CO History Subject Tournament

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Chris Frankel
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CO History Subject Tournament

Post by Chris Frankel »

Since it seems to be the time for announcing CO accessory tournaments, I'll put it on the agenda that I'm planning on running a history subject tournament for the weekend. The format will be analogous to that of past Science Monstrosities, namely teams of 2 playing on 20/20 tu/bonus packets. All the writing will be done by myself, and I'm aiming for 10 packets.

More details, including distribution, date, price, etc. to follow.
"They sometimes get fooled by the direction a question is going to take, and that's intentional," said Reid. "The players on these teams are so good that 90 percent of the time they could interrupt the question and give the correct answer if the questions didn't take those kinds of turns. That wouldn't be fun to watch, so every now and then as I design these suckers, I say to myself, 'Watch this!' and wait 'til we're on camera. I got a lot of dirty looks this last tournament."
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Post by Chris Frankel »

I'm going to open up the (currently unnamed) History Subject Tournament to reservations. I haven't worked out the specific scheduling yet aside from the obvious "it's during CO weekend," but here's the long and short of the tournament, much of which has been stated above already:

-There will be 10 packets, all written by myself.
-Each packet will have 20 tossups and 20 bonuses.
-Registration will be done in teams of two. If you would like to play, but can't find a partner, I can put you on a free agent list.
-The cost will be $15/player or $30/team. The entry fee gets you 10 rounds of play and a copy of the packet set after the tournament.
-The tournament game schedule will be based on the number of teams participating and the constraints of having 10 packets. For example, an 11 team field would be a single round robin, while a 6 team field would be a double round robin.

Please e-mail me at [email protected] if you would like to register a team or express interest in playing as a free agent. I will also need moderators and may be willing to pay a token fee for it as I did last year, so similarly you can e-mail me if you'd like to do that.
"They sometimes get fooled by the direction a question is going to take, and that's intentional," said Reid. "The players on these teams are so good that 90 percent of the time they could interrupt the question and give the correct answer if the questions didn't take those kinds of turns. That wouldn't be fun to watch, so every now and then as I design these suckers, I say to myself, 'Watch this!' and wait 'til we're on camera. I got a lot of dirty looks this last tournament."
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Post by Chris Frankel »

Until I figure out this thing's name, I'll use this post as a placeholder for the field listing; if you e-mail me and see your name here, that'll be your confirmation that I've received your expression of interest:

Teams:
Beyer/Platzer
Borglum/Kendall
Lafer/Westbrook
Passner/Stratton
Turner/Arthur
Vinokurov/Meigs
Weiner/ROME.RO SMASH
Yaphe/Kemezis

Free Agents/Teams Pending:
Lorin Burte (and Victor Rosenberg?)
Nathan Freeburg
Last edited by Chris Frankel on Sat Jun 17, 2006 1:57 pm, edited 8 times in total.
"They sometimes get fooled by the direction a question is going to take, and that's intentional," said Reid. "The players on these teams are so good that 90 percent of the time they could interrupt the question and give the correct answer if the questions didn't take those kinds of turns. That wouldn't be fun to watch, so every now and then as I design these suckers, I say to myself, 'Watch this!' and wait 'til we're on camera. I got a lot of dirty looks this last tournament."
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Post by Matt Weiner »

Hey everyone, I need somebody who can answer military history tossups (names of battles from nonpolitical, military-specific clues like General Zod attacked the opponent's right flank with the Horsedick Maneuver) and if possible any other areas of history I don't care about, to play on my team. First person who fits the description and contacts me gets to reap the hypothetical benefits of my constantly-declining quizbowl abilities.

edit: teammate found
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Post by Chris Frankel »

I'm going to provide a quick update re: the history tournament, which is happening in Chicago on the evening of Friday the 28th.

Teams are:
Beyer/Platzer
Borglum/Kendall
Burte/(Rosenberg?)
Lafer/Westbrook
Passner/Stratton
Turner/Arthur
Vinokurov/Meigs
Weiner/ROME.RO SMASH
Yaphe/Kemezis

I also had two interested individuals: Nathan Freeburg and Ahmad Ragab.

First a quick note about sign-up's. As having an odd number of teams > 10 could be problematic for the brackets because of the limited number of packets and the need for bye rounds, I would prefer to close registration to any new teams unless enough interest comes along for the field to have an even number. If no new teams express interest, I'd like to ask if Freeburg and Ragab would object to playing together to keep the field at 10 teams.

