The Quizbowl Resource Center

Northwestern will be mirroring Penn Bowl on February 11, 2012. You can find more info about our mirror of Penn Bowl Trash on February 12 here. I, Dan Donohue, will be serving as Tournament Director.

To register, please fill out this form. I WILL NOT COUNT YOUR REGISTRATION UNLESS YOU FILL OUT THIS FORM.

Logistics
Please park in the free Lakeside Parking Structure, which is located at 1 Arts Circle Drive. Check-in will occur from 8:00 to 8:30 am in Kresge Hall Room 4-365, which is located at 1880 Campus Drive. Gameplay will begin at 9:00 am in Kresge. An interactive campus map can be found here.

Teams will play in 4 brackets of 6 in the prelims and 3 brackets of 8 in the playoffs, with the prelim match carrying over.

Hotels
If you have to stay in Evanston, the Hilton Orrington, Hilton Garden Inn, and Best Western University Plaza are all within walking distance.

Fee Structure
Base fee per team: $120 each
Functional buzzers: -$10 each (max. 2)
Competent moderators: -$10 each (no limit)
Travel (per school): -$15 per 200 miles (one-ways, determined by Mapquest)
Packet: -$25 (must contact Penn about writing before December 1; more info here)

Minimum fee per school: $40

Shorthanded teams, high school teams, and teams in financial need can email me to work out discounts.

Registered field (24 - FULL)
Chicago x 6
Illinois x 2
Illinois-Chicago
Lawrence x 2
Michigan x 4
Michigan State x 2
Minnesota x 2
Northwestern
Notre Dame
Wisconsin
WUSTL x 2

Wait list

Contact
For simple questions, you can post here or email me ([email protected]). Email me if you want to staff; I can provide staffers with a free lunch.

Our registration (which we just sent in) is contingent on the tournament being on the 11th (since our high school event is the 28th). We're also probably more likely to come if there isn't a closer mirror, though since my teammates really enjoyed coming last year, there's a pretty good chance we'd come to your mirror regardless.

Like WUSTL, the 11th works much better for us and our registration reflects that date being when PB is hosted.

Michigan State is definitely in for some number of teams (likely 2; I'll let you know once we decide for sure). Unlike WUSTL, our high school event is 1/21, so we're fine with either date.

Minnesota will be sending 1-2 teams to this, but nothing is confirmed yet.

When will the date for this tournament be decided? If it's going to be on the 28th, it'd be nice to know that before the end of the semester so that we have time to put teams together, rent vehicles, etc... It'd also be helpful to know the date since we (and I presume other teams as well) aren't able to schedule other things (like high school tournaments) until we know when Penn Bowl will be.

Yeah, sorry, we'll do it on the 11th. Teams should fill out this form to register. Field will probably be capped at 18 teams, so 14 spots are currently available

...hilariously, I'll be at NU that morning taking the LSAT. Sooo I guess I'll stop by afterwords and see if you need an extra staffer or coffee or something.

We will have 2 teams at this tournament, 2 buzzers, and 0 moderators.

The 18-team field is exactly half-full at this point. Fill out the registration form soon to guarantee your spot.

Just bumping this. I can only guarantee 5 more spots in the field. So if you haven't registered yet, please fill out the registration form. If you have registered and you'd like to register more teams, just email me.

I registered Michigan for 3 teams, but we might actually only bring 2 depending on interest...

I can only guarantee two more spots in the field.

If you haven't registered yet, fill out the registration form ASAP.

If you have registered and you want to register more teams, just email me.

And the field is now closed. Email me or post here if you want to be first on the wait list. (It seems likely that some teams will drop or that we will increase the field size.)

Loyola Chicago is just getting started and I believe my team would be open to attending if we can get into the field, so I'd greatly appreciate it if we could be put on the wait list. Also, if it ends up that we cannot attend, is there a way to volunteer to staff (moderate, keep score, registration, etc.) because I would be more than happy to help out with this. Thanks!

I'll add Loyola to the wait list. If we can get 3 more teams on that wait list, I will likely increase the field to 24 teams. So if anyone's thinking about bringing an additional team, let me know sooner rather than later.

Chicago C-G and Loyola University Chicago have joined the field. So we now have a total of 24 teams, which will play 4 brackets of 6 into 3 brackets of 8 with the prelim match carrying over.

