22nd Annual Walton Academic Challenge: October 8, 2011

[Medelstein]

Hello Coaches and Players,

Walton High School in Marietta, GA will be hosting the Twenty-second Annual Walton Academic Challenge on Saturday, October 8, 2011. Usually, we hold this tournament on the first Saturday in October...but this year it will be on the second Saturday due to the fact that October 1 is a testing date for the SAT.

Please find an official invitation and registration form attached to this posting. Unfortunately, we will be unable to complete a house-written set of questions this year; however, we will get a pristine set from a reputable outside vendor. We are looking forward to seeing you here next year!

Matt Edelstein
Walton High School

[Medelstein]

Please check out the edit to my original posting about the questions. I also added an invitation and registration form.

[Medelstein]

Here's a quick update on the questions:

We are going to use a set created by a new company, called QTQ. According to the primary writer of the questions, the breakdown per round will be as follows:

"Each round consists of 16 Tossups and 16 3-Part Bonuses with an additional Tie-breaker/Replacement Tossup and an additional replacement bonus. All tossups are written using the new "NFTP" method of clearly defining the end of extra-credit or "power." Tossups and bonuses are paired together by overall category. To ensure consistency of play, every round uses the same content distribution with one tossup/bonus pair from each of the following categories.


1 US History (mostly Antebellum)
2 US History (mostly Postbellum)
3 European History (Middle Ages to Present)
4 Ancient and World History
5 Geography
6 US Literature
7 British and Irish Literature
8 World Literature/Language Arts
9 Fine Arts (1/2 Visual Arts & 1/2 Music)
10 Social Studies-Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, World Religions, etc
11 Social Studies-Government & Economics
12 Mythology
13 Biology
14 Chemistry
15 Physics
16 "Other" Sciences (includes some Math theory but NO computational math questions)"

As far as a field update, we have the following teams:

Chattahoochee (A and B)

There is still plenty of time to register and get into the field.

[wd4gdz]

Why not use a good question set instead?

[Down and out in Quintana Roo]

A quick look through this company's website - here: http://quizteamquestions.com/ - shows that their questions are really really bad, compared to practically any other "pyramidal" questions out there. And honestly, it's hard to call these pyramidal - they remind me of 's attempts to make his questions longer.

For example, this was the "question of the day" on their site recently:

In his short tenure as the president of a college, he began new courses that later grew into its schools of law, commerce, and journalism. He died only five years after taking the job, but that didn’t stop the school from attaching his name to it. He was given orders to suppress a rebellious uprising in Virginia in 1859, and, FTP, a few years later he was leading a rebellious army in Virginia. Name this famed Confederate commander.

Yeah, that's not good.

Not convinced? Okay, here's another:

After about two years of government under the Second Republic, some conservative groups, such as the CEDA, were willing to challenge the government through legal means, others were not. Once such group was the Falange, which received some support during this ensuing war from Nazi Germany. FTP, identify this war which brought Generalisimo Franco to power for over 40 years.

In short, please use NAQT or HSAPQ for this tournament. They have great sets at what is likely a lesser or equal price.

[Important Bird Area]

In short, please use NAQT or HSAPQ for this tournament. They have great sets at what is likely a lesser or equal price.

I don't believe we're capable of doing this. All three sets we will have ready by this date are already in use around Atlanta.

[Medelstein]

We have used NAQT questions in the past (as recently as 2009, in fact) and I completely agree that their questions are of great quality. However, I don't think that any of the available NAQT question sets will be unheard by our usual attending teams (or even my own) by the time that we are hosting our tournament.

I have coached at tournaments where the QTQ people have written the questions and from what I have heard (and what my players have expressed to me) the questions are good. We have also previously used questions written by the QTQ people for our tournament. As a coach and former HS & College Bowl player, I have never experienced any major problems with the questions. Different from NAQT? Sure. quality? Not from my own or my players' experiences (with both and QTQ's questions).

I am very sorry to hear that some schools may not be interested in attending due to the use of QTQ's questions. Interestingly, I don't ever recall these schools attending our tournament regardless of what questions were used. Of course, everybody is more than welcome to come and hear and/or play them for themselves!

Hope to see you here on October 8!

Thanks,

Matt Edelstein
Walton High School
Marietta, GA

[Sen. Estes Kefauver (D-TN)]

I am very sorry to hear that some schools may not be interested in attending due to the use of QTQ's questions. Interestingly, I don't ever recall these schools attending our tournament regardless of what questions were used. Of course, everybody is more than welcome to come and hear and/or play them for themselves!

Or they can look at the samples that the company themselves thinks is a representative advertisement of their work and see that their questions are awful. Whether or not a particular group of high schoolers thinks the questions are good is a complete sidestepping of the whole fact that the samples on the website show the work this company puts out is terrible. There is no getting around that.

[drenrollins]

Why not use a good question set instead?

Why is it that people who aren't likely to attend this tournament are already complaining about a question set that is still in the process of being written? Do we need to add an amendment to the Borglum rule? Do we actually need to have a rule that states, "Thou shalt not complain about questions THAT HAVEN'T EVEN BEEN WRITTEN, MUCH LESS PLAYED YET?!!!" I highly doubt that anyone from Fla. State, Mizzou or Ceasar Rodney High School will be attending this tournament, and that is entirely their choice. However, when I read that these people are so negatively criticizing a work in progress that it could damage the creator''s ability to potentially make a living, then I take major issue with that. Never mind that the creator behind this work in progress my friends. I would object to this regardless of who the company writing the questions is whether it be HSAPQ, PACE, NAQT, QTQ .... whomever.

