Georgia 2008-2009

Rountree · Post by **Rountree** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 9:50 am

It does raise some eyebrows since UGA typically has around 25 teams at their tournaments. It looks like there might not even be 15 teams this Saturday; I think there are just over 10 teams as of Monday. I think a couple of the problems they faced were the cancellation of their tournament earlier in the semester and this Saturday being an SAT date (I think).

We are gonna be lucky to have 2 teams there - some sophomores and freshmen will likely have to play on our B team just to give us 4-5 players.

I wonder what teams like Alpharetta, Walton, Central Gwinnett, and Dorman - all usual UGA attendees - are doing this weekend?

ClemsonQB · Post by **ClemsonQB** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 9:56 am

elrountree wrote:I wonder what teams like Alpharetta, Walton, Central Gwinnett, and Dorman - all usual UGA attendees - are doing this weekend?

2 teams to GSAC, 2 to Robinson.

Rountree · Post by **Rountree** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 10:13 am

Silly me! I have tunnel-vision right now regarding our own tournament on the 13th, and had forgotten about those 2 tournaments even though we have been to both in the past 3 years and enjoyed them thoroughly - long drives though (particularly GSAC).

Thanks for the reminder George. However, that only explains Dorman's absence, doesn't it?

ClemsonQB · Post by **ClemsonQB** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 10:54 am

elrountree wrote:Thanks for the reminder George. However, that only explains Dorman's absence, doesn't it?

Right, I was too lazy to edit out the other teams.

PaydayC4 · Post by **PaydayC4** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 12:03 pm

Ben_Dodson wrote:Emory University is rebuilding their academic team for the Spring Season. We might consider hosting a small high school tournament during the spring or possibly next fall. If we were to host a tournament, which schools would be interested in attending and what weekend would be best for you? Thank you!

Emory '12
Norcross '08

Ben, let me know if you need some information or help restarting the program at Emory. I still have a contact or two left on campus that may be able to help you. This will probably be the 3rd or 4th reincarnation of this program. Consistency in keeping our program around has been a problem.

scquizbowl · Post by **scquizbowl** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 4:40 pm

Not only that, the University of SC has their yearly tournament at the Russell House this weekend, so that makes the team pool even less for the UGA tournament, along with Robinson and Governor's School.

Busy week in the Southeast.

Generally, most of the SC teams (except for Dorman) bring their top players there.

Yes, Mr. Rountree, Saturday is a SAT and ACT date. In fact, one of our players will be driven to Columbia for later in the afternoon after taking the SAT.

Joe
James Island '10

cchiego · Post by **cchiego** » Wed Dec 03, 2008 2:52 am

Last year we had similar problems but ended up with 16 teams; it's just not the best date to host it, which is why we tried to move it to Oct., but we didn't get much interest for that tournament until after we announced we would cancel it. We'll have to figure out what's the best time to do it next year (suggestions are welcome) since we are writing a full tournament and it'd be a pity if only a handful of teams get to enjoy it. We do expect, however, that the trend of many teams registering very late and a few others randomly showing up to our tournaments without telling us beforehand will continue, so we're planning for all contingencies.

Rountree · Post by **Rountree** » Fri Dec 05, 2008 3:02 pm

Chris:
Even if you don't get quite the turnout you had hoped for tomorrow, you guys still have a spring tournament to look forward to. I would be more than happy to help you promote that at the CATT 4 next weekend (assuming you have already set a date).

This weekend just turned out to be a tough Saturday to host - with the other tournaments, the SAT, math competitions, etc. I wonder if that is what happened to Walton, Norcross, Alpharetta, Central Gwinnett, et al?

Regardless, we are still looking forward to the Classic City Classic and having a good time. (Some of my kids have yet to dine at Little Italy, so they will need to be baptized in the deliciousness that is a meatball parmesan sub

)

See y'all soon!

