Alabama 2010-2011

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Alabama 2010-2011

Post by quizbowllee »

Since I currently don't have a dog in this fight, I thought it would be appropriate to start the annual thread. I think Alabama is WIDE OPEN this coming year.

DAR returns all but one starter and will be deadly. Coach Dennis is awesome and will make sure they are better than ever.

Hoover lost everyone on their "A" team, but has a strong B team and a great coach. They will be great.

I don't know who will be coaching Brindlee Mountain. All but one of their starters graduated. It really just depends on who takes over and how hard the kids are willing to work. They could be great. But, depending on the new coach, they may not attend much. They are a complete question mark.

Indian Springs is always good. I don't know what to expect from them.

Cullman had a freshman last year who was a beast. As he gets older and learns more, we may see Cullman become more of a powerhouse.

Arab is likely to make some noise this year. Mrs. Smith is being given three periods a day to focus solely on scholar's bowl (between middle school and high school). That kind of time dedication to quiz bowl every day is going to pay dividends.

ASFA, LAMP, Russellville, etc. will always be good, too.

Hopefully I will also have a team in the mix....
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by Golden Tiger 86 »

I'd be shocked if Russellville got to state, honestly. I don't necessarily think it's the coaching (Mrs. Daily's replacement is more than willing to work with them), but right now the pipeline is just dry. They'll be starting one senior and two sophomores--they need to get a lot better, and soon to have any chance of making any noise this year (although I really do think if they work, they could be good in 2011-12/2012-13).
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by 49-Mile Scenic Drive »

I predict that Brodie Drake Henry will win ASCA and NAQT State playing solo thus becoming the youngest person to ever accomplish such a thing.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by Joshua Rutsky »

He's going to have to get started early. Isaac hit his first buzzer today during practice. He was ruled non-responsive, however, after a spirited argument over whether crawling away afterwards without answering constituted unsportsmanlike conduct.



I have to agree with Lee on Alabama this year. The state competition is as wide open as I've seen in ten years.

-Indian Springs, while always talented, will only be returning two players, one of whom is a ninth grader.

-DAR is indeed a very strong team this year, especially after the confidence boost of finishing third in Small School NAQT nationals. That may be the push that makes them believe they can break through this year.

-Don't rule out Spain Park. They have a good team and have overachieved in the past two years, and their coach is working them hard.

-Arab will be ready to play; the real question for them is what the questions will look like in AL this year. We are looking for a third new provider in three years, and I am going to be pushing for us to use NAQT at our summer board meeting on Monday. I think there's a legit chance this might happen this year as we are running out of options, and I'm sure not planning to sign on to write 15 rounds myself. At any rate, Claudette's teams are always excellent anticipatory buzzers, and if the questions are fast, they're going to be tough.

-Vestavia Hills will be competitive if they can get players to attend tourneys, but math team trumps everything else there.

-I can't comment on Cullman, as I haven't seen this player Lee mentions, but if he says the kid is good, the kid is good.

-Altamont is returning several players and has been improving.

-Hoover is only returning one varsity player, and she's fighting to make the starting four at the moment, so we may well be playing a completely new varsity this year. On the other hand, all the players who are trying to make that top four are experienced, and several of them have been at PACE and NAQT nationals now, so they aren't newbies. I am pleased with their work ethic coming into the year, and think they will have a fair shot at keeping Hoover in the hunt for the state title this year and next. Our JV is going to be very strong, and I'm also excited about a freshman class that includes two top 15 scorers from the middle school state championships last year.

Russellville will field a good squad, i'm sure, and I expect the folks at ASFA and at CCA will also put competitive teams out there, as will Grissom (when we finally see them at state).


I am VERY excited that the NAQT Nationals will be in Atlanta this year, and will be pushing to have multiple schools from Alabama make the trip over. We need to show that we appreciate being given this opportunity, particularly with budget tightening everywhere.




