2008 Panasonic Academic Challenge: Illinois wins!

Dormant threads from the high school sections are preserved here.
harpersferry
Wakka
Posts: 154
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2005 8:40 pm

Re: 2008 Panasonic Academic Challenge: Illinois wins!

Post by harpersferry »

ILoveReeses wrote: We also have expectations for a national tournament to have a set number of games larger than 3
Actually, most teams only play 2 games.

By my count:
2 Games: 18 teams (0-2 [13] or 1-1 with the win first [5])
3 Games: 7 teams (3-0 [1], 2-1 losing in the finals [2], 1-2 winning in the quarterfinal[4])
4 Games: 3 teams (2-2 winning in the quarter and semis [3], 3-1 losing first match [0])
John Brown
Rockford Auburn '08
Indiana University '12
User avatar
First Chairman
Auron
Posts: 3651
Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2003 8:21 pm
Location: Fairfax VA
Contact:

Re: 2008 Panasonic Academic Challenge: Illinois wins!

Post by First Chairman »

pasedpawn wrote:
ILoveReeses wrote: We also have expectations for a national tournament to have a set number of games larger than 3
Actually, most teams only play 2 games.

By my count:
2 Games: 18 teams (0-2 [13] or 1-1 with the win first [5])
3 Games: 7 teams (3-0 [1], 2-1 losing in the finals [2], 1-2 winning in the quarterfinal[4])
4 Games: 3 teams (2-2 winning in the quarter and semis [3], 3-1 losing first match [0])
The quote was in regards to the expectation of "good quizbowl". I know that Panasonic's format gives teams two chances to win a game to qualify for the semifinals. Those that do not win their first game have a chance in the repechage. Basically most teams play at least two games, with those who play 4 those teams that have to play in the repechage. Of course you get the passes to WDW so you don't have to stick around to the very end.
Emil Thomas Chuck, Ph.D.
Founder, PACE
Facebook junkie and unofficial advisor to aspiring health professionals in quiz bowl
---
Pimping Green Tea Ginger Ale (Canada Dry)
User avatar
First Chairman
Auron
Posts: 3651
Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2003 8:21 pm
Location: Fairfax VA
Contact:

Re: 2008 Panasonic Academic Challenge: Illinois wins!

Post by First Chairman »

evilmonkey wrote:
Back on topic. I am going to use a Dreaded Sports Analogy to my impression of what PAC is:
Analogy of what it should be:
HSNCT/PACE = Champion's League
PAC = World Cup
I prefer golf analogies where the majors are the HSNCT and PACE. PAC would be something like the Ryder Cup (or similar). QU NAC ... would that be the Skins game?
Emil Thomas Chuck, Ph.D.
Founder, PACE
Facebook junkie and unofficial advisor to aspiring health professionals in quiz bowl
---
Pimping Green Tea Ginger Ale (Canada Dry)
User avatar
Matt Weiner
Sin
Posts: 8145
Joined: Fri Apr 11, 2003 8:34 pm
Location: Richmond, VA

Re: 2008 Panasonic Academic Challenge: Illinois wins!

Post by Matt Weiner »

NAC is like the NIT except the field quality is actually even more diluted, the hoops are eight feet off the ground, the ball is only inflated halfway, and not infrequently the referees tackle players who they don't want to win.

PAC is like a Dadaist exhibition of basketball involving swimming through margarine with a hacky-sack, that everyone admits is not really basketball but can't resist attending because it's held in a tourist attraction.
Matt Weiner
Advisor to Quizbowl at Virginia Commonwealth University / Founder of hsquizbowl.org
User avatar
Matt Weiner
Sin
Posts: 8145
Joined: Fri Apr 11, 2003 8:34 pm
Location: Richmond, VA

Re: 2008 Panasonic Academic Challenge: Illinois wins!

Post by Matt Weiner »

Anyway, if we're writing letters begging corporations for money, how about we use it to subsidize an expansion or fee reduction at NAQT or PACE, or for this hypothetical actual quizbowl tournament for state all-star teams that could replace PAC? I see no reason why we should be going out of our way to save a bad tournament.
Matt Weiner
Advisor to Quizbowl at Virginia Commonwealth University / Founder of hsquizbowl.org
Tegan
Coach of AHAN Jr.
Posts: 1976
Joined: Mon Nov 01, 2004 9:42 pm

Re: 2008 Panasonic Academic Challenge: Illinois wins!

Post by Tegan »

Matt Weiner wrote:NAC is like the NIT except the field quality is actually even more diluted, the hoops are eight feet off the ground, the ball is only inflated halfway, and not infrequently the referees tackle players who they don't want to win.

PAC is like a Dadaist exhibition of basketball involving swimming through margarine with a hacky-sack, that everyone admits is not really basketball but can't resist attending because it's held in a tourist attraction.
This post >>must<< be preserved.