AlphaQuizBowler · Post by **AlphaQuizBowler** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 3:56 pm

Now that one semester’s done, I’m going to revisit my preseason predictions. They were:
Varsity
1. Brookwood
2. Chattahoochee
3. Walton
4. Central Gwinnett
Sleepers: Alpharetta and Norcross

JV
1. Alpharetta
2. Central Gwinnett
Sleepers: Brookwood and GSMST

Based on the first semester’s results, this is what I would say now:
Varsity
1. Brookwood- They haven’t done anything this season that makes them fall from the top spot, in my opinion. They’re 2-0 against Chattahoochee. They’re performance at HFT was impressive, and they look to have a fairly high finish at nationals this year.
2. Chattahoochee- They’ve had some losses, but they are still a very strong team. They lost to Walton and us at Rabun Gap, but came back in the later rounds to avenge those losses. The last times we’ve played Chattahoochee they’ve played very well.
3. Walton- The team is really good this year. Gazi and Kayhan are playing strong, and Andy is picking up the science. If Kayhan did all the studying over break that he told me he was going to do, they’ll give Chattahoochee and Brookwood some trouble next semester.
4. Alpharetta OR Centennial- Our team has worked really hard and we tried to attend more tournaments last semester. We beat Chattahoochee at Rabun Gap, but then they (and their B team) beat us, and we also lost to them at Brookwood. We lost to Walton at Rabun Gap. However, we’ve beaten the teams (Norcross, Central Gwinnett) that usually vie for this 4th spot, so come March, we’ll have to see. I’m not sure about Centennial because we haven’t played them, but I don’t want to write them off. I’ve talked to Bradley at tournaments, and his team always finishes fairly high.

JV
1. Alpharetta- Our JV team has done well this year. We went to Alabama, beat some Varsity teams, and won the JV division. We went undefeated at CATT, beating Dorman twice, Central Gwinnett twice, and Walton once. But we have to keep studying and practicing to be prepared for JV State.
2. Walton- They played well at CATT, beating Lakeside and Alpharetta B and finishing 3rd.
3. Central Gwinnett- They played well at CATT and finished 2nd at Cedar Shoals JV. When we played them they seemed to know their stuff, especially lit.
4. Chattahoochee- Chattahoochee JV teams finished 3rd and 4th at Cedar Shoals. I’m pretty sure that Mr. Roundtree will be able to form a competitive team out of that by April.

Sleeper:
GSMST- Besides Gwinnett Championships, I don’t think they’ve played at a tournament. Maybe they’ll be at Brookwood on February 14?

grashid · Post by **grashid** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 11:37 pm

AlphaQuizBowler wrote: Current rankings and justifications.

I agree with your rankings, although I do think that (having never faced Centennial), Central Gwinnett should be in top 5. Also, I think Chattahoochee beat Brookwood in the UGA tournament in December, but I think the results weren't as well known as that of other tournaments.

AlphaQuizBowler wrote: 3. Walton- Andy is picking up the science.

Sadly enough, Andy quit. Which absolutely sucks for our team.

AlphaQuizBowler wrote: If Kayhan did all the studying over break that he told me he was going to do

Hah.

Edited to fix typo.

hookemhorns10 · Post by **hookemhorns10** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 2:56 am

There's no clear-cut Varsity favorite as of right now. Chattahoochee destroyed Brookwood at UGA (twice), and Walton definitely played the better game against us at CATT. Chattahoochee and Walton have won and lost to each other as well. Alpharetta and Central Gwinnett have made leaps and bounds. State will make for one hell of a tournament.

Rountree · Post by **Rountree** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 4:00 pm

I agree with Arvind: GATA Varsity State is still an open race for the top 4 spots with Alpharetta, Brookwood, Chattahoochee, and Walton likely among the top 4 (in some order). To clarify, the Hooch has split its games against Brookwood (2-2) and Walton (3-3) this year while maintaining a winning record against all other GA teams. However, if I remember correctly, we have not played Centennial or Norcross yet. Central Gwinnett has a lot of potential to make the top 4-5 as well.

As for State JV, Alpharetta looks to be the odds on favorite after having gone undefeated at the CATT 4 and playing well elsewhere, but other teams will continue to improve - perhaps even my own!

Gazi, I am disappointed to hear that Andy quit the team - he was a strong player at ACE camp last summer and during the fall season too.