If you are reading this post, and you are in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Northern Florida, or have a decent travel budget, PLEASE consider coming to the 6th annual Hoover Invitational. We are currently hoping to have both an NAQT IS-set for varsity/experienced teams to compete on AND to mirror the Fall Novice Tourney for novice squads, and are hoping to draw teams from all over the Southeast. Our fees are low ($60 a team, with buzzer discounts available), and out-of-state or "overnight stay" teams can request fee reductions to help defray costs. If interest is sufficient, we will even try to set up a Friday night pre-tourney laser tag competition at a local facility for travelling squads to have some night-before fun. See the post in the Regular Season Tournament section for details.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by quizbowllee »

Columbia might be good....
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by Nick »

I hear they got a legit new coach.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by Joshua Rutsky »

I hear he's a total flake. :grin:

Good to have you back with us, Lee. I assume we can plan on seeing you guys at the HIT?
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by crimsonscholar »

Hail Columbia!
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by The Ununtiable Twine »

So all the high school seniors who love quizbowl should all come to UA. This is a great idea. Early recruiting, that's all.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by quizbowllee »

Joshua Rutsky wrote:I hear he's a total flake. :grin:

Good to have you back with us, Lee. I assume we can plan on seeing you guys at the HIT?
There's no denying that I'm a total flake.

I'm not sure yet about the HIT. I hope we can get there somehow. That date is gonna be tough on me. There's a lot going on that weekend. But, I'll try to work something out with at least one team.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by quizbowllee »

Columbia is VERY, VERY inexperienced. But, the kids have a great attitude and I think they will start being competitive towards the end of the year. Also, I have a lot of 9th and 10th graders who will be great in the coming years. I don't expect anything more than a solid year of getting experience and getting better from them. Our ultimate goal is to get to Atlanta. It looks like we WILL come in just under the 500 students in 10-12 this year. So, we may have a shot at playing for the small schools title at HSNCT. But, we are registering new students every day. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it levels out soon. Last I heard, we were around 450 in 10-12 grades.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by Joshua Rutsky »

Reflections from this past weekend's tourney at DAR:

1) Ezell-Harding and Chatahootchie are both very good teams this year. I would say St. Andrews is too, but I didn't see them play personally.

2) DAR established themselves as the team to beat this year in Alabama at this tournament. They have confidence that they've never had before, and aren't afraid to play with the big kids. Yes, Joey is the powerhouse of their team, and yes, I'm suspect of one-man teams, but I don't think DAR is a one-man team despite Joey clearly being the toss-up leader. They worked very well together on bonuses, and if Meghan can keep her temper in check for the whole season, she's going to be a good captain.

3) Lee Henry is still in quizbowl in Alabama, and everyone better take that seriously. Columbia is young, but by the end of the year they're going to knock off a good squad. Just wait.

4) CCA returned more players than I thought, including the young woman who is a lit machine. They're going to make people work to beat them.

5) Russellville is still building, but has improved from last year.

6) Hoover isn't out of contention for the title this year by any means, but they sure aren't the odds-on favorites they were last year. Of course, the odds-on favorites last year, the year before, and the year before that can all tell you how well being the odds-on favorites worked out for them at the state championship...


We haven't seen Indian Springs, Arab, Vestavia, Spain Park, ASFA, or Grissom yet. W.R. King, anybody?
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by quizbowllee »

You don't have to placate me here, Josh.

Seriously, though, thanks for the mention. I do have a great group of young kids and they are improving at an alarming rate.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to see too many Alabama teams play at DAR. I spent most of the day with my JV group, as they are where I am focusing most of my attention in the hopes of building Columbia into a competitive force over the next few years. That being said, I know that DAR is a great team this year. I think that they are likely one of the best in the state. It will be interesting to see how things unfold this year. Hoover will always be good and Catholic and CCA also returned most of their best players.

