ANNOUNCEMENT: ACF Nationals (4/17/2010)

[salamanca]

It is my pleasure to announce that next year's ACF Nationals will be held at the University of Maryland, College Park. Please note that due to a conflict with the dreaded Maryland Day extravaganza, the date has changed from our previous announcement (i.e., the original date was 4/24), we hope that this announcement comes early enough for folks to adjust their calendars.

Ryan and I will announce the actual Tournament Director (i.e., logistics point man or woman) and further details about the tournament as the date approaches. We will also determine whether or not this will be a 1 or 2 day tourney. I must admit that, as of right now, both Ryan and I prefer to do it all in one day, but this could change if folks are particularly vocal about preferring a 2 day event. My own feeling is that, given MD's accessibility, we should be able to attract enough quality staff to be able to get through the event in one day without much of a problem, but that may prove overly ambitious depending on field size, number of packets, etc.

I can tell everyone right now that Ryan and I plan on producing a minimum of 12 blind rounds together, so there should be plenty of exciting ACF action come next April. That also reminds me-- if you would like to edit science for this most prestigious tournament please, please drop me a line at eberdich@gmail.com. UPDATE: Susan Ferrari has volunteered to edit biology and chemistry for this year's Nationals, we have wisely decided to accept her offer. This means we still need someone to edit/write physics, math, computer science, etc. This will surely be a sterling resume item, any takers?

Thanks,

Ezequiel Berdichevsky
Editor, ACF Nationals '10

[wd4gdz]

I really like this date, and I think many other teams in the southeast will as well, because it isn't right in the middle of final exams. Thank you Maryland Day extravaganza, whatever the heck that is.

[DumbJaques]

I can tell everyone right now that Ryan and I plan on producing a minimum of 12 blind rounds together

Given this ludicrously awesome scenario, I'm going on record as believing that trying to hold this event on one day would be categorically underwhelming. If we're going to get in so much playing (which I'm very much in favor of), I think everyone will appreciate it more if we aren't trying to squeeze 18 rounds into a day. Westbrook/Berdichevsky packets should be savored, not used as the drum beat for a quizbowl death march.

[grapesmoker]

I can tell everyone right now that Ryan and I plan on producing a minimum of 12 blind rounds together

Given this ludicrously awesome scenario, I'm going on record as believing that trying to hold this event on one day would be categorically underwhelming. If we're going to get in so much playing (which I'm very much in favor of), I think everyone will appreciate it more if we aren't trying to squeeze 18 rounds into a day. Westbrook/Berdichevsky packets should be savored, not used as the drum beat for a quizbowl death march.

I disagree. I strongly prefer a one-day tournament, even if that day has to last from 8 in the morning til 10 in the evening. Two-day-long national events create a whole host of problems.

[DumbJaques]

I know there are travel issues with two-day events - clearly that's a tough issue. But lots of tournaments run two-day weekends and I think playing nutty amounts of ACF Nationals rounds are as good a reason as any to have one. I think you made the point in a thread last year that while you prefer one-day events, you'd rather do Friday/Saturday than Saturday/Sunday. Is that worth discussing again?

[grapesmoker]

I know there are travel issues with two-day events - clearly that's a tough issue. But lots of tournaments run two-day weekends and I think playing nutty amounts of ACF Nationals rounds are as good a reason as any to have one. I think you made the point in a thread last year that while you prefer one-day events, you'd rather do Friday/Saturday than Saturday/Sunday. Is that worth discussing again?

Did I say that? I don't remember now, but for me it's usually tied to other travel that I have to do. I think it's likely that I would prefer a Saturday/Sunday even this year if I had to choose between that and Friday/Saturday but I can't tell at this stage. Anyway, if the format is going to be something insane that calls for 20 rounds before a champion is decided, then OK, there's no way around going for 2 days. But most ACF Nationals have run about 15 rounds or so, and that's quite doable in one day.

[Cheynem]

Wouldn't it be utterly appropriate for a Ryan-run tournament to indeed be held Bataan Death March style?

[Ukonvasara]

Wouldn't it be utterly appropriate for a Ryan-run tournament to indeed be held chicken fries misanthropy?

[Strongside]

I know it is early, but I would tentatively prefer a two day tournament for the same reasons Chris Ray stated.

If Ryan and Zeke are going to write 12! blind rounds, in addition to the submitted packets, then there will presumably be a lot of packets. If that many packets are going to be written, I and presumably others would like to play as many as reasonably possible.

Quiz Bowl takes a non-negligible amount of mental energy/stamina, and coupled with the fact that ACF Nationals is a harder than normal tournament seems to favor a two day tournament. It is nice to have an overnight break to get some rest and get re-focused for tournaments like these.

Also, the delays at this year's ACF Nationals, and the issues/delays with the University of Maryland Scheduling Department (I know it's not the actual club's problem), also seem to make a two day tournament more logical and manageable.

