bonuses in a A-series set are converted from one of our tv sets, and the tv sets do require that the hard part of the bonus should always be part C (and that all bonuses are exactly three parts). So, the results won't be as random as you would get by, say, arbitrarily removing part C. fr...
by Important Bird Area
Tue Oct 27, 2009 1:41 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: discussion of novice tournaments
Replies: 49
Views: 15955

Re: discussion of novice tournaments

I remember raising my eyebrows in the playoffs of the 09 HSNCT when I realized they had tossed up the pearl fishers Converted in 6 out of the 9 rooms that heard it, too. Which is actually quite acceptable, all things considered (but this would have been clearly too hard for the whole field had it s...
by Important Bird Area
Tue Oct 27, 2009 1:11 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: NAQT IS Sets 86 and 88 Commentary (w/o answers)
Replies: 14
Views: 3149

Re: NAQT IS Sets 86 and 88 Commentary (w/o answers)

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. I certainly agree with the general trend, that slightly easing up on the difficulty will result in a more enjoyable experience for all teams. I think the right solution is to specifically target the middle clues in tossups and the middle parts of bonuses. As always...
by Important Bird Area
Wed Oct 21, 2009 6:41 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Writing and editing models
Replies: 6
Views: 1165

Re: Writing and editing models

With large numbers of writers, on the other hand, you are faced with the problem of having to keep track of all of them and crack the whip on anyone who doesn't do their work. I don't see how this imposes enough costs on NAQT to describe it as a "mistake" that we should fix. In particular...
by Important Bird Area
Wed Oct 21, 2009 2:22 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: A Reasonable Theory of Bonus Consistency
Replies: 23
Views: 7411

Re: A Reasonable Theory of Bonus Consistency

I would love to see someone explain to me, since I know lots of you feel this way, why some of the best teams assembled in the history of quizbowl can't average 23 or 24 ppb on the hardest sets. What's wrong with something like this happening? You've got plenty of room to ensure differentiation amo...
by Important Bird Area
Tue Oct 20, 2009 6:01 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Choosing helpful clues for mythology tossups
Replies: 31
Views: 5954

Re: Choosing helpful clues for mythology tossups

Could you point me towards some good anthropological texts that cover Basque and/or Australian myth? So, because I was curious and I happened to be in the library after class reading this post, I thought I'd go and find some. I just checked out a copy of this , which looks amazing (well, ok, there'...
by Important Bird Area
Tue Oct 20, 2009 5:37 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Choosing helpful clues for mythology tossups
Replies: 31
Views: 5954

Re: Choosing helpful clues for mythology tossups

I think that most websites, and the packet archive as a whole, are dubious sources. Most websites are dubious sources. The packet archive is not a source . Seriously, writing questions using previous questions as "research" for substantive clues (and not, say, "how canonical is this?...
by Important Bird Area
Tue Oct 20, 2009 1:16 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Collaborative Middle School Tournament: Writer Signup
Replies: 28
Views: 6370

Re: Collaborative Middle School Tournament: Writer Signup

Pencil me in for 10/10 history and/or geography, contingent on IS #91A being in decent shape by the beginning of December. (I'll give as much warning as I can if it isn't.)
by Important Bird Area
Tue Oct 20, 2009 12:01 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Bettendorf Novice and Varsity 10/10/09 (IA) DATE CHANGE
Replies: 7
Views: 2405

Re: Bettendorf Novice and Varsity 10/10/09 (IA) DATE CHANGE

gack1224 wrote:There were a few dubious questions in ... 87A, but I haven't gotten around to noting those to anyone who's in charge.
Please do send me a note and we'll double-check them.
by Important Bird Area
Sun Oct 18, 2009 6:28 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: DAFT 2009 Discussion - Set Cleared
Replies: 89
Views: 34061

Re: DAFT 2009 Discussion

I can't find anything Huffington-related in IS #81.
by Important Bird Area
Sun Oct 18, 2009 6:26 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: THUNDER mirror at UCI?
Replies: 9
Views: 1795

Re: THUNDER mirror at UCI?

r.g.anderson wrote:Whatever weekend WIT decides to happen (that would be either Nov. 14th or 21st)
That will be the 14th.
by Important Bird Area
Sun Oct 18, 2009 1:57 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: DAFT 2009 Discussion - Set Cleared
Replies: 89
Views: 34061