Second, I have a possible addendum to make re: pricing. For various reasons, including but not limited to my need to subcontract some of the writing duties and the increasingly likely chance I will not myself be able to make CO and have to hire somone (likely Zeke) to direct the tournament, I would prefer to bump up the entry fee slightly to $20/head or $40/team (from the orignally announced 15/30). This would make the tournament pretty much the same cost as last year's Pontormo art singles ($20/head for 400 questions and a copy of the packet sets after the tournament), which went over well enough. If there is significant objection, I will reconsider, but otherwise this change will be in effect.

As for moderators, I have Zeke, Eric Kwartler, and Dave Rappaport lined up. I'm working on some other possibilities, but if anyone wants to volunteer, get in touch with me. A grand total of 5 moderators are needed. I don't have any buzzers lined up though, anyone planning to bring them should notify me.

That's it for updates; more will follow if anything else comes up.
"They sometimes get fooled by the direction a question is going to take, and that's intentional," said Reid. "The players on these teams are so good that 90 percent of the time they could interrupt the question and give the correct answer if the questions didn't take those kinds of turns. That wouldn't be fun to watch, so every now and then as I design these suckers, I say to myself, 'Watch this!' and wait 'til we're on camera. I got a lot of dirty looks this last tournament."
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Post by Nathan »

alas, I will not be able to play in the History tournament as I am partaking of one of my two major non-qb hobbies in Chicago that evening....
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Post by alkrav112 »

I should probably be able to moderate for you... don't believe I'll be anywhere else.

- Andy
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Post by SnookerUSF »

If no one else is interested in playing, I would be happy to moderate for you as well.

Ahmad
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ACF Nationals 2011:"Too real for the streets"
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"Can 40,000 redacted topic Tossups be wrong?"

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Post by Chris Frankel »

Few logistical questions to throw out:

1. We're covered on moderators. I have Eric, Zeke, Dave, and now Seth Teitler and Matt Nance. Andy and Ahmad, if you decide you want to help out, you can do so as well.

2. It seems like the field is somewhere between nine and ten teams, with ten being highly preferable in that it prevents byes. I think I'm going to cap the field at ten, but if anyone wants to play with Ahmad (at his approval) or if any team wants to be on a waiting list in case a team backs out, let me know.

3. I can take team/player names early if any of you has some hilariously witty psuedonyms you can't wait to share.

4. Zeke announced the tournament would start at 7. I personally won't be making it to Chicago after all (Eric K. will be running the tournament on my behalf), but I expressed concern that finishing 10 rounds after starting at 7 pm probably isn't going to go well. I wanted to check here and see everyone's thoughts on starting time. On one hand, scaling back to 5 or 6 means getting out at a more reasonable time, but could cause problems for people with late flights or day jobs. On the other, 7 pm means you're going to get out pretty late (these are full packets of ACF style questions), and I don't want to see teams leaving before the tournament end, because this will be a round robin competition. Again, feel free to express thoughts on time preferences; right now I'm thinking of moving back to 6, but if that screws anyone, please tell me.
"They sometimes get fooled by the direction a question is going to take, and that's intentional," said Reid. "The players on these teams are so good that 90 percent of the time they could interrupt the question and give the correct answer if the questions didn't take those kinds of turns. That wouldn't be fun to watch, so every now and then as I design these suckers, I say to myself, 'Watch this!' and wait 'til we're on camera. I got a lot of dirty looks this last tournament."
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Post by grapesmoker »

Personally, I'd prefer to hear the entire set to getting out early.
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Post by grapesmoker »

Oops, hit post before I finished. I guess I probably don't care if it's moved to 6 since I'll have to travel early that day anyway, and I'm pretty sure Charles will be there the night before anyway.
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Post by Matt Weiner »

Are we really locked in for 7? We could start earlier. Otherwise, let's just encourage people to move their asses through rounds--moderators should read as if it were timed, teams should be strictly told not to chatter between questions.

In any case, I too would prefer to play the whole thing.
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Post by Rothlover »

I am a big fan of "starting as early as possible;" I hope others are as well.
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Post by ValenciaQBowl »

I agree with the sentiments above. Could we be radical and look at starting at around 4 pm or so? If that time is too early, as it very well may be, could people post that here? After all, if everyone is available earlier, we might as well start.
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Post by Mr. Kwalter »

I think maybe we should look at a 5-5:30 PM start time with a break for food. Note: I must emphatically stress on Mr. Frankel's behalf that the tournament staff will not be providing food. The idea would be to take up a collection from tournament participants to get some pizza or something. Any time between 5 and 7 infringes on people's dinner plans, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to have food to keep us going.
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I found a partner

Post by SnookerUSF »

Chris,

If there is room and with your permission Jim Baker will be joining me as a partner. I believe that makes 10 teams, right?

Regards,
Ahmad
Ahmad Ragab, itinerant moderator at the New School for Social Research

ACF Nationals 2011:"Too real for the streets"
-Auroni Gupta

"Can 40,000 redacted topic Tossups be wrong?"

