Search found 3161 matches

by Stained Diviner
Sun Jun 04, 2006 12:23 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2006 NAQT HSNCT
Replies: 309
Views: 144944

First Round. They're in seed order from 1 vs 48 to 24 vs 25. I asterisked the upsets. (That is, the second team beat the first team.) Grosse Point North v Parkview, Montgomery v Lafayette, State College A v Apollo, Walker A v Pensacola, DCC v Columbus A, Santa Monica v New Trier, Shady Side v San Di...
by Stained Diviner
Sun Jun 04, 2006 6:30 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Toward a True National Organization...
Replies: 159
Views: 70985

It was positive--there were a lot of great people there. The general consensus was to focus on growing the activity rather than focus on defining what is good and what is bad. The four areas people wanted to work on were increasing the number of tournaments and teams, increasing the amount of commun...
by Stained Diviner
Sun Jun 04, 2006 5:33 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2006 NAQT HSNCT
Replies: 309
Views: 144944

New Trier was the only Illinois team to survive, winning its last three after starting 3-4. Loyola and Stevenson both went 5-5.
by Stained Diviner
Fri Jun 02, 2006 9:42 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: QU-The field in Chicago
Replies: 144
Views: 65702

To Mr. Weiner and Mr. Frankel: Thanks for the evidence. I always wondered whether it was a matter of questions that sounded similar or questions that were obviously stolen--now I know. To Mr. Dillon: You are welcome to attend the meeting I am leading tomorrow night. To Mr. Egan: I think that UTC is ...
by Stained Diviner
Thu Jun 01, 2006 5:15 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: QU-The field in Chicago
Replies: 144
Views: 65702

I have heard the plagiarism charge leveled several times before. To what extent is it documented? To what extent did it happen? Is somebody an expert on this topic?
by Stained Diviner
Wed May 31, 2006 5:01 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 05-06
Replies: 742
Views: 308160

Dr. Chuck's offer is a kind one. I'll mention it on the IHSSBCA homepage if he doesn't mind. 10/14 and 11/4 might work even though they are SAT dates.
by Stained Diviner
Wed May 31, 2006 9:10 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 05-06
Replies: 742
Views: 308160

I don't think there is much that U of I can do to improve either date. My guess is that the two dates being discussed for Earlybird would draw the same number of teams. The fact that their Solo Tournament conflicts with a tournament that draws on average one Illinois team per year (breaking their pr...
by Stained Diviner
Tue May 30, 2006 10:02 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: HSNCT Question
Replies: 9
Views: 5297

Last year, the first five matches were set up so that the winner from one match would play the winner from another match for the first five rounds. It was not swiss pairing, but it was a form of power pairing. It meant that there were no pauses at all between rounds to tally scores or anything like ...
by Stained Diviner
Mon May 29, 2006 11:32 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Toward a True National Organization...
Replies: 159
Views: 70985

Mr. Bykowski is now properly listed. The evite is a good idea, but by the time I got all the email adresses, via NAQT or a lot of web research, it would be very late. I would be sure to get lots of nonresponses. I also think that for many students, their decision to attend the meeting will be based ...
by Stained Diviner
Sun May 28, 2006 7:30 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Toward a True National Organization...
Replies: 159
Views: 70985

Thanks, Rick. The document is a work in progress, and I just made two additions thanks to you. Leaving out Carlotta's name just goes to prove how little I know about promoting women! Your support is great because you are one of a very small number of coaches known and respected in more than just you...
by Stained Diviner
Fri May 26, 2006 5:33 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Toward a True National Organization...
Replies: 159
Views: 70985

I agree that it would be better if more teams at PAC were true All-Star Teams, with students from all teams having a chance to try out. Like many issues that have come up before, this is one where it might not be wise for outsiders to tell states the right way to do things. However, if there was mor...
by Stained Diviner
Fri May 26, 2006 4:09 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Toward a True National Organization...
Replies: 159
Views: 70985

I have posted a draft of the handout for the meeting here. I would love to get as much free advice as possible. I plan on printing and copying one week from today.