As for Grissom, don't look to see them outside of ASCA competition. However, I will have an inside look at them from now on. All of the Huntsville City Schools play against one another monthly in a city league. I'm sort of shaking things up by actually taking one of the Huntsville City Schools to more competitions this year. No one has ever done that before to my knowledge. I will let you all know how Grissom looks when our league play starts up in October.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by Matthew D »

Josh and Lee,
i appreciate the nod on things this year. I do feel right now that I have one of the best squads I have ever had the privilege to coach. With that said, we do still have some weak spots that I am attempting to fix and I am hoping that I can get my other two players that aren't Joey and Meghan to a point that they will be making some nice contributions on the tossup side.
Columbia is going to be good in the coming years, I saw them play this past weekend and all they need is some time behind a buzzer
Hoover always right in the mix and don't think things will change again this year. Josh, that was Patrick's brother I saw wasn't it?
The only team I saw from Russellville I saw over last weekend was the JV team and I think that even thought they need a lot of work, they could pull things together
Catholic stronger this year than last
CCA seems stronger this year also
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by Rountree »

I don't claim to know the Alabama circuit that well, but I do know this: involved coaches make a big difference. I think DAR, Hoover, and Columbia are/will be very competitive teams (in this part of the country for sure) by season's end (if not before). This is due, at least in part, to their coach's high level of interest in quizbowl. I enjoyed speaking with Josh and Matt very much last weekend (sorry I missed you Lee), and it was really nice to talk to other coaches as excited about quizbowl as I am. Thanks again for making us feel welcome; we enjoyed the tournament. Unfortunately, we didn't get to play either DAR or Hoover, so I don't have anything germane to add to that part of the discussion. But, I do agree that Ezell was very good and St. Andrew's knows some stuff as well.

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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by quizbowllee »

DAR is really good this year. I'm interested to see how they do.

Hoover is also strong, probably stronger than they give themselves credit for. After having such a dominating team last year, it can make a drop-off look greater than it really is. I think they can definitely catch up to last year's team - and even surpass them (depending on how many of them are returning next year).

I'd be remiss if I didn't point out my group's improvement from the first tournament. We went from 46 ppg to 145 ppg. We also went from 6.79 ppb to 14.07 ppb. That's a 316% increase in ppg in three weeks' time. Granted, we went from IS series to A-Series, but that difference is offset by the fact that we were missing two starters. I had to move one of my JV players to varsity, and they still played with only three players.

Anyway, if we can improve at that rate, we should be at around 458 ppg by the middle of October! :party: :party: :party:

In all seriousness, though, these kids are working hard and making huge strides in a short amount of time. It's a pleasure to be their coach and watch them grow and improve as quiz bowl players. It's refreshing to start over and build a new team and program from the ground up.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by BucsMath »

From what I saw last Saturday, I have to completely agree with Coach Henry. DAR played excellently to come out of that tournament with only one loss and seems to have established itself as the team to beat in the state.

As for Hoover, I'd be surprised if they don't pass last year's team either late this year or definitely next year when they return all but one of this year's starters. The work they've put in and the improvement from the level they were playing at last year is already noticeable. I know that if they keep it up they'll be a very tough team to beat in the near future.

Also, props to Columbia. The way they played at WRK was probably the biggest surprise to me. They played at a much higher level than a team attending its second tournament should and while there are certainly holes in their knowledge, a lot of what they missed is quizbowl knowledge that comes best through experience. I can see Columbia being a competitive team towards the end of this school year and expect to see them move into the top levels of Alabama quizbowl in the years to come.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by Joshua Rutsky »

This state is still here. The 6th HIT will be this weekend, and while Hoover will not compete in the Varsity division, there will be some good squads here--most notably DAR, Hume-Fogg, and Brookwood, though I expect a couple of others like Holy Spirit and Indian Springs to make noise too. A full report should be available on Saturday night.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by quizbowllee »

We had our first Huntsville City meet today. Grissom will continue to be good at short, quirky ASCA-like questions. The fact that ASCA is using Questions Galore will play to the strengths of teams like Grissom. I don't think that they are as strong as they have been, but they are still pretty good. I didn't really think any of the other Huntsville teams were too great. Huntsville High beat us, but barely.

