Alternatives to Buzzer Systems, in dire situations
Alternatives to Buzzer Systems, in dire situations
I'm planning on hosting a mirror of Trashtastrophe and Trashtwostrophe, all in one day. Teams are doubles, and the ratio of teams to buzzer teams is about 4:1. Is there any cheap and legitimate method of creating or using an alternative lockout system? I'm working on borrowing sets, but even then I'll probably have 4 systems for 10 teams (and still be short).
And what if something like this happens the day of a tournament (i.e. some team leaves their system at home, while there are no extras)?
And what if something like this happens the day of a tournament (i.e. some team leaves their system at home, while there are no extras)?
Cresston Gackle
University of Minnesota '13
University of Minnesota '13
- Marble-faced Bristle Tyrant
- Yuna
- Posts: 853
- Joined: Fri Feb 08, 2008 11:05 pm
- Location: Evanston, IL
Re: Alternatives to Buzzer Systems, in dire situations
I personally prefer just saying "buzz" to slapping; I can't discern slapping from the general ambiance of the room. "Buzz" is pretty hard to miss.
Farrah Bilimoria
Formerly of Georgia Tech and Central High School (Macon)
Formerly of Georgia Tech and Central High School (Macon)
- Nine-Tenths Ideas
- Auron
- Posts: 1558
- Joined: Sat Feb 03, 2007 10:14 pm
- Location: MD
Re: Alternatives to Buzzer Systems, in dire situations
One thing that might work is assigning each of the 4 people in the room a monosyllabic color to say. For example, team one's players say "red" and "black"; team two's players say "green" and "blue." This eliminates almost any ambiguity as to who buzzed first.
Isaac Hirsch
University of Maryland '14
Never Gonna Play Again
University of Maryland '14
Never Gonna Play Again
- Sen. Estes Kefauver (D-TN)
- Chairman of Anti-Music Mafia Committee
- Posts: 5647
- Joined: Wed Jul 26, 2006 11:46 pm
Re: Alternatives to Buzzer Systems, in dire situations
Are there just absolutely no teams in your area with systems?
Charlie Dees, North Kansas City HS '08
"I won't say more because I know some of you parse everything I say." - Jeremy Gibbs
"At one TJ tournament the neg prize was the Hampshire College ultimate frisbee team (nude) calender featuring one Evan Silberman. In retrospect that could have been a disaster." - Harry White
"I won't say more because I know some of you parse everything I say." - Jeremy Gibbs
"At one TJ tournament the neg prize was the Hampshire College ultimate frisbee team (nude) calender featuring one Evan Silberman. In retrospect that could have been a disaster." - Harry White
Re: Alternatives to Buzzer Systems, in dire situations
We have one; it's broken. Moline has 2. Central has 1. Rock Island has 1. It would be a big inconvenience to ask Sterling or those teams 1 hr+ away for their systems. Otherwise, not many reasonable opportunities.Jeremy Gibbs Free Energy wrote:Are there just absolutely no teams in your area with systems?
Cresston Gackle
University of Minnesota '13
University of Minnesota '13
- Mike Bentley
- Sin
- Posts: 6461
- Joined: Fri Mar 31, 2006 11:03 pm
- Location: Bellevue, WA
- Contact:
Re: Alternatives to Buzzer Systems, in dire situations
When is your tournament? If it's a few weeks away, you can get the buzzer fixed by then.
Mike Bentley
Treasurer, Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence
Adviser, Quizbowl Team at University of Washington
University of Maryland, Class of 2008
Treasurer, Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence
Adviser, Quizbowl Team at University of Washington
University of Maryland, Class of 2008
- Sen. Estes Kefauver (D-TN)
- Chairman of Anti-Music Mafia Committee
- Posts: 5647
- Joined: Wed Jul 26, 2006 11:46 pm
Re: Alternatives to Buzzer Systems, in dire situations
Buzzers are the size of briefcases, and teams that drive overnight or travel to tournaments by plane routinely bring along their buzzer systems those much longer distances than 1 hour. Don't be afraid to ask attending teams from farther away to bring buzzers, it's par for the course (and is the one aspect of tournament direction that really is at least partially their responsibility to help you with).It would be a big inconvenience to ask Sterling or those teams 1 hr+ away for their systems.
Charlie Dees, North Kansas City HS '08
"I won't say more because I know some of you parse everything I say." - Jeremy Gibbs
"At one TJ tournament the neg prize was the Hampshire College ultimate frisbee team (nude) calender featuring one Evan Silberman. In retrospect that could have been a disaster." - Harry White
"I won't say more because I know some of you parse everything I say." - Jeremy Gibbs
"At one TJ tournament the neg prize was the Hampshire College ultimate frisbee team (nude) calender featuring one Evan Silberman. In retrospect that could have been a disaster." - Harry White
Re: Alternatives to Buzzer Systems, in dire situations
Keep in mind that for doubles, you only need four working lights. Having spares in case some break would be great, but normally broken systems with 6-7 working lights would still be fine in this case.