AlphaQuizBowler · Post by **AlphaQuizBowler** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 5:33 pm

I hadn't heard about the UGA results. That certainly makes it more interesting. I definitely think State will be exciting, I'm just saying what I think is most likely.

scquizbowl · Post by **scquizbowl** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 9:46 pm

Who's coming to Savannah Country Day this weekend?

We are, for the first time since 2006 (when Ben, Laura, and the rest were still on the team). That's too bad that Andy quit: his science added a lot to their team at Walton.

Hopefully, Mr. Boyd will put together a good tournament for those who go.

Joe
James Island '10

Andrew's a Freshman · Post by **Andrew's a Freshman** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 8:17 pm

We won't be in Savannah, but Norcross will be at Dorman with part of our team. Our seniors are insistent that math team is much more important than academic team. However, we should be with our full team at Cedar Shoals on the 31st. Before state we also plan on attending the Jag Bowl in Febuary and Vanderbilt in March.

I wouldn't say we are in competition for the top 4 spots at state, but I think the entire team would be happy making a run into the top 5 or 6.

As for JV, we'll have teams at Dorman, Brookwood, and Vanderbilt. At state I can't see anyone at Alpharetta's level, though I havn't seen anything but scores from them. We also havn't played Chattahoochee, and I can't rate them outside of knowing they have a good team. I would say we have a chance at Central Gwinnett and GSMST in a good round, though. If we continue to improve I think we'll come home happy.

scquizbowl · Post by **scquizbowl** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 10:57 am

Good job by both Grayson and Paideia last weekend at the Savannah Country Day tournament, representing Georgia in the semi-finals. I also saw several other GA teams, including some that don't usually go to Atlanta tournaments, like Swainsboro, who had a player with six inch goth chains that almost got cut by the seat.

Great job by Mr. Boyd running the tournament, with the only mistake being Swainsboro, the wrong team, playing Spartanburg, and that game went to the second to the last question before the mistake was realized, and Bradwell, the right team came in and almost beat Spartanburg. Except for some buzzer issues, the tournament ran smoothly.

Lots of teams this weekend, including new ones like Augusta Christian, and Rabun Gap, will be at Dorman in Spartanburg. Welcome to Spartanburg, where it may be 13

degrees Saturday morning. At least there won't be snow like last year, which cut off like half the teams that were supposed to go.

Joe
James Island '10

Rountree · Post by **Rountree** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 10:14 am

Quick results from Berry College this weekend (from what I remember or was told by other coaches/players):

1. Dorman A (11-1) - played without Freddy and lost to Central Gwinnett in prelims by a question
2. Alpharetta (10-2) - lost to Dorman A twice; first game was close, Finals game was 200+ points
3. Chattahoochee (10-1) - seeded 1st in playoffs; lost to Dorman A by 20 points in Semis
4. Dorman B (9-2) - lost to Chattahoochee in prelims and Alpharetta in Semis

Odd prelim brackets produced some odd playoff seedings. The top 2 from each of the 3 brackets made the playoffs with 2 wild-cards also making it in. The top 2 teams from the 3 brackets were 1) CHS A and Dorman B, 2) Alpharetta and Dorman A, 3) Grayson and Russell, and the 2 Wild Cards were Central Gwinnett and somebody else? None of the coaches were ever shown an official playoff bracket so I don't know what the records of all 8 teams were or their prelim ppg for that matter.

The 3 winners of each bracket were guaranteed the top 3 playoff spots resulting in Dorman A being seeded behind Alpharetta (whom they had already beaten), Dorman B, and the other 2 bracket winners, CHS A and Grayson/Russell (can't remember which team won the bracket). Consequently, Dorman A was seeded 5th out of 8 teams if I remember correctly. This was an odd playoff structure to say the least, but what made it so frustrating was that none of the coaches knew where their teams were seeded, or even how they finished in the prelims because the tournament directors never shared any of that info with us. This was perplexing and very frustrating. Anyway, the tournament ran pretty efficiently with the tournament ending around 6:30pm and the questions were satisfactory, but the "balanced" prelim bracketing and the communication about the playoffs between the tournament directors and the coaches left much to be desired.

centralhs · Post by **centralhs** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 11:12 am

The final four were actually:

(1) Dorman A
(2) Alpharetta
(3) Chattahoochee
(4) Central Gwinnett B -- beat Russell in the playoffs then lost to Alpharetta

Officially, according to the people running the tournament, Chattahoochee and Central Gwinnett B were tied for 3rd since they never played a consolation game to determine 3rd/4th. However, since Chattahoochee is a vastly superior team to both my "A" and "B" teams, calling them 3rd and us 4th seems completely fair and accurate.