Grissom beat us (Columbia) 345-210.

Looking forward to Hoover on Saturday.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by Joshua Rutsky »

First of all, I'd like to apologize to coaches and players for what I felt was a less-than-acceptable tourney experience on Saturday. There were a lot of little things that went wrong (and a few big ones, not the least of which was the no-show of a team and a last minute cancel from another), and while several people said that things were fine, I personally set a very high standard for our tourney, and I don't think we met it.

I don't know how I could have worked the Novice section more efficiently, unfortunately. We had 14 teams, and in order to round-robin effectively, 2 pools of seven was the best option. Unfortunately, that meant 7 rounds BEFORE repooling, and most teams at the novice level just weren't willing to go another 3 games beyond that. I would have MUCH preferred to include five or six teams in the championship flight, but going another five games would have started a rebellion. I think that we may just have to accept the evidence in this regard--teams in this area, particularly JV teams, think a 10 game day is the OUTSIDE limit.

I had one coach who really made quite a fuss about the idea of a "championship flight." Although he acknowledged that taking the top two teams from each pool and then putting them in a round-robin for the top spots was a fair way to get all teams more matches and to ensure that a single upset didn't ruin a team's run, he argued strenuously that there was a statistical advantage to entering only one team in such a tourney, and that he would have placed his players differently if he had known that was what would happen. Frankly, this argument seemed pretty irrelevant to me, given that his two teams both made the championship flight. He indicated that he felt his teams also wouldn't have met except in the championship, and that the two had to play each other was, in his words, garbage. This, again, I dismiss as frivolous--if you enter multiple teams in a tourney, you run the risk of the two meeting at some point, and to assume they couldn't meet anywhere but in the championship was mistaken. As it turns out, his B team would have been eliminated in the first round of an elimination playoff, so he should count his team fortunate.

My assessment of the results has to focus on one thing--KDS DAR was thrown off for a week by the absence of a player. It was clearly bothering them, and there's no question he was a big point producer that they missed in the stats. I don't look at the DAR performance as being indicative of their team, and I strongly advise anyone looking at them from outside the region (Mr. Morlan?) to take their results as being skewed mightily by circumstances.

Hume-Fogg, our Varsity champs, looked solid, but not overwhelming. They really didn't get tested the way I thought they would; they went 8-0, but only put up 17.34 PPTH, and didn't face the best other team at the event, Brookwood (GA), who put up 18+ PPG, but was eliminated from the championship group by Holy Spirit in an upset. Holy Spirit continues to look good; the only knock on their play is that they are extremely conservative buzzers (9 powers as a team for the tourney in 8 games; by contrast, Brookwood had 12 powers in 5 games.) An aggressive team can give them trouble. Vestavia Hills did well to finish second in the varsity bracket, but I don't think they have the team to compete beyond regionals; they are too streaky. ASFA, likewise, played well after a rocky start, but has a very high neg percentage.

Next stop for the Alabama teams -- Columbia's invitational.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by quizbowllee »

I think one of the problems with teams not wanting to stay was the fact that it was -essentially- Halloween. I'm not sure if this was the case in the Hoover/Birmingham areas, but in Huntsville it was basically declared that all Halloween festivities (trick-or-treating and whatnot) would take place on Saturday night this year. As such - and I'm speaking entirely for my team only - a lot of us had plans that involved us leaving early. Had it been virtually any other Saturday, we would've been willing to play until you kicked us out.

Also, unless I missed something, I gathered that DAR's personnel issue was permanent. If so, that definitely changes the landscape of Alabama Quiz Bowl this year.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by quizbowllee »

We had the second Huntsville City Academic Team meet today.

Three weeks ago, Columbia went 1-3. Today we went 4-0. We managed to defeat the undefeated Huntsville High team (apparently they beat Grissom last time) on a tie-breaker.

