ASS @ Maryland - 1/28

Mike Bentley · Post by **Mike Bentley** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 11:46 am

This is a new announcement for our cheaply priced trash tournament, ASS - The Atlantic Seaboard Skirmish - which will be held on Sunday, January 28th, the day after the Terrapin Invitational Tournament. Please disregard all of the information in the previous announcement.

The reason for this re-announcement is because we've decided to change how the tournament is going to be run. ASS is still a themed tournament, meaning that each round will have a packet of a certain trash theme. But the difference is that we're only doing one themed packet per round, instead of our original idea of doing two different, more niche packets per round. So, we're going to try to make these themes general, so that no one team has a real big advantage over the other team by getting lucky with the distribution.

The questions for this tournament will be entirely house written, so there is no submission required. We are aiming to make the tournament pretty accessible, and the answer selection is generally going to focus on more recent (as in the past 15-20 years) subjects.

This will be an open trashy tournament, so anyone is eligible to play.

There will probably be around 12 or so rounds for this tournament, depending on how many teams register.

Base Price: $80
Minimum fee per team: $50

Discounts:
Buzzers: $5 a system
Moderator: $10
Attended TIT this year: $20
Travel discounts may be available to teams who can convince me they
deserve one.

If you wish to register, send an e-mail to me, Mike Bentley, at mike000 (zero zero zero) (at) umd (dot) edu.

Further logistical details will be sent out to registered teams closer
to the tournament.

If you are interested in mirroring this event or would like to acquire
the packets for practice purposes afterwards (please let me know after
the tournament if you want the questions for practice), please email Casey at crettere (at) umd (dot) edu.

Mike Bentley · Post by **Mike Bentley** » Sun Nov 19, 2006 9:03 pm

This tournament, along with the Terrapin Invitational Tournament, will be delayed until the last weekend in January. Specifically, the new date of ASS will be on Sunday, January 28th. All of the other information in the first post stands.

I'd like to remind teams that this will be an open tournament, meaning that anyone can register. The topics will generally be more undergraduate friendly than TRASH regional, but we do hope to make the tournament fun for older teams.

Also, could a moderator please change the dates in the topic and the first post?

Mike Bentley · Post by **Mike Bentley** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 12:41 pm

Here is a field update for ASS:

The following teams have confirmed that they are coming:
Wilmington Charter School - 1 Team
University of Rochester - 3 Teams
Dan Goff and others - 1 Team
UVA - 1 Team
Brick Barientos and others - 1 Team

These teams registered for the earlier date but have not confirmed if they are coming yet after the postponement to the current date (the 28th of January):
GW
Carnegie Mellon

Registration will remain open until at least next Tuesday (the 23rd). Just send me an e-mail at mike000 at umd.edu (that's 3 zeros) with how many teams you're bringing, what your hilarious team name will be, and how many buzzers you're brining (as well as any other discounts you think you qualify for).

For those still unsure of the format, we're doing themed rounds of either general themes or 2-4 sub-themes per packet. The answers lean pretty heavily towards newer trash, so undergraduate teams should not feel intimidated and older teams can get some practice on that new-fangled kids stuff before TRASHIONALS (which is also at Maryland).

Also, if anyone wants to Freelance something like 7/7 themed questions before Sunday or so, we can offer you the entire question set in compensation. Send me an e-mail (once again to mike000 at umd.edu) with what theme you want to do before you start so I can confirm we need such a theme.

Mike Bentley · Post by **Mike Bentley** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 6:28 pm

Ok, the field is now:

Wilmington Charter School - 1 Team
University of Rochester - 3 Teams
Dan Goff and others - 1 Team
UVA - 1 Team
Brick Barientos and others - 1 Team
College Park Retirement Castle - 1 Team
GW - 1 Team

Bringing the total to 9 teams.

I would like to have an even number of teams to avoid byes, so we're still looking for one or three additional teams for the tournament. The field will be capped at either 10 or 12 teams. Registration will remain open until Thursday. Again, please contact me at mike000 at umd.edu (that's three zeros) if you want to register a team.

The tournament will be taking place in Jimenez Hall at the University of Maryland, the usual venue for Maryland's collegiate tournaments. Registration will be in the small lecture hall in the basement from 8-9 AM. Follow the posted signs to find the room. We expect to have about 9 rounds of play and a finals round or two.

Mike Bentley · Post by **Mike Bentley** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 7:27 pm

So the first ever ASS is now finished.

Too Old to Rock, Too Dumb to Quit (Phil Castagna et. al) won the final round against Skysurfer Strike Force (Rochester A) by a score of 365-180.

The full standings can be found here:

http://www.doc-ent.com/quizbowl/ASS-Reb ... dings.html

FYI, here is the round key:
Round 1: Fake Capitalism (Shows within shows and the like)
Round 2: Comical TV (Comic Strips and TV)
Round 3: Sponsored Sports (Consumer related stuff and the big 4 US sports)
Round 4: All Types of Gaming (Videogames, Game Shows, Board Games, Card Games, Misc. Games)
Round 5: Movie Food (Movies and Food)
Round 6: Kiddie Pr0n (Children's Literature and Porn)
Round 7: Xtreme Sports, Xtreme Music (Obscure Sports and Music)
Round 8: Simply Awful (Worst of Every Genre)
Round 9: Pirates vs. Ninjas vs. Zombies vs. Robots (Answers with those four things as themes)
Round 10: Leftovers (Unthemed)
Round 11: Final (Unthemed)

I hope everyone found this tournament enjoyable. I regret that there were a few editting problems, but hopefully that didn't skew your opinion of the tournament.

Anyways, I'm interested to hear what teams thought of the format, distribution, and overall experience. Feel free to e-mail me at mike000 at umd dot edu, or, of course, by posting here.

Also, the set has been mailed out to the teams who particpated. If you want to buy the set for $15 or trade for another set, e-mail me at the address above.

Mike Bentley · Post by **Mike Bentley** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 4:00 pm

Hey, I still haven't really heard any feedback about the tournament. Just from briefly overhearing a few conversations at the event I know a lot of people had different opinions on the rounds / overall tournament, and it would be nice to see them laid out here or by e-mail so that I can incorporate these into next year's tournament.

Phil Castagna · Post by **Phil Castagna** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 11:57 pm

Well, last time I played in a Maryland Trash Tourney, the initials stood for Andy Sedearis Spectacular.

I thought the set and the themes were good. Writing in theme is very difficult, and I thought that the writing was pretty good overall. I thought that the answer choices were good, as the amount of questions no one in the room knew what was going on was kept to a minimum. I thought the "stuff found within other stuff" was a very well-written packet. I was afraid of there being a rash of questions on annoying internet fads, obscurata bands (I have no idea what college kids listen to), but none of those fears ever materialized, and for the most part, the pyramidality was at an acceptable level.

For an all-undergrad writing team on its first effort, they turned in an excellent set.

Thanks,
Phil Castagna
Too Old to Rock, Too Dumb to Quit