[No Rules Westbrook]

Yeah, it's not clear to me whether we're going to be talking about a usual format where each team plays 15-ish regular games...or whether we're talking about some increased number of games. Obviously, if it's the latter, there's no way around going two days. We'll see how it develops, I guess.

[Jeremy Gibbs Freesy Does It]

Is there any more clarity yet on the proposed format? We are going to need to ask for funding and stuff soon, and obviously if we need to get a hotel for 2 nights, need to buy plane tickets on Sunday night, etc. are things we'll need to have answers to for them.

[Crazy Andy Watkins]

Is there any more clarity yet on the proposed format? We are going to need to ask for funding and stuff soon, and obviously if we need to get a hotel for 2 nights, need to buy plane tickets on Sunday night, etc. are things we'll need to have answers to for them.

Ditto. After paying for an ungodly number of $500+ plane tickets last year, I'd much rather get an early start now.

[No Rules Westbrook]

Hey, for some reason, Zeke can't login to this forum. He wanted me to post the following here:

"Zeke is meeting with Maryland folks this week or next and, thought we are strongly leaning towards a 2-day event, we have yet to confirm with the hosts."


Even though Zeke and I both innately favor one-day events, there's a good possibility that the number of rounds in this year's Nats will simply exceed what's realistically feasible for one day. This is especially true if we implement a playoff system where the top 4 teams are assured of playing each other in two games of consequence, which is under consideration.

[No Rules Westbrook]

Zeke has given me the green light to announce that this will be a two-day event, spilling over into Sunday afternoon. Sorry for the delay on that.

[Crazy Andy Watkins]

Are we going to be given a packet submission schedule, now that it's two weeks to go before what would probably be the first deadline?

[Matt Weiner]

http://acf-quizbowl.com/documents/packetsub.php

[Crazy Andy Watkins]

http://acf-quizbowl.com/documents/packetsub.php

Me? Resourceful?

Thanks, though. We'll start working right away.

[salamanca]

Andy's current question about packet deadlines and where to find them is enough to have shaken me from my dogmatic slumber, so here go some updates...

Duration and Location:

The tournament will take place on both Saturday, April 17, and Sunday, April 18. We are currently looking to assemble as solid a set of readers as we can and will strive to be done by 4 PM on Sunday, at the latest. Chris Ray has confirmed to me that MD has reserved all of Jimenez for both days; this means we will be in one building for the duration of the tournament which should further boost our ability to get through the rounds efficiently.

If you have any questions about where to stay, where to eat, metro, etc. I urge you to contact Jeff Amoros, of MAQT, at jeff.amoros@gmail.com. Jeff will be serving as a logistical liaison of sorts for this tournament and is a great resource for teams that are not familiar with the area.

Registration:

In order to officially register for this fine tournament, please email the Tournament Director, Adam Fine, formerly of MAQT, at afine22@verizon.net. There is no hard cap on the number of teams currently, but we are looking for enough readers to accommodate between 30-34 teams-- this also means we need buzzers, I urge teams that are coming by car to please bring *working* buzzer sets and to let us know whether or not you will be bringing them when you register so that we can keep a tally.

So far the official field stands at NO ONE, so be the first to sign up for ACF Nationals 2010 and brag to your friends and family that you are going to College Park in April.

Questions:

As Matt W. noted upthread, the dates to send in your packets, as well as information on fees, discounts, formatting, etc. may be found here: http://www.acf-quizbowl.com/documents/packetsub.php. Please note, that Trash is no longer a category at ACF Nationals, as such you may submit 1/1 other academic in lieu of the Trash question you would have submitted. This can be any category you want, including an interdisciplinary question (e.g., literary characters from musical clues, etc.) or just more of the big three. Personally, Ryan and I are interested in seeing more social science/cultural criticism/philosophy being submitted, but it really is up to you.

When you submit your packets to me, at eberdich@gmail.com, please remember to copy Adam Fine on the email, so that he can verify when you got your packets to the editors.

Some other news/things to consider when it comes to questions:
1) no question at this tournament will exceed 8 lines, in 10 point Times New Roman font, with 1 inch margins, so if you submit a 12 line tossup, don’t be surprised when it is trimmed,
2) this is ACF Nationals, the questions should be challenging, but don’t go crazy writing tossups on Henrik Pontoppidan works, if you have a question about appropriate difficulty feel free to contact me, and
3) in addition to Susan Ferrari, Matt Reece has graciously agreed to join the science editing team, and, in a new development Subash Madippoti will also be contributing a non-negligible amount of questions and, if time permits, helping to edit a few categories.

Thanks and I look forward to your submissions after Regionals.