I think it was Robert DeNiro as Al CApone in The Untouchables who said "Sometimes you laugh because its funny, and sometimes you laugh because its the truth.

I guess sometimes ....a little of both.
Joshua Rutsky
Tidus
Posts: 663
Joined: Mon Oct 24, 2005 9:59 am
Location: Hoover, AL

Re: 2008 Panasonic Academic Challenge updates

Post by Joshua Rutsky »

AndyShootsAndyScores wrote:
wowitsquinthaha wrote:dude, Guam sucks.
Since they're the only team Alabama beat, I feel SO proud.

Don't worry, Andy. We didn't humiliate the state too badly. The three teams that beat us (California, Florida, and Kentucky) all made the finals.
But thanks for the vote of confidence. :)


My personal experience this year with PAC was a pretty good one. It certainly is NOT a traditional competition, and it tells you that up front, but as a coach, I have two priorities for an end of the year tourney:

1) Do the kids enjoy themselves, since it is largely their money and effort that gets them there?
2) Is the competition worthwhile and legitimate?

Many of you could rip me on these priorities, I'm sure, but unlike a lot of teams that post regularly on this board, we aren't in contention for the national championship. Would I like to be? Of course! Would my kids like to be? Sure! Will they do the work it would take to catch up to a TJ or Dorman-class team? Heck, no!

We attended NAQT this year, and we had a good time. We're planning on going to PACE next year to see how we enjoy that. This was our first trip to PAC, and we had fun there, too. The kids felt like they got more than their money's worth (we did fundraising, so individual costs weren't too bad), and we felt like we played reasonably well for a first-time team. I met Byko, which was a treat, along with some other great coaches who gave me excellent advice, and did some useful networking.

All of our players agreed that they really would have liked more playing time. They were just getting the hang of the format by the end of the second round, and that was it; we were eliminated. Two games is not a lot of chance to show what you know. We HATED the matching questions (they are purely buzzer races), and got clobbered on the science and math computations--we managed to get in for only one math question in two games, and anyone who played us this year knows we're a fairly strong team in math. At the same time, however, we knew it was going to be an odd format, and we decided we wanted to come and try it. Most of the kids on the team would like another shot at it next year if we get the opportunity.

I guess what I'm saying about PAC is that it really needs to be taken for what it is--a specialized format tourney that tells you exactly what you're getting for your money, and lets you make the call. For a team that wants a guns-blazing head-to-head day of traditional quizbowl, PAC is bad. For us, it was pretty good.
Joshua Rutsky
VP for Curriculum and Camp Operations, Qwiz
ASCA Board Member
Hoover High School Coach (Retired)
User avatar
AndyShootsAndyScores
Yuna
Posts: 806
Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2005 6:33 pm
Location: Tuscaloosa, AL
Contact:

Re: 2008 Panasonic Academic Challenge updates

Post by AndyShootsAndyScores »

Joshua Rutsky wrote:Don't worry, Andy. We didn't humiliate the state too badly. The three teams that beat us (California, Florida, and Kentucky) all made the finals.
But thanks for the vote of confidence. :)
You beat us when it counted, so you can take any criticism about your team from me with a grain of salt :razz:.
Andy Knowles
Brindlee Mountain, '08
University of Alabama, '12
User avatar
quizbowllee
Auron
Posts: 2180
Joined: Thu Feb 12, 2004 2:12 am
Location: Alabama

Re: 2008 Panasonic Academic Challenge updates

Post by quizbowllee »

Joshua Rutsky wrote:
AndyShootsAndyScores wrote:
wowitsquinthaha wrote:dude, Guam sucks.
Since they're the only team Alabama beat, I feel SO proud.

Don't worry, Andy. We didn't humiliate the state too badly. The three teams that beat us (California, Florida, and Kentucky) all made the finals.
But thanks for the vote of confidence. :)
Despite Andy no longer being on my team, I still would like to apologize for his lack of class... But, that's just Andy :roll:

Joshua Rutsky wrote: Many of you could rip me on these priorities, I'm sure, but unlike a lot of teams that post regularly on this board, we aren't in contention for the national championship. Would I like to be? Of course! Would my kids like to be? Sure! Will they do the work it would take to catch up to a TJ or Dorman-class team? Heck, no!
I think this is one of the biggest problems in our area, Josh. We don't expect our teams to be as good as TJ and/or Dorman. Therefore, they aren't. Hoover is a large school with plenty of resources and students to pull from. I feel fairly confident that, with a little more motivation, you probably could make that leap. It won't be done is a year, but building up your team little by little for the next few years - with the older players becoming mentors for the younger ones, pushing them to succeed, I could see it happening.