Central Gwinnett A's record in the prelims was 8-1 (including a bye "win")
Central Gwinnett B's record in the prelims was 7-2 (including a bye "win")

Cathy Hirsch
Coach
Central Gwinnett H.S.

Rountree · Post by **Rountree** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 1:48 pm

Cathy, thanks for the correction. I must have misheard someone say Dorman B for Central B - oops! I remember hearing about a consolation game, but it was already 6pm and we were ready to go, so 3rd/3rd it is.

I assume that means Central B was the other team in the playoffs that I could not remember? Thanks for the info.

So, I guess the playoff seeding went like this then?:
1. CHS A - won their bracket
2. Russell - won their bracket
3. Alpharetta - won their bracket
4. Dorman B - 2nd in their bracket
5. Dorman A - 2nd in their bracket
6. Grayson - 2nd in their bracket
7. Central B - Wild Card team 1
8. Central A - Wild Card team 2

Semi pairings were:
1 v 5: CHS A vs. Dorman A
3 v 7: Alpharetta vs. Central B

Finals were:
3 v 5: Alpharetta vs. Dorman A

AlphaQuizBowler · Post by **AlphaQuizBowler** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:30 pm

I agree that the playoffs were a bit crazy. About our bracket though- we had a circle of death at the top because of Central beating Dorman, so they went to PPG and I heard that we had Dorman by 1. Those brackets were very unbalanced, though.

scquizbowl · Post by **scquizbowl** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 12:28 pm

Well, James Island will not be able to go to the tournament tomorrow in Athens, because of budget cuts, but we will be able to go to the tournament at Robinson in Concord, NC next weekend, which is a closer tournament.

The cuts are so bad here that they won't have funding for substitute teachers except at maybe our school in two weeks. They will save $500,000, but for our school system, that is like chump change.

Who do you think will win?

Joe
James Island '10

... and the chaos of Mexican modernity · Fri Jan 30, 2009 5:24 pm

scquizbowl wrote:Well, James Island will not be able to go to the tournament tomorrow in Athens, because of budget cuts, but we will be able to go to the tournament at Robinson in Concord, NC next weekend, which is a closer tournament.

The cuts are so bad here that they won't have funding for substitute teachers except at maybe our school in two weeks. They will save $500,000, but for our school system, that is like chump change.

Who do you think will win?

Joe
James Island '10

Uh bro you're school is pretty lucky. Our school has no money to fund our team to go anywhere this year, and this is my last year so i'm pretty mad. (Unless my team gets a wild card spot at HSNCT)

Down and out in Quintana Roo · Fri Jan 30, 2009 5:59 pm

Yeah truly, our school has never paid a dime for any of our tournaments, buses, fees, or anything. I pay a lot of it out of my own pocket and i make the kids meet me halfway and pay the rest. I would say that altogether there are A Team members who have spent more than $100 each this year. I don't even wanna know how much i've spent. But it's worth it.

Rountree · Post by **Rountree** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 10:01 am

Yeah, we don't get any money from our school or county either. We used to several years back, but they got rid of that moola long before the current budget crunch. What money we do have, we raise all on our own.

Moving on to more pressing issues: 5A Varsity State is going to be a "helluva tournament" to borrow Arvind's nomenclature. There is still no clear-cut favorite to win as is evidenced by the results from this past weekend's Bulldawg Brawl: Chattahoochee lost to Walton, Brookwood beat Walton, and Chattahoochee beat Brookwood. I don't know about Walton vs. Brookwood, but CHS has played both of those teams at least 6 times this year.