Huntsville and Grissom are both good. I'm also glad to say that Columbia is making enormous strides.

Looking forward to our tournament on Dec. 4!!!
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by Matthew D »

no things were not permanent just a minor hitch in things... all is good on our end..
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by kayli »

So Pensacola is thinking of hosting another tournament in February, and we were wondering if any of our friends from Alabama would likely come.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by Matthew D »

We might.. we have one coming up on Feb 19th
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by kayli »

What set would our friends in Alabama like to hear provided we hosted another tournament in Pensacola? I'm presuming you don't want another NAQT set (seeing as you have so many being read in your state already) so Pensacola was thinking of using Prison Bowl or an HSAPQ set. Originally, we were planning to use GSAC, but then we found out that Alpharetta was hosting on that set so we would likely lose the attendance of people from Alabama.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by Matthew D »

I don't really have a preference from either of the two you named because both are good sets
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by quizbowllee »

I've been in contact with NAQT about the possibility of having State Champions awarded in each of the six AHSAA divisions this year. Each team would receive a bid to HSNCT. The problem will be getting enough teams in each division and having enough moderators to staff such a large event. I'm giving huge discounts to teams that bring moderators.

Also, I will be reaching out to teams in those divisions that I think might be hard to get enough teams (1A-3A specifically). What are your thoughts on this? The ONLY downside I foresee is that "B" teams will be playing in the same divisions as their "A" teams. Other than that, I think it's a win-win for everyone.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by dtaylor4 »

quizbowllee wrote:I've been in contact with NAQT about the possibility of having State Champions awarded in each of the six AHSAA divisions this year. Each team would receive a bid to HSNCT. The problem will be getting enough teams in each division and having enough moderators to staff such a large event. I'm giving huge discounts to teams that bring moderators.

Also, I will be reaching out to teams in those divisions that I think might be hard to get enough teams (1A-3A specifically). What are your thoughts on this? The ONLY downside I foresee is that "B" teams will be playing in the same divisions as their "A" teams. Other than that, I think it's a win-win for everyone.
Honestly, your best bet would probably be to do something akin to what ACF does, which is play everyone in a single tournament, and use the overall results for "class" finals/awards.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by quizbowllee »

dtaylor4 wrote:
Honestly, your best bet would probably be to do something akin to what ACF does, which is play everyone in a single tournament, and use the overall results for "class" finals/awards.
I got the impression that NAQT would only go for this if each division was run like a "separate tournament." Otherwise, it wouldn't be an issue. However, I can see how it would be awkward to award a 1A State Champion if only one or two 1A teams enter.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by AlphaQuizBowler »

Alabama teams! I'd like to invite you all to Alpharetta's GSAC mirror on February 5. You can find more information here.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by An Intergalactic Puzzlepalooza »

Is there any place where it's easy to see who made it past their respective districts for ASCA, or would this be the logical place for that to be established?

After today, I feel like I still know nothing for ASCA sake, since we'll probably be the top seed coming out of our district, but we were 4-1; we had a 40-ish total point lead on the next team going into the last round.
Vestavia, who beat us, was probably second, since I think their point total was ahead of Hoover's, but they also were 4-1, losing to ASFA, who didn't qualify to the next round. I'm not sure how Altamont's forfeit to them will change things in terms of points; if it's just declared that effectively no game happened, then we edge them by like 3.5 ppg assuming I'm remembering numbers correctly..
Hoover went 5-0 in their pool, but I think they got outscored by those two teams (They were only at 1100 total going into the last round, which was about 100 behind Vestavia), and I still haven't seen them play this year.
I don't know what the order of who finished second in third in the other pool was, but it was Indian Springs and Spain Park, neither of whom can I say anything about since I haven't seen either of them this year. Elizabeth (Indian Springs) is good, though.
And the third place team from our pool, Altamont, didn't play well against us (420-170) but then proceeded to play really well for the rest of the day, and even though the round didn't go well for them, I got the feel that they were better than they played against us. The other thing about them is that I don't think any of them were seniors given heights and the one of them I know... Their best player's a freshman, so the whole experience thing isn't exactly working for them, but that actually works to explain what happened that first round reasonably well (Inexperience leading to more timid buzzers as a result of fear about 1 player scoring 35 in the first part.). This is of course, assuming that the forfeit for leaving at lunch wasn't a full-fledged disqualification.