This is a dumb question, but is Penn Bowl trash happening this year?

Does Penn Bowl trash exist this year? We haven't heard anything, but if it's happening we'd host it on Sunday.

Cheynem wrote:This is a dumb question, but is Penn Bowl trash happening this year?

Dan-Don wrote:Does Penn Bowl trash exist this year? We haven't heard anything, but if it's happening we'd host it on Sunday.

There's a spreadsheet for it, but for more details you'll have to talk to Joe Nguyen.

Will you write some Canadian trash? I want to answer questions on Angela Anaconda and Total Drama Island, dammit!

I fully intend to tossup CBC programs from The Tudors and Little Mosque on the Prairie to CBC News - The National, hockey teams from the Vancouver Canucks and the Toronto Marlies to the Quebec City Remparts, and bands from Nickleback and Arcade Fire to Hollerado. Oh, and all the video games will be made by Bioware and all the films will be by James Cameron.

Prepare yourselves, eh?

(In all seriousness, I am writing some Canadiana, but not much)

Loyola Academy has dropped. I'm confident we can make a scab team the morning of the tournament, but if some school wants to claim that 24th spot in the meantime, please go right ahead. Just email me or make a post.

Loyola was also providing the only non-house staffer. We have enough in-house staff to run the tournament, but matches will run smoother and faster with more experienced readers. Interested parties should contact me, and teams should think about providing staffers for a $10 discount.

Notre Dame has joined the field as the twenty-fourth team. We'll keep our fingers crossed that no one else drops. And I could use some more non-house staffers. If you are interested in staffing, I can offer you a free lunch and a very good discount if you want to attend our Penn Bowl Trash mirror.

Chicago G has dropped, and DePauw has joined the field.

I don't know if Mark told you we were bringing our buzzer or not, but apparently some high school team stole it at our tournament last weekend, so we aren't.

Plan Rubber wrote:I don't know if Mark told you we were bringing our buzzer or not, but apparently some high school team stole it at our tournament last weekend, so we aren't.

Oh, ok. I'm sending a new invoice now.

Loyola University dropped, so if anyone wants that 24th spot, it's all theirs. If no one takes it, we'll form a scab team.

Dan-Don wrote:Loyola University dropped, so if anyone wants that 24th spot, it's all theirs. If no one takes it, we'll form a scab team.

Since we are on the waitlist, can we have the spot?

mlaird wrote:

Dan-Don wrote:Loyola University dropped, so if anyone wants that 24th spot, it's all theirs. If no one takes it, we'll form a scab team.

Since we are on the waitlist, can we have the spot?

Oh yeah. Sorry I forgot about that. The spot's all yours.

Is there going to be some way concerned people can get assurance about this (and, although it's much less important, trash) not being as terrible as the one this weekend was rumored to be?

Plan Rubber wrote:Is there going to be some way concerned people can get assurance about this (and, although it's much less important, trash) not being as terrible as the one this weekend was rumored to be?

Eric sent me an email this afternoon to assure me that we "will receive a heavily edited 14-packet tournament that is far superior to the one that was played this weekend."

If you are attending this tournament, please don't forget to enter your rosters here by Thursday night. If your rosters change after you fill it out, just email me or fill the form out again.

If you are unsure about how much you owe, or you need a new invoice, email me ASAP.

And in case people didn't hear, our Penn Bowl Trash mirror on Sunday has been canceled. I have reserved classrooms for Saturday evening so that people can play the eight packets of Penn Bowl Trash after the conclusion of Penn Bowl proper if they want. I won't be there to make actual schedules and stuff, and I can't promise that any Northwestern staffers will stay either. So I will just distribute the packets to any interested parties, and they can play them however they want. So this will be very informal. And free.

WUSTL B just dropped, so if someone wants to take that spot, it's all theirs. If not, we will form a scab team on Saturday morning.

Loyola Academy just dropped for the second time. I don't know if there will be enough extra players to make two scab teams, but I think we can field a house team if need be.

DePauw just dropped, but Michigan D joined. The current plan is to have a house team and a scab team. If anyone else needs to drop, please let me know ASAP. I have 20- and 22-team plans in case that happens.

We're down to one team due to weather. We're not sure about the remaining team.

Yeah, that's a thing wrote:We're down to one team due to weather. We're not sure about the remaining team.