The real question now appears to be which team's 5th player and/or alternates can contribute the most as the top 3-4 on all 3 teams are evenly matched in my opinion. Alpharetta and Central Gwinnett still have an opportunity to make some noise in the top 4. Central's team has improved all year (as they typically do). Alpharetta hasn't been to as many tournaments as I thought they would, so they jury is still out. Norcross played well this past weekend, but they fall into the same boat as Alpharetta.

Good luck to everyone going to the BJVSB next weekend. The Hooch will be there with 4 teams.

scquizbowl · Post by **scquizbowl** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:16 pm

All six of those teams Elliott talked about could very well win the tournament, even Alpharetta and Central Gwinnett. But, since they play 5 players in GATA quiz bowl, it is a lot different than most of the tournaments we play, which are all 4-person tournaments.

All of them could also do well in nationals. Then, when you have such a great quiz bowl rivalry in that area (playing at almost every tournament we go to), anything can happen.

Also, don't forget about Duluth, Centennial, and the others that could challenge. There is also a tournament in Lithia Springs this weekend, the Raider Invitiational. It is a new tournament, and I wonder what teams are going there.

Joe
James Island '10

AlphaQuizBowler · Post by **AlphaQuizBowler** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:36 pm

I'm really not sure how we'll do. I'd like to think we're not quitein the "same boat" as Norcross, seeing as we beat them the one time we played them, or Central, who we've beaten three times now. But we're definitely not into the Brookwood-Chattahoochee-Walton triumvirate by any means. States will definitely be exciting.

Rountree · Post by **Rountree** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 9:24 am

Allow me to clarify William: I meant the same boat in terms of tournaments attended, not of skill-level. I don't presume to know Alpharetta's skill level as compared to Norcross' skill level - we have only played Norcross once this year so I have little data to go on. I have seen both teams at a handful of tournaments during the year, but fewer than both Walton and Brookwood, which are the other 2 teams that people on this thread believe to be 5A State Championship-caliber teams. Personally, I am glad to see Alpharetta, Norcorss, and Central Gwinnett making strong showings in our region. I think the more active teams in the state, the better for everyone!

Joe, Centennial and Duluth also have had some strong showings this year, but, alas, have not been to nearly as many tournaments as one would hope for their programs. They fall into a "similar" boat as Alpharetta and Norcross. Also, we are not going to the East Paulding tournament this weekend. I wish them all the best though - it is great to see another tournament pop up in GA.

-MR. Rountree, CHS Academic Team - Head Coach

AlphaQuizBowler · Post by **AlphaQuizBowler** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 7:08 pm

Excited about the County tournament tomorrow, Mr. Rountree?

Rountree · Post by **Rountree** » Thu Feb 12, 2009 3:16 pm

Sorry William, I didn't get on the GA thread Tuesday. No, I wasn't excited about the Fulton County tournament - never have been, never will be - unless it greatly improves. Were you? I think I know your answer.

Brief Results:
1. Centennial: 7-1 (lost to Northview in final game by 1 question I think?)
2. Alpharetta: 7-1 (lost to Centennial by 1 question I think?)
3a. Northview: 6-2 (lost to Alpharetta by 1 question and to Chattahoochee by 3 questions)
3b. Chattahoochee: 6-2 (lost to Centennial by 3 questions and to Alpharetta on a tie-breaker)
Not sure after that; 9 high schools out of 12 in the county showed up, so we played a full round robin with the 2nd tie-breaker (after W-L) being total points instead of head-to-head, thus, Northview "outpointed" the Hooch to take home the 3rd place trophy.

grashid · Post by **grashid** » Thu Feb 12, 2009 10:19 pm

What questions were used at the County Tournament?

AlphaQuizBowler · Post by **AlphaQuizBowler** » Thu Feb 12, 2009 10:41 pm

They are written by the county. The format is ten 10-point tossups with mostly 4-part, 5 point each bonuses given all at a time. There are several problems with the set, including not listing alternative answers, not using pyramidality most of the time, and having no set per-round distribution. When I heard the first question and the answer was "Speech is silver, but silence is golden," I knew we were in for a long day.

scquizbowl · Post by **scquizbowl** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 12:22 pm

Wow, William, those questions are bad. They are like the local tournament we play at, where they just ask questions at random for 35 minutes. Wow, ten toss-ups for the whole game, that's not that many questions a game.