So basically, tl dr version, I have no idea what today actually meant for my ASCA district.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by jmannor2 »

When we played at snead we had two pools with 3 in each qualifying. Our pool had Grissom, Randolph, and DAR. Im not sure about the other pool. But who really cares about asca? The questions are so horrible.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by Matthew D »

at the Snead State District
Like Joey said

Going from Snead is
Grissom
Randolph
DAR
Bob Jones
Buckhorn
Huntsville High

I think Huntsville had the best point total but can't remember what the exact number it was above 1400 total
I am really hoping in the next season we switch question types and providers
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by An Intergalactic Puzzlepalooza »

Matthew D wrote:at the Snead State District
Like Joey said

Going from Snead is
Grissom
Randolph
DAR
Bob Jones
Buckhorn
Huntsville High

I think Huntsville had the best point total but can't remember what the exact number it was above 1400 total
I am really hoping in the next season we switch question types and providers
We (Oak Mountain) hit 1500 before the end of the day, and Vestavia does too adjusting for the forfeiture assuming they match their PPG through 4.

But yeah, a switch in questions would be nice, so that it's not just speed plus generalizations (Plus some things that probably shouldn't be asked about presented as academia... Vocab and Sports worksheets anyone?).

Still, though, successful teams in ASCA do tend to be able to play in NAQT without major hitches; e.g. I've played 2 NAQT tournaments in my life, 1 freshman year at Brindlee, and 1 this year (Senior Year) at Columbia. We had the second highest PPB at Columbia if I remember correctly, and played competently for a team that had most of its members never having been to an NAQT tournament ever. And if not for a one question loss to Lincoln County (Or that embarrassment of a match against y'all, but that's not the point), we make the playoffs there, and have a decent chance against any one of the teams. Yes, I realize Columbia was played on a relatively easy set this year, but still...

Either way, we shouldn't totally dismiss it just because it's ASCA.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by Matt Weiner »

I guess I'll take this opportunity to mention that HSAPQ was asked to bid for the Alabama state series last year, but saw the public announcement that some frat had been awarded the contract before ever getting a reply on what the actual bidding procedure was. If we could get some more information on what we are supposed to do in order to put in a bid, we'd be happy to try again for 2011-2012. We already have all these perfectly good questions that we write for VHSL that could be very easily used in a four-quarter format.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by Matthew D »

Matt
I really hope that you guys do put in another bid for the coming season..
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by Matthew D »

That wasn't an NAQT set we played on at Columbia.. it was SCOP (Scholastic Community Outreach Program) tournament, which to me seemed way easier than your normal A set..
Superb_starling wrote:
Matthew D wrote:at the Snead State District
Like Joey said

Going from Snead is
Grissom
Randolph
DAR
Bob Jones
Buckhorn
Huntsville High

I think Huntsville had the best point total but can't remember what the exact number it was above 1400 total
I am really hoping in the next season we switch question types and providers
We (Oak Mountain) hit 1500 before the end of the day, and Vestavia does too adjusting for the forfeiture assuming they match their PPG through 4.

But yeah, a switch in questions would be nice, so that it's not just speed plus generalizations (Plus some things that probably shouldn't be asked about presented as academia... Vocab and Sports worksheets anyone?).