I apologize for the format--it's designed for paper rather than the web, and it's just a draft.
by Stained Diviner
Thu May 25, 2006 4:33 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Discussion on why short tossups are terrible
Replies: 38
Views: 17501

Occasionally, when it's a day with half my class not there or a worthless day like the day before Winter Break, I will bring some quiz bowl questions in to my regular classes. When I do so, I bring in short questions because the students have a lot more fun. There is no expectation that students in ...
by Stained Diviner
Wed May 24, 2006 6:56 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: ASCN NATIONALS CANCELLED!
Replies: 28
Views: 15687

As far as ASCN, it is hard to imagine any team registering after what happened this year. As far as their website, it goes up and down all the time. I would normally say it's classless to take down your website rather than use it to help spread the word of the cancellation, but it might be down for ...
by Stained Diviner
Fri May 19, 2006 7:57 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Panasonic Representatives and All-State Teams
Replies: 33
Views: 16830

Illinois finished a close third last year after getting whupped in the first match by Virginia.
by Stained Diviner
Thu May 18, 2006 11:10 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Discussion on why short tossups are terrible
Replies: 38
Views: 17501

Dr. Chuck is right on this one. A few other points to add to this discussion... The first group to push for pyramidal questions in Illinois was from Decatur, and there are plenty of coaches in the Chicago suburbs resistant to change. Additionally, there are plenty of poor question writers who have n...
by Stained Diviner
Wed May 17, 2006 11:10 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Aegis Questions
Replies: 20
Views: 9873

The IHSA Advisory Committee has recommended the following new Term/Condition: For non-computational toss-ups, the preferred style is multi-clue, starting with a more challenging clue and ending with a clue that most teams should reasonably be expected to answer correctly. Buzzer-beater questions th...
by Stained Diviner
Sat May 13, 2006 10:40 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Tournaments Run by College Teams
Replies: 7
Views: 4020

A rule of thumb I used to have was that college tournaments had better questions and high school tournaments had better logistics. The three college tournaments we went to this year, however, were very well run. I'll have to devise a new theory.
by Stained Diviner
Wed May 10, 2006 2:11 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2006 PACE NSC info thread
Replies: 93
Views: 43335

DumbJaques-- You're assuming a simplistic version of power matching. If a team wins its first three and then loses its next one, good power matching will put it against a team that lost one of its earlier matches and won three rather than a team that had the same results in the same order. None of t...
by Stained Diviner
Wed May 10, 2006 12:23 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Qualification for HSNCT or other large nationals
Replies: 16
Views: 7981

I'm not quite sure what the issue with the current qualification procedures are; they seem to work reasonably well at the moment. What are the current major objections to the system? The reason to object to the current system is that more than the allowed number of teams qualified and that whether ...
by Stained Diviner
Tue May 09, 2006 12:44 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Qualification for HSNCT or other large nationals
Replies: 16
Views: 7981

I voted to keep things as is because it's closer to my opinion than the other choices. I don't think that NAQT or anybody else saw this problem coming because 'too many teams' has never been near a problem for a national tournament before. They were shocked to get 96 teams last year and probably exp...
by Stained Diviner
Tue May 02, 2006 3:47 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: 2006 NAQT HSNCT
Replies: 309
Views: 144944

If anybody wants to add the Illinois schools, the ZIPs are Stevenson (60069), Loyola (60091), and New Trier (60093). All three are North of Chicago.
by Stained Diviner
Fri Apr 28, 2006 10:21 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Right but Wrong Answers
Replies: 16
Views: 7371

I cringe when I hear Pascal's Triangle questions, because they often lead to a discussion of whether the top row is the 0th row or the 1st row. At State, a question asked for the sine of 75 degrees. The answer on the page was (root(6)+root(2))/4, which is what you get from the angle addition formula...
by Stained Diviner
Thu Apr 27, 2006 11:46 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Toward a True National Organization...
Replies: 159
Views: 70985

Romero-- What you describe is in fact what we in Illinois are doing. I began posting my Student vs. Faculty matches on the internet many years ago because there were no other questions other than one free sample round many companies offer which, I can promise you, are generally significantly worse t...
by Stained Diviner
Thu Apr 27, 2006 11:22 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Discuss Reinstein's Questions Here
Replies: 10
Views: 4947