Do you know anybody that is going to the tournament at Piedmont College tomorrow? It's in its second year, and Cedar Shoals along with several others went last year.

Joe
James Island '10

CSQuizJags · Post by **CSQuizJags** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 3:14 pm

The field for Piedmont is...

Cedar Shoals (3 full teams, and not like one year where the C team was two freshmen)
Lumpkin Co (2)
Flowery Branch

This tournament is actually in it's FOURTH year. Central Gwinnett won last year (with Cedar 2nd), Centennial the year before that (with Cedar 2nd yet again), and Brookwood (with, you guessed it, Cedar coming in 2nd) before that. FB's pretty good this year from what Ive seen at our JV Jag and other tournaments; hopefully it will be a good one if my kids "Play Smart" (our new slogan for the year). I know Fox Creek was supposed to come last year (and JI too?) but they couldn't.

It's normally NOT a huge tournament to begin with- they usually shoot for 8 teams, which is what they had their first year.

AlphaQuizBowler · Post by **AlphaQuizBowler** » Sun Feb 15, 2009 5:14 pm

Results from Brookwood JV:
1. Alpharetta A
2. Ezell-Harding A
3. Dorman A
4. GSMST A

The playoffs were a little crazy, with Ezell-Harding, the 9th seed, taking down GSMST and Walton to reach the finals, and my team beating Dorman by 10 points on the last question in the semis. Walton A had the highest PPG through the prelim rounds, with us as 2nd seed, Dorman 3rd, and GSMST 4th (I think). I'd like to thank Mr. Barry and the Brookwood team for a well-run tournament and a good question set. Some of the answers struck me as a little hard for JV (Gran Chaco and buckminsterfullerene), but overall it was pyramidal and well-written. My only disappointment from the tournament was not having a chance to play Walton or GSMST.

Rountree · Post by **Rountree** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 4:43 pm

William, Chattahoochee A was the 4th seed with the GMSMST being the 5th seed going into the playoffs. The Magnet school beat us (badly) in the Quarters before losing a tight Semifinal match to Ezell Harding who y'all then beat badly (from what I heard).

The tournament ran very efficiently, as usual, and all 4 of my teams had a great time, with each winning a playoff game (even my two all freshmen teams!). Thanks Mr. Barry and Brookwood for hosting another great BJVSB.

centralhs · Post by **centralhs** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 6:10 pm

My team (Central Gwinnett) lost on a tiebreaker question to the Gwinnett Magnet School in the Round of 16. We were leading the entire game until the second to last question, when the Magnet School tied up the game on a math question. Unfortunately for us, the tiebreaker question was a science question which was a definite strength of theirs (not surprising, for a magnet school of math and science.)

Hopefully, we will get another chance to play the Gwinnett Magnet School later this year. Does anyone know (1) if they are planning to compete at the J.V. State tournament this year and (2) what division they would play in? I don't know whether or not they would be in AAAAA.

Cathy Hirsch
Coach
Central Gwinnett H.S.

Rountree · Post by **Rountree** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 8:53 am

That sounds like quite an exciting match. I wish I could say the same about ours, but we were beaten by about 200 points.

Anyway, as GATA's Treasurer, I know that they have yet to register for the GATA JV State Tournament (but they still have until April, so who knows?) For your other question, my bet would be no, they would not play in 5A unless they applied to the GHSA and were granted that classification (which I doubt they did). My best guess is based on their projected enrollment for grades 9-12 in the 2010-2011 school year, they will either be 3A or 4A. (I think they are hoping to have around 1200 kids for that school year?)

As always, good luck to all teams competing this weekend! Any GA teams going to State Beta?

scquizbowl · Post by **scquizbowl** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 8:25 pm

Who won the tournament at Piedmont College this weekend? It was only six teams, but I wonder who won.