Our expectations in Alabama are just too low. You guys took the ASCA title right out of our hands. In a way I was relieved, because I wasn't looking forward to the scene when I told the powers that be that we wouldn't be representing Alabama at Panasonic. We already were committed to PACE and NAQT... We really need to send an All-State Team to Panasonic like the competitive states do. We need to help our state champions pay for a trip to a legitimate tournament like PACE.

At any rate, I think that a few tweaks to the current system in Alabama would go a long way in making our best teams more in line with the best in the country. Brindlee Mountain and Hoover were the best in Alabama by a long shot - and it pains me to see how we fared against the best teams in the nation. It shouldn't be that way. It doesn't have to be that way. I'm not "trashing" ASCA here. I just want what is best for our kids and our teams in Alabama. We tend to cater to the lowest common denominator here when we should be striving more for excellence.

Brindlee Mountain will NOT be competitive at a national level AT ALL this coming year. We won't be in contention for the ASCA title, either. So, I really don't have a dog in this hunt. But, I've seen how much Hoover has improved in the last couple of years and I have confidence that you guys really do have what it takes to reach that elite status. I hope you can find a way to encourage your team to put in that work. It's time for someone in Alabama to do it.
Lee Henry
AP Lit and APUSH Teacher
Quiz Bowl Coach
West Point High School
President-Elect/Past President- Alabama Scholastic Competition Association (ASCA)
User avatar
BuzzerZen
Auron
Posts: 1517
Joined: Thu Nov 18, 2004 11:01 pm
Location: Arlington, VA/Hampshire College

Re: 2008 Panasonic Academic Challenge: Illinois wins!

Post by BuzzerZen »

sweaver wrote:
BobGHHS wrote: According to Rush Limbaugh or some other political commentator on the radio today that my friend had on, Exxon-Mobil is getting out of the gasoline business in the U.S. citing the fact that its not profitable enough.
It is my experience that whatever Rush Limbaugh says, the opposite should be assumed to be true. Your odds are much better this way.
In the interest of accuracy, Exxon is, in fact, selling all the gas stations that it owns and operates. Exxon- and Mobil-branded gas stations will remain. Exxon certainly isn't getting out of the gasoline business entirely; that still brings in plenty of filthy filthy lucre. [source]
Evan Silberman
Hampshire College 07F

How are you actually reading one of my posts?
User avatar
sabine01
Tidus
Posts: 647
Joined: Wed Jun 11, 2003 6:31 pm
Location: Takoma Park, MD
Contact:

Re: 2008 Panasonic Academic Challenge: Illinois wins!

Post by sabine01 »

Moderator speed theory/discussion now here.

~T~
Tricia Southard Greenstein, MLS
Furman '01 | GWU Staff | Maryland '10

I don't care whose fault this was, just get it sorted! And could someone please bring me something deep fat fried and smothered in chocolate?! ~ Fairy Godmother, "Shrek 2"
User avatar
millionwaves
Auron
Posts: 1360
Joined: Sun Feb 25, 2007 12:35 pm
Location: Urbana, Illinois
Contact:

Re: 2008 Panasonic Academic Challenge: Illinois wins!

Post by millionwaves »

I have moved the posts regarding discussion of NSC moderators to this thread.
Trygve Meade
Illinois, ACF

Above the Star-Apple Kingdom
User avatar
CoachJET
Lulu
Posts: 24
Joined: Wed Aug 16, 2006 12:36 pm
Location: Pensacola, FL

Re: 2008 Panasonic Academic Challenge: Illinois wins!

Post by CoachJET »

I'm not sure if anyone else has already noticed this and posted about it...but the official PAC website now refers to the tournament as "The National Tournament of Academic Excellence (formerly known as the Panasonic Academic Challenge)."

They have reverted to their old name, so I guess Panasonic really did pull the plug. It'll be interesting to see what company (if any) takes over sponsorship. I'm also curious to see if Lisa Rawls (the new tournament director) will make any format/organizational changes.

I think it's safe to say that the next year or two will determine whether the tournament-formerly-known-as-PAC will live or die.
Jonathan E. Thompson
School District of Escambia County
User avatar
Stained Diviner
Auron
Posts: 5085
Joined: Sun Jun 13, 2004 6:08 am
Location: Chicagoland
Contact:

Re: 2008 Panasonic Academic Challenge: Illinois wins!

Post by Stained Diviner »

If you have suggestions for Lisa Rawls, her email address is [email protected]. I sent her a message and got back a pleasant, though noncommittal, response. Remember that she is new to the position.
David Reinstein
Head Writer and Editor for Scobol Solo, Masonics, and IESA; TD for Scobol Solo and Reinstein Varsity; IHSSBCA Board Member; IHSSBCA Chair (2004-2014); PACE President (2016-2018)
Locked