Improving bonus conversion

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schen
Lulu
Posts: 37
Joined: Tue Sep 10, 2013 5:43 pm

Improving bonus conversion

Post by schen »

Hi,
My team had its second foray into serious quizbowl a couple of weeks ago, and we didn't do too badly. However, I noticed that our p/b was quite a bit lower than those of the top teams that were present. While we hovered around 17.5 p/b, most teams in the top bracket had p/b's of 21, with one at 23. How can we improve our bonus conversion? We did get 20 or 30 on some bonuses, but I felt like we also bageled a ton as well. How can we improve in bonuses?

Thanks,
Sunny Chen

Note: I typed this on a tablet, so please forgive any errors I may have made.
Sunny Chen
Hinsdale Central HS '16
Cal '20

Member of Ankush Club
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Cheynem
Sin
Posts: 7220
Joined: Tue May 11, 2004 11:19 am
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan

Re: Improving bonus conversion

Post by Cheynem »

i guess the central question is "do you think your bonus conversion is hurt by just not knowing things or by not being very effective as a team on bonuses?"
Mike Cheyne
Formerly U of Minnesota

"You killed HSAPQ"--Matt Bollinger
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heterodyne
Rikku
Posts: 427
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2012 9:47 am

Re: Improving bonus conversion

Post by heterodyne »

I noticed when we played you that you guys were not conferring very well. Especially without bouncebacks, localize your thoughts. You might jar or make some connection that gives you the answer.
Alston [Montgomery] Boyd
Bloomington High School '15
UChicago '19
UChicago Divinity '21
they
schen
Lulu
Posts: 37
Joined: Tue Sep 10, 2013 5:43 pm

Re: Improving bonus conversion

Post by schen »

Cheynem wrote:i guess the central question is "do you think your bonus conversion is hurt by just not knowing things or by not being very effective as a team on bonuses?"
I think it was more of a knowledge thing. I recall a couple of times where we let the tossup go dead after the other team negged, indicating some serious gaps in our knowledge. However, we did have some tension between team members, which may have contributed to our lower p/b.
Sunny Chen
Hinsdale Central HS '16
Cal '20

Member of Ankush Club
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Santa Claus
Rikku
Posts: 285
Joined: Fri Aug 23, 2013 10:58 pm

Re: Improving bonus conversion

Post by Santa Claus »

Expanding each player's base knowledge in their respective subject would be useful. Sometimes just knowing what something is is enough to prevent a bagel, and can help prevent questions from going dead as well.

If possible, try to find out what specific things you guys don't know and learn common clue; for example, for a bonus on ferromagnetism, knowing what materials exhibit it and various associated phenomenon would be helpful. This knowledge would also help get the topic if it comes up as a tossup.

And regarding your team dynamics, all I can say is, can't we all just get along?
Kevin Wang
Arcadia High School 2015
Amherst College 2019

2018 PACE NSC Champion
2019 PACE NSC Champion
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