Thanks--maybe beginning with interrogatives is something I should stop doing, or at least do less often. I am familiar with the problem sometimes coming up of not being sure whether the moderator is done or taking a short pause, and I may be making this problem more common than it needs to be. The i...
by Stained Diviner
Thu Apr 27, 2006 9:34 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Discuss Reinstein's Questions Here
Replies: 10
Views: 4947

I don't agree that it is bad form to follow a question with a sentence, but I can be influenced to change my mind if that is a general consensus. I do agree that flipping the sentences in this case would be an improvement because it is generally better to start with meat and end with fluff. An addit...
by Stained Diviner
Thu Apr 27, 2006 8:34 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Toward a True National Organization...
Replies: 159
Views: 70985

Improving question quality is an objective that will have to be worked on through several different fronts. The people who write decent questions need some good feedback and editing (which is hard to find, especially when the writers don't make enough money to share). The people who run tournaments ...
by Stained Diviner
Wed Apr 26, 2006 11:30 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Toward a True National Organization...
Replies: 159
Views: 70985

If you want to critique my questions, I would suggest that you focus on 2002 onward. I even started a new thread for you. I have written over 2000 questions that are posted on the internet, so I have no doubt that you will find some bad ones. I would probably enjoy and learn from the discussion even...
by Stained Diviner
Wed Apr 26, 2006 11:26 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Discuss Reinstein's Questions Here
Replies: 10
Views: 4947

Discuss Reinstein's Questions Here

This discussion was started here . What bandleader’s career was cut short when his plane disappeared over the English Channel in 1944? His band’s best-known songs were Tuxedo Junction, In the Mood, and Moonlight Serenade. I kind of stand by it. In the match where it was used, it was answered by ...
by Stained Diviner
Wed Apr 26, 2006 12:18 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Toward a True National Organization...
Replies: 159
Views: 70985

In response to Dr. Chuck--
I won't be at PACE, but I will be happy to pass along my notes/impressions to anybody who will be.
by Stained Diviner
Wed Apr 26, 2006 12:06 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Toward a True National Organization...
Replies: 159
Views: 70985

Romero--Those questions were dealt with to some extent in another thread. To give my own brief answer, I would say that a good question is one that differentiates knowledge on an important subject (though I'm OK with trivia making up about 5% of a match because I think that popular culture is a subj...
by Stained Diviner
Wed Apr 26, 2006 10:50 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Toward a True National Organization...
Replies: 159
Views: 70985

The meeting will be Saturday, June 3, 2006, from 7:00 to 8:30 in the O'Hare 1 ballroom.
It will take place after the preliminary rounds.
by Stained Diviner
Tue Apr 25, 2006 8:19 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Panasonic Representatives and All-State Teams
Replies: 33
Views: 16830

The All-State Teams for Illinois can be found here for small schools and here for large schools.
by Stained Diviner
Tue Apr 25, 2006 7:24 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Panasonic Representatives and All-State Teams
Replies: 33
Views: 16830

Team Illinois 2006 is Carlo Angiuli (New Trier), Greg Gauthier (Wheaton North), Tyler Kerr (Rockford Auburn), Matt McKenna (Loyola Academy), Justin Stoncius (Carbondale), and Kristina Warren (Bloomington). There is a wide geographical distribution and only two seniors. Tyler was on last year's team.
by Stained Diviner
Sun Apr 23, 2006 11:01 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Coaches' Workshops
Replies: 8
Views: 4455

We in Illinois would also like to hear what you in Georgia are offering.
by Stained Diviner
Fri Apr 21, 2006 5:03 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Coaches' Workshops
Replies: 8
Views: 4455

Here are the sessions we had in Illinois in 1997. We are hoping to have a similar event in 2007 or 2008. (If we had more money, we would be aiming for 2006 or 2007.) A. Understanding the IHSA Terms & Conditions B. Practice and Preparation Techniques C. Tips for First-Year Coaches D. Building Sch...
by Stained Diviner
Mon Apr 17, 2006 10:38 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Rating Vendors
Replies: 2
Views: 1970

All right, I'm curious.
by Stained Diviner
Mon Apr 17, 2006 4:46 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Rating Vendors
Replies: 2
Views: 1970

Rating Vendors

Does anybody have any ideas on how to set up a rating system of vendors, specifically sellers of buzzer systems and questions? Theoretically, it would also be possible to rate tournaments. I don't know how to post anything useful on the internet (laugh if you want), so I would also like to know if s...
by Stained Diviner
Thu Apr 13, 2006 3:47 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Bad Negs
Replies: 826
Views: 353923

Don't feel bad, Andy.