[sobek27]

Hi everyone,

Here is a field update for ACF Nationals, as of March 5:

UCSD - 1 team, 1 buzzer system
Missouri - 1 team
Yale - 1 team, 1 buzzer system
Rutgers-New Brunswick - 1 team, 1 buzzer system

Only four teams officially registered so far, so teams, please send me your registration information when available.

Also, the next packet deadline (-$25) is this Sunday, March 7, at 11:59 PM. Please submit your packets to Ezequiel Berdichevsky (eberdich@gmail.com) and please CC me at afine22@verizon.net in order to receive the discount.

Thank you,

[sobek27]

Good evening everyone,

Here is the field update for ACF Nationals, as of March 14:

UCSD
Missouri
Yale
Rutgers-New Brunswick
Brown (1 or 2 teams)
VCU
Illinois
Stanford

At 8-9 teams, we have a few more signed up, but we are expecting a field at least triple this size. As the tournament is now less than five weeks away, please send me your registration info as soon as possible, so that we can begin the bracketing process.

Plus, the no-penalty deadline is fast approaching: next Sunday, March 21, at 11:59 PM. Please submit your packets to Ezequiel Berdichevsky (eberdich@gmail.com) and please CC me at afine22@verizon.net in order to avoid any packet submission penalties.

Thank you,

[TheKingInYellow]

I assume checks should be made out to ACF?

[salamanca]

I assume checks should be made out to ACF?

Actually checks should be made out to me, Ezequiel Berdichevsky, or, if you are into that whole brevity thing, Adam Fine.

Thanks,

[sobek27]

Good morning everyone,

Here is the field update for ACF Nationals, as of March 23:

UCSD
Missouri
Yale
Rutgers-New Brunswick
Brown (1 or 2 teams)
VCU
Illinois (2 teams)
Stanford
Harvard
George Mason
State College HS
Maryland
UCLA
Carleton
Columbia


We're at 16-17 teams, which is definitely an improvement, but a lot of the usual suspects have yet to sign up. We are going to close registration on Monday, April 5, so please e-mail me your information (number of teams, UG/D2 eligibility, buzzers, game officials, laptops) before then.

Also, the low-penalty deadline [+$25] is fast approaching: Sunday, March 28, at 11:59 PM. Please submit your packets to Ezequiel Berdichevsky (eberdich@gmail.com) and please CC me at afine22@verizon.net in order to avoid larger submission penalties.

Thank you, and we look forward to hearing from you soon.

[sobek27]

Good morning everyone,

Here is the field update for ACF Nationals, as of March 27:

UCSD
Missouri
Yale
Rutgers-New Brunswick
Brown (1 or 2 teams)
VCU
Illinois (2 teams)
Stanford
Harvard
George Mason
State College HS
Maryland
UCLA
Carleton
Columbia
South Carolina (2 teams)
Michigan
Minnesota (2 teams)
Chicago (3 teams)
Penn
Hunter College
Virginia

We're now at 27-28 teams -- much better, but we'd love to fill out the field with another 2-5 teams. We will close registration on Monday, April 5, so please e-mail me your information (number of teams, UG/D2 eligibility, buzzers, game officials, laptops) before then.

As a reminder, the low-penalty deadline [+$25] is tomorrow night: Sunday, March 28, at 11:59 PM. Please submit your packets to Ezequiel Berdichevsky (eberdich@gmail.com) and please CC me at afine22@verizon.net in order to avoid larger submission penalties.

More details, including directions, parking, and a rough schedule, will be posted here within the next week.

Thank you,

[sobek27]

Good morning and Happy Easter/Passover.

Here is the field update for ACF Nationals, as of April 4:

UCSD
Missouri
Yale
Rutgers-New Brunswick
Brown (1 or 2 teams)
VCU (1 or 2 teams)
Illinois (2 teams)
Stanford
Harvard
George Mason
State College HS
Maryland
UCLA
Carleton
Columbia
South Carolina (2 teams)
Michigan
Minnesota (2 teams)
Chicago (3 teams)
Penn
Hunter College
Virginia
Carnegie Mellon

We also have a Maryland B team on standby, if needed to even brackets. This puts us at 28-30 teams, not including Maryland B. New registration closes tomorrow (April 5), so please e-mail me your information (number of teams, UG/D2 eligibility, buzzers, game officials, laptops) if you would still like to register.

Also, the final question deadline [+$50] is tonight: Sunday, April 4, at 11:59 PM. Please submit your packets to Ezequiel Berdichevsky (eberdich@gmail.com) and please CC me at afine22@verizon.net.

Here are some logistics (more to follow):

- The entire tournament will be held in Juan Ramon Jimenez Hall, across from the Stamp Student Union. Teams should park in Lot 1 or the adjacent Lot Z, which is a little closer: http://www.transportation.umd.edu/img/2009Map%20(2).pdf. Parking is free on weekends.