Joe
James Island '10

CSQuizJags · Post by **CSQuizJags** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 11:31 am

1- Flowery Branch (3 seed)
2- Cedar Shoals A (4 seed)
3- Cedar Shoals B (1 seed)
4- Cedar Shoals C (2 seed)
5- Lumpkin Co A (5 seed)
6- Lumpkin Co B (6 seed)

With that said, this turned out to be the WORST of the four years Ive been to this tournament (and you'd think things would've progressed better over the years as they got better hosting it). Not because of the questions or the competition (my B and C teams [played well and even beat FB in the prelims, something A never could do), but because these people do NOT know how to run an "official" NAQT tournament to save their lives. Some cases in point, from a letter written to NAQT after the event. I normally dont complain about a tournament, but this was bad. Read on:

"1- During the first round in a room I was unable to be in (I was with my
other teams), my players kept telling me that even when the TU was over,
they were being awarded negative points. They (the mods) were unable to explain this
to me in any stretch of the imagination, saying 'That's what we were told'.
2- During another match (in another room), teams that rang in with a wrong answer were NOT
given a neg. Their reasoning this time? They read the power mark as the
“border” between giving a neg and NOT giving a neg. In other words, if you
answer wrong BEFORE the power mark, you get one. Answer wrong AFTER the
mark and you’re OK. Again, I explained this to the TD, even mentioned the fact that I’ve
worked with NAQT in the past moderating national events at HS and College levels and she answered
something like “well congratulations, but you’re wrong.” She even brought
out the abbreviated rules sheet and said that the rule pertaining to
answering incorrectly justified her view.
3- During the games, as per rule C.6- (visible clocks), there was not a
visible clock. They used, depending on the room, a stopwatch visible to
them, a cell timer, and merely the fact that if the round started at “X”
o’clock, it ended at “Y” o’clock. When serious matters arose in the game
calling for the “clock to stop,” they did not stop the clock unless I was
in the room to remind them. This also took place in the finals. My teams,
so they could have some idea of how much time was left, resorted to using
cell timers and watches, which you know doesn't fly well at some tournaments.
4- During one match (which I was not in the room for), there was a tie
between my team and another school. From what I was told after the fact,
there was only one question given. This is in violation of NAQT rule F.6.1.
However, due to the fact I didn’t hear of this until AFTER the round was
over (I was in another room) and the teams were moving to the next room, I could not bring this up
(For the record, my team won, but it was the principle of the matter by this point
and I was through arguing with the brick wall that was the TD- all
schools were slightly shafted this weekend, especially point #1).
5- One moderator only used questions from packet 1 for the first half of
round 1 and then switched to packet 2 for the second half of round 1. This
wasn’t caught until the next round when the players already heard the
questions.
6- It was obvious that these moderators were NOT trained properly. Some
were still being trained as the teams walked into the room for the first
game, as we saw them walk in late, grab a pack, and were briefed on their way into the rooms.
It seems the TD was a bit put off that I was giving them advice and
the PROPER rules used by NAQT."

And the TD was just a bit rude and condescending. As another coach put it, you'd think for a tournament
trying to get kids to go to school there, they wouldn't be rude to the teams.

So in closing...don't go to Piedmont- we won't ever again. Maybe they'll get the message.
Richards CSHS

centralhs · Post by **centralhs** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 10:20 am

Over the next few days, could someone please post a list of the teams that will be participating in next weekend's Varsity State tournament? I am specifically interested in AAAAA, but some of the smaller divisions might be interested also.

Thanks,

Cathy Hirsch
Coach
Central Gwinnett H.S.

AdamL · Post by **AdamL** » Fri Feb 27, 2009 9:40 pm

Cross-post from the tournament announcements section:

Georgia Tech will be hosting a mirror of MUT (Minnesota Undergrad Tournament) on 3/14, the weekend after GATA State.

For more information, see the original thread at viewtopic.php?f=1&t=7288

Please contact me at adamliem (at) gatech (dot) edu for questions or registration.

CSQuizJags · Post by **CSQuizJags** » Fri Feb 27, 2009 9:45 pm

Well we were told to block off 10-12 rooms for AAAAA, so knowing this, here's my guess...

For certain:
Brookwood
Chattahoochee
Central Gwinnett
Walton
Alpharetta (are they 5A?)
Harrison

Possibles:
Roswell
Camden Co (I think they were there last year)
the new Gwinnett Magnet Sch (if they are 5A)

For AAAA, we were asked to block 6-7 rooms, so in that realm...