A few years ago, my team was asked to name the five Presidents buried West of the Mississippi River. One of our guesses was Gerald Ford. I explained that he probably will be buried East of the Mississippi at a more appropriate time.
by Stained Diviner
Wed Apr 12, 2006 11:44 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: NAQT vs. State Organization Tournaments
Replies: 12
Views: 5423

The situation is much more lopsided in Illinois than Alabama. The IHSA tournament has about 200 schools in the large school division and 300 schools in the small school division. It started in the mid-1980s. The Masonic Tournament, which started in the early 1980s, has about 200 schools in one divis...
by Stained Diviner
Tue Apr 11, 2006 1:34 pm
Forum: Best of the Best
Topic: Underwhelmed
Replies: 141
Views: 154076

Whatever
Edit: When the same people make the same complaints again next year, I will remember not to comment.
by Stained Diviner
Tue Apr 11, 2006 12:57 pm
Forum: Best of the Best
Topic: Underwhelmed
Replies: 141
Views: 154076

In my opinion, the complaints about protests are well-founded. If you make a protest, you should be allowed to make your case and get a response that makes some sense even if you don't entirely agree with it. The complaints about questions probably have some merits, but NAQT does get good people to ...
by Stained Diviner
Tue Apr 11, 2006 8:35 am
Forum: Best of the Best
Topic: Underwhelmed
Replies: 141
Views: 154076

In summary, here are the complaints against NAQT: the matches are too short, they use timed matches, the protest procedure is not transparent or correct, they changed the rooms, the brackets were uneven, a cell phone went off, there were too many buildings, it was raining, many of the questions were...
by Stained Diviner
Mon Apr 10, 2006 1:31 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: NAQT and PACE-Who's going to which?
Replies: 50
Views: 26410

New Trier will be at NAQT. The location was the deciding factor.
by Stained Diviner
Mon Apr 10, 2006 8:59 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Alabama '05-'06
Replies: 452
Views: 204601

Somerled is correct. Not even prompting on Tocqueville is an injustice. I would accept it without prompting even if some writer did underline de.
by Stained Diviner
Thu Apr 06, 2006 8:33 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 05-06
Replies: 742
Views: 308160

To add another layer of warning--this is one step in the long process of improving question quality. There will continue to be some questions that do not fulfill the criteria laid out. The new rules regarding types of questions will not have any enforcement mechanism behind them.
by Stained Diviner
Wed Apr 05, 2006 11:31 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 05-06
Replies: 742
Views: 308160

The IHSA Advisory Committee made its recommendations today. To learn more, follow the link. Keep in mind that these recommendations have to be approved by an administrative board before they become law. It is very difficult to predict what will get past that board.
by Stained Diviner
Mon Apr 03, 2006 2:58 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 05-06
Replies: 742
Views: 308160

Illinois rules limit teams to 18 competition dates per year, though the IHSA Tournament does not count towards those dates. Teams are only permitted to play in one tournament after the IHSA State Finals in March. Illinois defines Scholastic Bowl as a 5-on-5 competition, so teams do not feel that the...
by Stained Diviner
Tue Mar 28, 2006 5:47 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 05-06
Replies: 742
Views: 308160

Information for the IHSSBCA Banquet is now on our website (see the first item under Illinois Scholastic Bowl News). If you got an invitation, please reply by April 7 whether you are coming or not. If you didn't get an invitation and are interested, follow the link.
by Stained Diviner
Tue Mar 28, 2006 2:45 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Solo
Replies: 25
Views: 10652

I emailed nancy a week or two ago. Let me know if you want any free advice. Good luck!