"With my gnomes I'm highlighting the danger of political opportunism and right-wing ideology. I get the feeling that this gnome has reopened an old wound."
-Ottomar Hoerl
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Post by Chris Frankel »

Sounds good, Ahmad. The 10th and last spot is your team's.
"They sometimes get fooled by the direction a question is going to take, and that's intentional," said Reid. "The players on these teams are so good that 90 percent of the time they could interrupt the question and give the correct answer if the questions didn't take those kinds of turns. That wouldn't be fun to watch, so every now and then as I design these suckers, I say to myself, 'Watch this!' and wait 'til we're on camera. I got a lot of dirty looks this last tournament."
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Post by Birdofredum Sawin »

Hey, the rooms that have been reserved for the tournament Friday night are ours from 6 until 11. I strongly suggest that the tournament be run within those times. (I don't think we'll be kicked out immediately at 11, but it's likely that the rooms will be in use prior to 6.)

Andrew
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Post by ValenciaQBowl »

Well, Andrew's point is obviously well taken. Could we all agree to meet in front of Cobb at 5:45 to do the meeting and pay/register, so we could at least jump pretty much right into it at 6?
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Post by Mr. Kwalter »

ValenciaQBowl wrote:Well, Andrew's point is obviously well taken. Could we all agree to meet in front of Cobb at 5:45 to do the meeting and pay/register, so we could at least jump pretty much right into it at 6?
That seems like the best solution. We will meet outside Cobb at 5:45 PM to take care of registration and conduct the meeting, then the tournament will begin as close to 6:00 as the logistics prove to allow. This prompts another question: are people interested in taking up an additional collection to get some food? If so, what do we want? I know Seth Teitler votes for Giordano's. If Chicago people want to post some nearby delivery options, or if anyone else has a suggestion, that would be good. If we decide we want to do dinner, I can get a quote from the place and add on each team's appropriate share to the entry fee.
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Post by Susan »

Some Hyde Park food options:
Giordano's: Deep-dish and normal pizza, sandwiches, pasta, salads, etc.

Noodles Etc.: Inexpensive pan-Asian.

The Snail: Slightly more expensive, higher-quality Thai.

Ribs 'n' Bibs: Self-explanatory, though not all meals come with bibs. Seth Teitler recommends "The Boss".

Medici: Burgers, sandwiches, pizza, salads, etc.

Caffe Florian: Much like the Med.

Harold's Chicken Shack: You won't get the full experience if you order it in--no bulletproof glass.

Rajun Cajun: Half Indian, half soul food.

As far as national chains go, Hyde Park has a Domino's and a bunch of sandwich places (Subway, Quizno's, Potbelly).

A list of all restaurants in Hyde Park and environs (complete with menus) can be found here.
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Post by Rothlover »

Allow me to go on record in favor of Harold's. History plus fried chicken could make for a great evening.
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Post by shlack »

So you'd be willing to go pick it up, right Paz? :smile:
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Post by Skepticism and Animal Feed »

I will be leading a group expedition to Nicky's Chinese all three days of CO.
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Post by Chris Frankel »

good luck with the tournament, just made myself very late to work finishing packets.

Eric Kwartler is in charge of logistics, so please email him with any last minute questions or concerns. Good luck and enjoy the set all.
"They sometimes get fooled by the direction a question is going to take, and that's intentional," said Reid. "The players on these teams are so good that 90 percent of the time they could interrupt the question and give the correct answer if the questions didn't take those kinds of turns. That wouldn't be fun to watch, so every now and then as I design these suckers, I say to myself, 'Watch this!' and wait 'til we're on camera. I got a lot of dirty looks this last tournament."
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Post by Matt Weiner »

This is what happened:

1. Kemezis/Yaphe (9-0)
2. Meigs/Vinokurov (8-1)
3. Weiner/Rome.ro (7-2)
4. Lafer/Westbrook (6-3)

After that I don't know the standings, but a good time was had by all.
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Post by Important Bird Area »

If any of the people who were in charge of this tournament are reading this, please get in touch with me by email. There is interest in holding a west coast mirror tomorrow afternoon or evening.
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Post by Chris Frankel »

Jeff, e-mail me ([email protected]) if you'd be interested in getting the packets and working on some mirror arrangement.
"They sometimes get fooled by the direction a question is going to take, and that's intentional," said Reid. "The players on these teams are so good that 90 percent of the time they could interrupt the question and give the correct answer if the questions didn't take those kinds of turns. That wouldn't be fun to watch, so every now and then as I design these suckers, I say to myself, 'Watch this!' and wait 'til we're on camera. I got a lot of dirty looks this last tournament."
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