- Marble-faced Bristle Tyrant
- Yuna
- Posts: 853
- Joined: Fri Feb 08, 2008 11:05 pm
- Location: Evanston, IL
Re: Alternatives to Buzzer Systems, in dire situations
Yes, what is taking up so much space in the car/bus that it is an inconvenience?Jeremy Gibbs Free Energy wrote:Buzzers are the size of briefcases, and teams that drive overnight or travel to tournaments by plane routinely bring along their buzzer systems those much longer distances than 1 hour. Don't be afraid to ask attending teams from farther away to bring buzzers, it's par for the course (and is the one aspect of tournament direction that really is at least partially their responsibility to help you with).It would be a big inconvenience to ask Sterling or those teams 1 hr+ away for their systems.
Farrah Bilimoria
Formerly of Georgia Tech and Central High School (Macon)
Formerly of Georgia Tech and Central High School (Macon)
Re: Alternatives to Buzzer Systems, in dire situations
I'm somewhat planning for it to be fixed by then; I'm not sure I'll be able to get RI's set for various reasons including that they don't usually loan out their system to other schools when they're not attending the tournament.Bentley Like Beckham wrote:When is your tournament? If it's a few weeks away, you can get the buzzer fixed by then.
I forgot to mention that I only invited local teams, since this event is more informal than others and doesn't require a coach. If they were coming, yeah, I would ask that they bring their system. We have at least 7 teams from Bettendorf alone competing, we only have one buzzer. Normally, buzzer shortages do not happen.Jeremy Gibbs Free Energy wrote:Buzzers are the size of briefcases, and teams that drive overnight or travel to tournaments by plane routinely bring along their buzzer systems those much longer distances than 1 hour. Don't be afraid to ask attending teams from farther away to bring buzzers, it's par for the course (and is the one aspect of tournament direction that really is at least partially their responsibility to help you with).It would be a big inconvenience to ask Sterling or those teams 1 hr+ away for their systems.
Cresston Gackle
University of Minnesota '13
University of Minnesota '13
- jonpin
- Auron
- Posts: 2266
- Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2004 6:45 pm
- Location: BCA NJ / WUSTL MO / Hackensack NJ
Re: Alternatives to Buzzer Systems, in dire situations
From my experience at practice and having to actually run buzzerless for a few rounds of a tournament last fall, I much preferred slapping. The idea is that while reading, I'm also more or less looking at the teams, and thus I can see which player has slapped first, rather than hearing "buzz" from one side and not being sure which player said it.List of wrestling-based comic books wrote:I personally prefer just saying "buzz" to slapping; I can't discern slapping from the general ambiance of the room. "Buzz" is pretty hard to miss.
Jon Pinyan
Coach, Bergen County Academies (NJ); former player for BCA (2000-03) and WUSTL (2003-07)
HSQB forum mod, PACE member
Stat director for: NSC '13-'15, '17; ACF '14, '17, '19; NHBB '13-'15; NASAT '11
"A [...] wizard who controls the weather" - Jerry Vinokurov
Coach, Bergen County Academies (NJ); former player for BCA (2000-03) and WUSTL (2003-07)
HSQB forum mod, PACE member
Stat director for: NSC '13-'15, '17; ACF '14, '17, '19; NHBB '13-'15; NASAT '11
"A [...] wizard who controls the weather" - Jerry Vinokurov
- Skepticism and Animal Feed
- Auron
- Posts: 3238
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 11:47 pm
- Location: Arlington, VA
Re: Alternatives to Buzzer Systems, in dire situations
My experience is the opposite; everyone's hand pretty much makes the same sound when it hits the table, whereas humans tend to have distinguishable voices.jonpin wrote: From my experience at practice and having to actually run buzzerless for a few rounds of a tournament last fall, I much preferred slapping. The idea is that while reading, I'm also more or less looking at the teams, and thus I can see which player has slapped first, rather than hearing "buzz" from one side and not being sure which player said it.
Bruce
Harvard '10 / UChicago '07 / Roycemore School '04
ACF Member emeritus
My guide to using Wikipedia as a question source
Harvard '10 / UChicago '07 / Roycemore School '04
ACF Member emeritus
My guide to using Wikipedia as a question source
- Marble-faced Bristle Tyrant
- Yuna
- Posts: 853
- Joined: Fri Feb 08, 2008 11:05 pm
- Location: Evanston, IL
Re: Alternatives to Buzzer Systems, in dire situations
Exactly.Whig's Boson wrote:My experience is the opposite; everyone's hand pretty much makes the same sound when it hits the table, whereas humans tend to have distinguishable voices.jonpin wrote: From my experience at practice and having to actually run buzzerless for a few rounds of a tournament last fall, I much preferred slapping. The idea is that while reading, I'm also more or less looking at the teams, and thus I can see which player has slapped first, rather than hearing "buzz" from one side and not being sure which player said it.