Re: DAFT 2009 Discussion

I'm thinking NAQT used a quote from "The Huffington Post" as a clue last year, although I don't remember it too well and it may have been OK in context. C. Rosen is now a blogger at this left-wing website founded by a Greek-American who once ran for governor of California. answer: _Huffin...
by Important Bird Area
Sun Oct 18, 2009 12:48 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: U of L Arts & Sciences Academic Challenge 10/17/09
Replies: 37
Views: 7844

Re: U of L Arts & Sciences Academic Challenge 10/17/09

One small question I would like to ask is why you guys don't take similar/just equally correct/taken every where else/ answers. I am talking about several questions, but especially one in the final where I gave a similar/just equally correct/taken every where else/ answer but was negged. Please sen...
by Important Bird Area
Sat Oct 17, 2009 7:23 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: U of L Arts & Sciences Academic Challenge 10/17/09
Replies: 37
Views: 7844

Re: U of L Arts & Sciences Academic Challenge 10/17/09

I recognized the description, and buzzed in giving the name of the opera as my answer. It was counted incorrect and the question continued but changed topic slightly. Not a ton we can do about this in public without the questions clear; I just sent you email asking for the details so we can get thi...
by Important Bird Area
Fri Oct 16, 2009 7:42 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Writing and editing models
Replies: 6
Views: 1165

Writing and editing models

Breaking this out to a new thread because I didn't want to hijack the HSAPQ thread. What I do suspect is that any model of writing that relies on constant submissions from college students is going to be wildly unreliable. As a rule, good tournaments are put together by a small, dedicated cadre of g...
by Important Bird Area
Wed Oct 14, 2009 8:19 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Attention must be paid
Replies: 55
Views: 15924

Re: Attention must be paid

It kind of surprises me how many of these errors are direct application of the NAQT style guide. Most of these things don't really carry meaning (I don't wish to have an argument about whether brackets or parentheses make for better quizbowl), but this case is kind of interesting: Those are the only...
by Important Bird Area
Tue Oct 13, 2009 3:29 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Terrapin Invitiational Tournament (11/14/09) at Maryland
Replies: 48
Views: 31965

Re: Terrapin Invitiational Tournament (11/14/09) at Maryland

Bentley Like Beckham wrote:Assuming that the Berkeley mirror is also being run as an open tournament
It sure is.
by Important Bird Area
Mon Oct 12, 2009 5:40 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Global Announcement for ACF Fall 2009 (Weekend of 10/31)
Replies: 42
Views: 28091

Re: Global Announcement for ACF Fall 2009 (Weekend of 10/31)

We can discuss this somewhere else if you'd like, but in my experience it would be a bad idea. I have to agree with this; it's perfectly fine to take two packets that are mediocre and merge them into one good packet. Also, with 26 packets submitted at a relatively low level of difficulty, there are...
by Important Bird Area
Mon Oct 12, 2009 3:28 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: NAQT and balancing by set vs. balancing by round
Replies: 8
Views: 2219

NAQT and balancing by set vs. balancing by round

Doesn't NAQT balance by the entire set and not by the individual round? Starting a new thread to remind everyone that NAQT *does* balance individual rounds to the best of our ability. Yes, the top-level distribution is set per-tournament and not per-round (because we don't do packet submission). Ye...
by Important Bird Area
Mon Oct 12, 2009 3:17 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: North Georgia Academic Team Tournament (Postponed)
Replies: 33
Views: 7482

Re: North Georgia Academic Team Tournament (Jan 9, 2010)

it could happen that 1-2 math comp, 1-2 trash, and 1-2 current events tossups all come up in the first 16, while the last 4 tossups could be more academic in nature. Yes, this could certainly happen to an individual round (although note that starting this fall we've switched to 1/1 math comp for IS...
by Important Bird Area
Sun Oct 11, 2009 10:09 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: North Georgia Academic Team Tournament (Postponed)
Replies: 33
Views: 7482

Re: North Georgia Academic Team Tournament (Jan 9, 2010)

What if it's a three-mathcomp packet and each is in the first sixteen? There is presently no such thing as a three-mathcomp packet; the IS-86 rounds have one comp tossup each. Last year's HSNCT varied between 1 and 2 comp tossups per round. I guess it's possible that some past NAQT packet had three...
by Important Bird Area
Sat Oct 10, 2009 12:37 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Canceled: GUERRILLA II - West Chester, PA - 12/19/09
Replies: 30
Views: 6281