All right then we will scrap the scab team, and this will be a 20-team tournament. 2 brackets of 10 into 5 of 4 with the prelim match carrying over. If Michigan State cancels their other team, the scab team will be back on.

Dan-Don wrote:

Yeah, that's a thing wrote:We're down to one team due to weather. We're not sure about the remaining team.

All right then we will scrap the scab team, and this will be a 20-team tournament. 2 brackets of 10 into 5 of 4 with the prelim match carrying over. If Michigan State cancels their other team, the scab team will be back on.

You do have enough packets to run this, right? Minnesota B, among possibly others, wrote a packet.

Ukonvasara wrote:

Dan-Don wrote:

Yeah, that's a thing wrote:We're down to one team due to weather. We're not sure about the remaining team.

All right then we will scrap the scab team, and this will be a 20-team tournament. 2 brackets of 10 into 5 of 4 with the prelim match carrying over. If Michigan State cancels their other team, the scab team will be back on.

You do have enough packets to run this, right? Minnesota B, among possibly others, wrote a packet.

Yep, Eric said we would have enough packets.

Dan-Don wrote:

Yeah, that's a thing wrote:We're down to one team due to weather. We're not sure about the remaining team.

All right then we will scrap the scab team, and this will be a 20-team tournament. 2 brackets of 10 into 5 of 4 with the prelim match carrying over. If Michigan State cancels their other team, the scab team will be back on.

Having made it through Gary, Indiana, one MSU team (consisting of Connor, Chris, Joe, and Mark) will be in attendance.

Yeah, that's a thing wrote:

Dan-Don wrote:

Yeah, that's a thing wrote:We're down to one team due to weather. We're not sure about the remaining team.

All right then we will scrap the scab team, and this will be a 20-team tournament. 2 brackets of 10 into 5 of 4 with the prelim match carrying over. If Michigan State cancels their other team, the scab team will be back on.

Having made it through Gary, Indiana, one MSU team (consisting of Connor, Chris, Joe, and Mark) will be in attendance.

Ok, thanks.

Michigan A and Chicago A are about to start a one-game final. (Chicago A beat Minnesota A in a play-in game to get here.)

Chicago A won. Check those earlier links for stats. I'll post combined stats later.

Full prelim, playoff, and combined stats are up. The playoff stats represent the actual order of finish, except for the top 3 teams, which goes: 1. Chicago A 2. Michigan A 3. Minnesota A. (Illinois B was ineligible to win the tournament.) The combined stats include the play-in game and the championship game. If you have any stats corrections, just let me know via post, email, or PM.

Thanks to our outside staffers--Colby Burnett, Rob Carson, and Neal Kfoury--for coming out and staying late.

This was really well run. Thanks for hosting!

(Caveat: This is nothing against Rom or Mike Sorice)

Eric said in the original announcement thread: "Also to make it clear, this tournament is not open." We then had players who are not eligible to play for schools play this tournament. Yes, their teams were ineligible to win, but they certainly impacted the tournament (obviously Illinois B more than UIC). Illinois B handed Chicago A a loss that carried over into the playoffs. Illinois B went into the top bracket, denying a team that actually had a chance of winning from having a chance to win. This seems to me a silly way to keep the technicality of the "no open" rule but not the spirit. If the field requires a non eligible team, I might just have them play a bunch of games that are always counted as losses or something--yes, that's silly when a very good team is then seeded in the last bracket or something (or some other solution can be worked out), and yes, these players playing were far more of a gray area than other examples (it's not like Ryan Westbrook wandered in and played with Michigan), but again, I think if a tournament proclaims itself not-open, it should be wholly not open.

Here's what I know. UIC asked me if Rom could play, so I sent an email to Eric asking if that would be ok. I didn't hear back, and then a day or two later Charles Martin told me that Sorice got permission from Eric to play the tournament provided his team was ineligible to win. (I took this mean that Rom would also be ok to play.)

I would agree that tournaments that claim to not be open should follow normal eligibility rules (or treat Illinois B and UIC as purely exhibition teams), but I didn't want to go against Eric on this one. I'm not holding anything against Mike, Rom, or Eric, but I completely understand if teams are disappointed that their playoff experience was affected. Perhaps Eric could speak more about what went into this decision?