Farrah Bilimoria
Formerly of Georgia Tech and Central High School (Macon)
Formerly of Georgia Tech and Central High School (Macon)
- Mechanical Beasts
- Banned Cheater
- Posts: 5673
- Joined: Thu Jun 08, 2006 10:50 pm
Re: Alternatives to Buzzer Systems, in dire situations
It might work slightly differently in team-based practices, where you're quite familiar with what your teammates' voices sound like. Whereas at SCT several teams I read for had never played before--let alone the teams that had players I hadn't met.List of wrestling-based comic books wrote:Exactly.Whig's Boson wrote:My experience is the opposite; everyone's hand pretty much makes the same sound when it hits the table, whereas humans tend to have distinguishable voices.jonpin wrote: From my experience at practice and having to actually run buzzerless for a few rounds of a tournament last fall, I much preferred slapping. The idea is that while reading, I'm also more or less looking at the teams, and thus I can see which player has slapped first, rather than hearing "buzz" from one side and not being sure which player said it.
Andrew Watkins
- jonpin
- Auron
- Posts: 2266
- Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2004 6:45 pm
- Location: BCA NJ / WUSTL MO / Hackensack NJ
Re: Alternatives to Buzzer Systems, in dire situations
Right. At a practice, yelling buzz is probably better not only because you can distinguish other peoples' voices, but because you then don't even need to worry about table space. At a tournament, the three guys on Team Left may have distinct voices, but that doesn't always mean you'll be able to assign a voice to a person. But also, what I had said was that I like to read while keeping an eye on the players (one of the reasons I prefer a paper copy of the questions), thus allowing me to see which hand hits the table first.Crazy Andy Watkins wrote:It might work slightly differently in team-based practices, where you're quite familiar with what your teammates' voices sound like. Whereas at SCT several teams I read for had never played before--let alone the teams that had players I hadn't met.List of wrestling-based comic books wrote:Exactly.Whig's Boson wrote:My experience is the opposite; everyone's hand pretty much makes the same sound when it hits the table, whereas humans tend to have distinguishable voices.jonpin wrote: From my experience at practice and having to actually run buzzerless for a few rounds of a tournament last fall, I much preferred slapping. The idea is that while reading, I'm also more or less looking at the teams, and thus I can see which player has slapped first, rather than hearing "buzz" from one side and not being sure which player said it.
In any event, it's a matter of personal preference.
Jon Pinyan
Coach, Bergen County Academies (NJ); former player for BCA (2000-03) and WUSTL (2003-07)
HSQB forum mod, PACE member
Stat director for: NSC '13-'15, '17; ACF '14, '17, '19; NHBB '13-'15; NASAT '11
"A [...] wizard who controls the weather" - Jerry Vinokurov
Coach, Bergen County Academies (NJ); former player for BCA (2000-03) and WUSTL (2003-07)
HSQB forum mod, PACE member
Stat director for: NSC '13-'15, '17; ACF '14, '17, '19; NHBB '13-'15; NASAT '11
"A [...] wizard who controls the weather" - Jerry Vinokurov
-
- Wakka
- Posts: 210
- Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2009 10:22 pm
Re: Alternatives to Buzzer Systems, in dire situations
I think the red, black, green, blue suggestion is a good way of distinguishing different people. Certainly better than slapping the table.
- Sen. Estes Kefauver (D-TN)
- Chairman of Anti-Music Mafia Committee
- Posts: 5647
- Joined: Wed Jul 26, 2006 11:46 pm
Re: Alternatives to Buzzer Systems, in dire situations
People should say "ding" to indicate buzzing.
Charlie Dees, North Kansas City HS '08
"I won't say more because I know some of you parse everything I say." - Jeremy Gibbs
"At one TJ tournament the neg prize was the Hampshire College ultimate frisbee team (nude) calender featuring one Evan Silberman. In retrospect that could have been a disaster." - Harry White
"I won't say more because I know some of you parse everything I say." - Jeremy Gibbs
"At one TJ tournament the neg prize was the Hampshire College ultimate frisbee team (nude) calender featuring one Evan Silberman. In retrospect that could have been a disaster." - Harry White
- Skepticism and Animal Feed
- Auron
- Posts: 3238
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 11:47 pm
- Location: Arlington, VA
Re: Alternatives to Buzzer Systems, in dire situations
Harvard has been practicing without a buzzer since I came here (there was ONE practice with a buzzer -- I brought champagne to that practice to celebrate the fact that there was a buzzer), so I've had plenty of time to do empirical observations on this issue. Even when such physically different players as Julia Schlozman and Ted Gioia slap the table at the same time, it sounds pretty much the same.
"ding" is, of course, preferable to "buzz", and "ring-a-ding" even more so.
"ding" is, of course, preferable to "buzz", and "ring-a-ding" even more so.
Bruce
Harvard '10 / UChicago '07 / Roycemore School '04
ACF Member emeritus
My guide to using Wikipedia as a question source
Harvard '10 / UChicago '07 / Roycemore School '04
ACF Member emeritus
My guide to using Wikipedia as a question source