Re: GUERRILLA II - West Chester, PA - Holidays 2009

If I'm free to play quizbowl on whatever date this ends up happening, I'd be glad to contribute to a packet. (I'd be looking for teammates, because "completely guerrilla" shouldn't equal "hilariously awful science writing".)
by Important Bird Area
Thu Oct 08, 2009 6:43 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: EFT Discussion
Replies: 186
Views: 27922

Re: EFT Discussion

Captain Sinico wrote:So, answer with "people," "mammals," "animals," or maybe even "colors."
"Entities." Then demand to be prompted. (Seriously, don't do this.)
by Important Bird Area
Wed Oct 07, 2009 7:50 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: EFT Discussion
Replies: 186
Views: 27922

Re: EFT Discussion

Thus, the GHK equation has been rapidly accelerated down the difficulty ladder over the past few years, and I suspect it is entirely because it comes up as a clue or bonus part in practically every Nernst equation question since its introduction to the canon. Just to back this up: GHK appears three...
by Important Bird Area
Tue Oct 06, 2009 5:30 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Princeton High School Academic Tournament 10/03/09- Results
Replies: 54
Views: 19373

Re: Princeton High School Academic Tournament 10/03/09- Results

NAQT seems to have shaped up a bit, as there were fewer howlers (although I was annoyed to see a 5x5 list bonus). Please send me details of anything you think was howlerish enough to fix for the next event that uses this set. urgh McCosh is a pain to navigate Some things about Princeton tournaments...
by Important Bird Area
Mon Oct 05, 2009 3:23 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Trash in Academic Tournaments
Replies: 36
Views: 6505

Re: Trash in Academic Tournaments

theMoMA wrote:writing eight tossups on 1990s Montreal Expos players in one tournament
You laugh now. But somewhere out there, someone just found the last piece of the puzzle for their vanity tournament.
by Important Bird Area
Mon Oct 05, 2009 3:00 pm
Forum: College area archives
Topic: Trash in Academic Tournaments
Replies: 36
Views: 6505

Re: Trash in Academic Tournaments

should there be a trash subdistribution within academic tournaments? We don't really have any established criteria? Yes, I think this is just like subdistribution within academic categories. Sure, it's possible to skirt this by saying "there will be no trash whatsoever," but even if you h...
by Important Bird Area
Mon Oct 05, 2009 12:57 am
Forum: College area archives
Topic: EFT Discussion
Replies: 186
Views: 27922

Re: EFT Discussion

Wife of Bath's tale is one of the most famous Canterbury Tales and is read in many high schools and certainly intro British Lit classes. While not every tale is fair game, this one should be. I agree with this. If you want to conflate the prologue and the tale into a single tossup, isn't the right ...
by Important Bird Area
Sat Oct 03, 2009 3:37 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Announcement: Fall Novice Mirror at Whitman
Replies: 52
Views: 12418

Re: Announcement: Fall Novice Mirror at Whitman

dlfmom wrote: Is this an appropriate tournament for them to gain experience?
Absolutely. And welcome to the forum.
by Important Bird Area
Fri Oct 02, 2009 3:19 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Purpose of Quizbowl
Replies: 6
Views: 1236

Re: Purpose of Quizbowl

I'm skeptical about drawing bright lines between "academic knowledge" and "cultural literacy." (I think geography is academic, and that current events should be academic.) Anyway: my own view is that rewarding "academic knowledge" is the primary purpose of quizbowl, tha...
by Important Bird Area
Fri Oct 02, 2009 2:22 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Purpose of Quizbowl
Replies: 6
Views: 1236

Re: Purpose of Quizbowl

Isn't this going to generate muddled results re: fine arts, social science, world history and other subjects less often taught at the high school level?
by Important Bird Area
Wed Sep 30, 2009 10:51 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Proposition: Get Rid of Trash
Replies: 108
Views: 16144

Re: Proposition: Get Rid of Trash

But what I HATE are trash clues in academic tossups. To me it felt like there were quite a few that I heard at this year's HSNCT. I can remember one question in particular about Baltimore that included all clues referencing TV Shows and Movies set in the city. If I had the set in front of me, I'd d...
by Important Bird Area
Wed Sep 30, 2009 7:43 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Proposition: Get Rid of Trash
Replies: 108
Views: 16144

Re: Proposition: Get Rid of Trash

Inkana7 wrote:But what I HATE are trash clues in academic tossups. I'm looking at you, NAQT.
Our current policy is to discourage these; I don't believe they are present in significant numbers. (cf. this thread wherein I re-read all of IS #76 and found a total of two such clues.)