For certain:
Cedar Shoals (natch) (4th in 08)
Heritage (3rd in 08)
Lakeside (1st in 08)
Starr's Mill
Ware Co.
McIntosh (2nd in 08)
Stockbridge

Possibles:
the new Gwinnett Magnet Sch (if they are 4A)
Tucker (?)

Im sure we can ask Barry tomorrow at the Jag Bowl.

hookemhorns10 · Post by **hookemhorns10** » Sat Feb 28, 2009 11:55 pm

Mr. Barry, who no longer posts here, asked me to post the updated list for both 5A and 4A for State this coming Friday and Saturday in Athens. Note: these schools have all been emailed tournament details in a confirmation email and should know to report to CSHS in Athens between 4:30 and 5pm on Friday.

4A teams registered as of Friday’s mail: Bainbridge, Ola, Jonesboro, Stockbridge, Villa Rica, Starr’s Mill, Douglas County, Tucker, Lakeside, Sequoyah, Cass, Heritage, and Cedar Shoals (13 teams).

5A teams registered as of Friday’s mail: Alpharetta, Berkmar, Bradwell, Brookwood, Campbell, Centennial, Central Gwinnett, Chattahoochee, Grayson, Harrison, Meadowcreek, Peachtree Ridge, Roswell, and Walton (14 teams)

Any 4A or 5A teams who want still to register may through Wednesday at 11pm. Contact J.R. Barry, 4A/5A State Tournament Director, at [email protected] The 4A and 5A schedule will be set on Thursday and that will be it!

Rountree · Post by **Rountree** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 1:04 pm

In 5A, we can add the following teams to the field: Norcross and Parkview (this gives us 16 teams total).

This should be a very competitive field.

(On a tangentially related note, the Gwinnett Magnet School did not request membership in the GHSA this year (nor did they join GATA for that matter), so who knows where they would be placed if they decide to send a team to State JV in April. It is a real shame as they could certainly compete for a top 4 finish no matter what classification they were in.)

AlphaQuizBowler · Post by **AlphaQuizBowler** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 7:38 pm

If we have 16 teams, are we going to play our 7 prelim games in brackets of 8 or just randomly? That's too bad about Gwinnett School; they do have an excellent JV team.

wd4gdz · Post by **wd4gdz** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 8:00 pm

hookemhorns10 wrote:Mr. Barry, who no longer posts here,

I wonder why...

grashid · Post by **grashid** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 8:11 pm

Teams in 5A: Alpharetta, Berkmar, Bradwell, Brookwood, Campbell, Centennial, Central Gwinnett, Chattahoochee, Grayson, Harrison, Meadowcreek, Norcross, Parkview, Peachtree Ridge, Roswell, and Walton.

Any thoughts about 5A state? The beginning of the year, I thought the teams went :
1. Brookwood
2. Chatt
3. Walton
4. Alpharetta / Central Gwinnett

I think Chatt and Brookwood are neck to neck right now. Alpharetta and Central Gwinnett are both good, but we have only played them once each.

Rountree · Post by **Rountree** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 11:14 pm

William, I missed Duluth somewhere along the way, so with 17 Varsity teams we will be not be playing in 2 brackets of 8.

CSQuizJags · Post by **CSQuizJags** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 2:08 pm

For 4A: Bainbridge, Ola, Jonesboro, Stockbridge, Villa Rica, Starr’s Mill, Douglas County, Tucker, Lakeside, Sequoyah, Cass, Heritage, Davidson Fine Arts and Cedar Shoals (14 teams).

Here's my prediction from the 4A front FWIW:
1- Lakeside
2- Heritage
3- Ola
4- Starr's Mill

CSQuizJags · Post by **CSQuizJags** » Sat Mar 07, 2009 3:46 pm

State results in 5A
1- Walton
2- Chattahoochee
3- Brookwood
4- Central Gwinnett

State results in 4A
1- Heritage
2- Lakeside
3- Davidson Fine Arts
4- Starr's Mill

Congrats to all the teams who took part.