With schools cutting back on budgets and with the economy hampering the ability of Quiz Bowl programs to raise funds, we cannot afford this type of vitriol. You're not helping ANYTHING.QTQ is run by an educator who has a profound love for this game. Something that those of you cannot fully appreciate. If you really want to criticize, then pay the registration fee, show up at George Walton Comprehensive High School in scenic Marietta, GA on 10/8, and grab a buzzer. Otherwise, find something else to complain about. Those of us who love this game and want to help it thrive don't want or need to hear it.

Sorry for hijacking your thread, Matt.

Dren Rollins
Berry College

User was banned for a month for violating every rule about telling people how to post, regionalism, anti-discussion, accusing people who dislike bad questions of destroying quizbowl, etc. --mgmt

[Medelstein]

Field Update (as of 9/16/11):

Chattahoochee - 2
Dorman - 3
Etowah - 2
Hillgrove - 1
Lovett - 1
Westminster - 2

Don't forget that the registration deadline is Wednesday 9/21 (after that date the price goes up from $65 to $75 and a waitlist may be started depending on the number of teams registered by then).

[Khanate]

Why not use a housewrite like DAFT or the Ohio State set?

Also, this coincides with my Fall Break, so, Mr. Edelstein, if you need any readers, I'd be glad to help.

[Medelstein]

Adil, YES! That would be great if you could read! Thank You!!!

[Medelstein]

Field Update (as of 9/22/11):

Confirmed Teams:
Bleckley County: 2
Brookwood: 5
Campbell: 2
Chattahoochee: 2
Dorman: 3
Etowah: 2
Flowery Branch: 1
Hillgrove: 1
Lakeside: 1
Lovett: 1
North Cobb: 1
Northview: 2
Ola: 2
Roswell: 1
Sequoyah: 1
Sprayberry: 2
Westminster: 2
Woodward Academy: 1

Expressed Interest and/or Intent:
Blessed Trinity: 1
Paideia: 1
Lassiter: 1
Marist: 2
North Gwinnett: 2
Wheeler: 1
Woodstock: 1

[wareagle]

I can confirm Marist will be there with one team. And I will probably have a second by the end of the day.

I will mail the official registration form by the end of the week.

This is our season opener, and we are looking forward to it!

[Medelstein]

With about a week-and-a-half to go, here is the current field:

Confirmed Teams:
Bleckley County: 2
Blessed Trinity: 1
Brookwood: 5
Campbell: 2
Chattahoochee: 3
Dorman: 3
Etowah: 2
Flowery Branch: 1
Hillgrove: 1
Lakeside: 1
Lassiter: 1
Lovett: 1
Marist: 2
North Cobb: 1
North Gwinnett: 2
Northview: 2
Ola: 2
Roswell: 1
Sequoyah: 1
Sprayberry: 2
Westminster: 2
Wheeler: 1
Woodward Academy: 1

Expressed Intent:
Paideia: 1
Woodstock: 1

If all of the teams that have expressed intent sign up, then we will have 40 teams. I am planning to cap the tournament at 42 for even six team brackets. So, if there are any other schools/teams interested, please let me know.

[Medelstein]

Less than a week to go and here is the final field update:

Confirmed Teams:
Bleckley County: 2
Blessed Trinity: 1
Brookwood: 5
Campbell: 2
Chattahoochee: 3
Dorman: 3
Etowah: 2
Flowery Branch: 1
Hillgrove: 1
Lakeside: 1
Lassiter: 1
Lovett: 1
Marist: 2
North Cobb: 1
North Gwinnett: 2
Northview: 2
Ola: 2
Roswell: 1
Sequoyah: 1
Sprayberry: 2
Westminster: 2
Wheeler: 1
Woodward Academy: 1

Expressed Intent (but I have not gotten paperwork yet):
Paideia: 1
Woodstock: 1

Waiting List:
Milton
Woodward Academy B

[CSQuizJags]

Matt,
That looks like an impressive field! Good to see the prattle about the questions didn't scare off anyone. Good luck this weekend and then we'll finally hear what the questions were like from those who were actually there.

PS- Sorry we couldn't make it. Band duty calls in East Jackson.

User was banned for one week for continuing to tell people how to post and regionalism, after others were already banned for same offense in the thread. --mgmt

User was banned for a month for using a second account to evade his existing ban. When he comes back, user will choose one account and the other will be disabled. --mgmt

[Medelstein]

I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of the teams who participated in the 22nd Annual Walton Academic Challenge. I also wanted to give my profound thanks to all of the tournament workers and team parents who helped us...especially the guys from QTQ for writing a great set of questions and for their help in reading them.

Here are the top four teams:

1st- Chattahoochee A
2nd - Dorman A
3rd - Dorman B
4th - Brookwood A

Congratulations to all of the teams for a great job!!! We hope to see you here next year in October, 2012

Thank You!!!

[wd4gdz]

Any chance this "great set of questions" will be posted online?