Still, though, successful teams in ASCA do tend to be able to play in NAQT without major hitches; e.g. I've played 2 NAQT tournaments in my life, 1 freshman year at Brindlee, and 1 this year (Senior Year) at Columbia. We had the second highest PPB at Columbia if I remember correctly, and played competently for a team that had most of its members never having been to an NAQT tournament ever. And if not for a one question loss to Lincoln County (Or that embarrassment of a match against y'all, but that's not the point), we make the playoffs there, and have a decent chance against any one of the teams. Yes, I realize Columbia was played on a relatively easy set this year, but still...

Either way, we shouldn't totally dismiss it just because it's ASCA.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by AKKOLADE »

Wasn't SCOP intended for middle school teams?
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by Frater Taciturnus »

Fred wrote:Wasn't SCOP intended for middle school teams?
Everything that I've seen has suggested that its intended purpose was as a high school novice level set. Which probably makes it usable for regular level middle school competitions.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by jonah »

Frater Taciturnus wrote:
Fred wrote:Wasn't SCOP intended for middle school teams?
Everything that I've seen has suggested that its intended purpose was as a high school novice level set.
This is correct.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by jmannor2 »

Is there any way that alabama can get a team to compete at NASAT?
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by Matthew D »

Yes Joey we can but we will have to figure how to do tryouts and when to do them and that fun topic money... talk to me tomorrow
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by BlueDevil95 »

I'm excited about DAR coming to Norcross's mirror of the Prison Bowl. I think this is one of the few times this year that schools from Alabama have come to Georgia tournaments (all I remember is Hoover going to Brookwood)! Should be fun!
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by Joshua Rutsky »

ASCA is currently preparing to solicit bids for the 2011-2012 competition year for the state tournament at the MS, HS, and Junior Varsity levels. Complete details about the requirements for bidders will be sent via e-mail and ground mail, but to sum up:

All rounds will be 20 toss-up questions with non-associated bonuses. Bonuses will be in two parts and will bounce back, with the bonuses read one at a time, not both given at once. Each portion of the bonus must be worth 10 points.

10 question halves will be separated by a worksheet round of 20 questions, worth a total of 100 points. This round should be broad-based, preferably crossing multiple fields of study. (A common format for this is using answers that all begin with a particular letter.) The worksheet will be a 2 minute timed round.

At least two extra toss-ups and bonuses are required for each round.

High school bids will require 28 rounds. Middle and JV bids will be fewer rounds.

Rounds must be academically appropriate to the targeted age group. Completed rounds must be delivered in early January of 2012. Security of the rounds is extremely important, and any bid must contain information regarding question security and measures that will be taken to ensure the questions cannot be obtained or played in advance of the tournament by any team from Alabama. It is possible that this set may be used elsewhere, but it would be vastly preferred if rounds are not used elsewhere in advance of play in Alabama. (Our calendar generally has JV play in January, MS over by the first week of March, and Varsity in 8 round chunks in February, March, and April.)

Companies or persons other than NAQT, HSAPQ, and Questions Galore who are interested in submitting bids may contact me via this board and will be sent bid information when it becomes available. Please enclose an e-mail and postal address in your message.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by 49-Mile Scenic Drive »

Joshua Rutsky wrote: All rounds will be 20 toss-up questions with non-associated bonuses. Bonuses will be in two parts and will bounce back, with the bonuses read one at a time, not both given at once. Each portion of the bonus must be worth 10 points.

10 question halves will be separated by a worksheet round of 20 questions, worth a total of 100 points. This round should be broad-based, preferably crossing multiple fields of study. (A common format for this is using answers that all begin with a particular letter.) The worksheet will be a 2 minute timed round.
Assuming the toss-ups will take a pyramidal turn from the usual short liners, I am quite excited, even though I won't get to play on them. This will make Alabama Quizbowl better, well at least the ASCA side of things.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by Joshua Rutsky »

So, since this thread has been dead for a while, I thought I'd chip in my two cents with a personal take on the end of the year in Alabama going into Nationals.

The Top Five, in no particular order:

1) KDS DAR. Despite having some rough moments this year, DAR continues to show why they are a threat at Nationals to any team they play. When they have Joey focused and Meghan on her game, they can beat 90% of the teams in the nation by 100 points. For DAR, the question is the mental package--will they pull it together for a run at the small-school title this year? My gut says yes.

2) Hoover. Self-promotion aside, Hoover finished as co-champs at the NAQT State Tourney, and was eliminated in the quarterfinals by a ridiculously under-seeded Vestavia team that went on to win the ASCA championship. More importantly, my team started to actually bring some energy to their games in the last half of the season, and they are MUCH stronger on NAQT sets than on ASCA's speed checks. I like our chances to make some noise at Nationals, particularly since we haven't cracked the top 100 this year in Fred's polls. Even better, we're only losing one senior this year, and will be bringing back a full team of sophomores for a B squad that qualified for Nationals on its own. The next few years should be good to us.

3) Oak Mountain. Call them a one-man team if you like, but a one-man team can be a threat if the one man is as good as Joseph is. I am surprised that they won't be at NAQT Nationals, but perhaps they plan to go to :chip: 's tournament. Disappointing, if that is the case; I think Joseph is ill-served by playing on bad questions when he has a great deal of potential.

4) PJP II Catholic. Another team that has the "one-man" syndrome, but Matthew Riggle is fast, fast, fast, and his teammates do a very good job of working through the bonus questions to help him pull from a serious knowledge base. PJP WILL be at HSNCT, which is a big win for Alabama representation this year. They will surprise some folks.

5) Holy Spirit. Hats off to Ian Ramdeen, who upped his game this year, and to Fred Klug for making his team a threat to upset anyone this season. I always get nervous when I play Holy Spirit. They grind out wins.


Best of the rest:

Vestavia Hills - Should be in the top 5 based on the way they blew through the ASCA tourney, but they have no NAQT chops. I wish that they would take non-ASCA competition more seriously--they could be a legit team in Alabama, but they are a math-oriented school, and I think Scholars Bowl is a distant third in importance to most of them. Consider that a warning to everyone else if they ever get serious.

Columbia - Columbia may have numbers problems with budget, like anyone else in Alabama, but letting a proven coach like Lee Henry go is plain foolish. They made huge strides this year; they'd be a real power in four years if they gave Lee time to build.

Gadsden City - Made great progress this year, upsetting a number of teams and starting to compete a little more often. They could be a factor in a year or two.

ASFA - A team that you never know about until the game is played. They could go either way in a given round. Their best player is a blessing and a curse at the same time; he is very, very inconsistent, but when he gets hot, his team is tough.

Spain Park - Again, a team that has really come along quickly. Todd Parker made this team a serious program over the last couple years, and they are competing more and more often in NAQT events--and finishing higher each time.

Arab - A good team this year, but one that was struck with health issues late in the season when one of their players had to go on medication that needed some adjustments. We wish him a quick recovery period and that his health continues to improve.

There are a number of Alabama teams going to the NAQT HSNCT this year, which is a very good sign. I hope that number will continue to grow as these teams develop. Apologies to anyone I missed here; comments are welcome.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by quizbowllee »

Thanks for the kudos. I'm praying for a miracle. But, unfortunately, we may have another installment of "Where will Lee Henry be Coaching Next Year" this summer. I hope this doesn't become an annual event....

I'm hoping we get to play at HSNCT. Our team captain's mom paid for our rooms. The kids are studying like crazy on the off-chance they get to play. They are improving very quickly and it will be a shame if they never get a chance to show that off.

Also, did JP II Catholic compete in ASCA this year? I thought I saw them at district, but their not making it beyond that doesn't make any sense.

Good luck to DAR at HSNCT. We'll be rooting for you.

Also, good luck to everyone else. And - if you need a coach - I'm available.
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Re: Alabama 2010-2011

Post by AlphaQuizBowler »

Alabama teams should come to Alpharetta's BHSAT mirror on May 14!
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