- Here's my best attempt at directions to Lot 1:
1. From the Northwest (via I-270 and I-495 Inner Loop): I-495 East to Exit 28B (Route 650 New Hampshire Avenue South). Take left at second stoplight (Adelphi Road). Proceed about 2 miles (past Riggs, Metzerott stoplights) until you come to a pair of stoplights. Proceed past the first stoplight (University Boulevard), and turn left at second stoplight (Campus Drive). Lot 1 is the big parking lot on the left; turn left just before the traffic circle. Drive through Lot 1 until you see the tennis courts on the right; for optimal parking, try to park as close to those as possible.
2. From the Southwest (Virginia via I-95 North or I-66 East): if coming from I-95, take I-495 North (Exit 170 toward Tysons Corner) into Maryland, to Exit 28B and follow the directions in #1 above. If coming from I-66, take I-495 North (Exit 64B) into Maryland, to Exit 28B and follow the directions in #1 above.
3. From the Northeast (via Baltimore and I-95 South): take Exit 27 to I-495 West. Then take Exit 28B, and follow the directions in #1 above.
4. If you are staying in a hotel on US Route 1 (Baltimore Avenue), drive south toward campus. Turn right on Campus Drive (main entrance to campus). Proceed through campus (past the circle with the "M", and past the Stamp Student Union on the right). Bear right on Union Drive (i.e. go straight as opposed to staying on the main road, which curves left). Park just past the tennis courts on the right side.
5. If you plan to take the Metro to campus, and need directions to Jimenez Hall, please e-mail me at afine22@verizon.net.

- To get to Jimenez from Lot 1 or Lot Z, walk past the tennis courts and Cole Field House on the left. Just before the Stamp Student Union (also on the left), turn right and cross the street. Jimenez Hall is the second building on the left, past the University Health Center. If you reach McKeldin Library, turn around :) -- you'll see the front entrance to Jimenez.

- Registration on Saturday, April 17, will begin at 8 AM in the main meeting room, Jimenez 0220 (on the ground floor). Opening announcements will follow at 9 AM, and play is scheduled to begin at 9:15. I expect we'll play 6 rounds before a one-hour lunch, and then 7-9 rounds after lunch on Saturday.

- Play on Sunday, April 18 will begin either 9 AM or 9:30 AM, and we will play 4-6 rounds (a total of 18-19 rounds for the main tournament). Barring unforeseen last-minute drops, every team should play at least 16 matches. After these rounds and any necessary tiebreakers, we will present individual awards and the Gordon Carper Award, then hold championship matches in each division, if necessary. We will conclude the tournament with the presentation of the team trophies in each division. Everything should be completed by about 2 PM on Sunday at the latest.

- We will provide a handout list of Saturday lunch options, which will be sent out to contacts and hopefully posted here by this coming weekend.

Thank you, and please contact me with any questions.

[sobek27]

Good evening -- just wanted to let everyone know that I sent a message full of announcements out to all of the contacts, both teams and staff. If you have any questions or require any further information, please e-mail me at afine22@verizon.net.

Thanks, and see you this weekend.

[journterp]

Hi everyone,

For lunch options tomorrow, I've created the following document:

College Park Lunch Options.doc

(33.5 KiB) Downloaded 32 times

It's an overview of what's available, where it is, and how long it should take you. If you've got any questions regarding parking, how to get around College Park or what dining/entertainment options are available, feel free to e-mail me at jeff dot a m o r o s at gmail d o t com. Additionally, if you find yourself lost while getting to campus tomorrow morning, I can be reached at 443-472-2535 to direct you on how to get to campus/parking locations.

By the way, if you're coming to College Park by car, your best bet is to park in Union Lane Garage, which would place you next to Stamp Student Union, just across Campus Drive from Jimenez. The garage is located in section 4-C of this map:

http://www.admissions.umd.edu/admission ... us_Map.pdf

The daily weekend garage rate at Union Lane is listed on the campus parking website as $5, but if you don't want to pay for it, parking should also be available in Lots Z and 1B, located in sections 4-B, 4-C and 5-B of that map. MAKE CERTAIN that the lot you are parking in DOES NOT require a faculty/student permit of some kind - most don't on weekends, but some lots have subsections of spots located near major buildings that require a permit to park. The Department of Transportation Services at UMD loves nothing more than to write parking tickets, so stay on alert. I'm not aware of any major games/events this weekend, so parking should be readily available. If it's not, call my cell and I'll direct you to alternate options.

-Jeff

[Frater Taciturnus]

for those in the crowd that believe that a quizbowl trip cannot happen without a trip to a chinese buffet, there is a chinese buffet a few blocks north of UMCP and for dinner there are things like IHOP as you get close to the beltway.

[Bentley Like Beckham]

for those in the crowd that believe that a quizbowl trip cannot happen without a trip to a chinese buffet, there is a chinese buffet a few blocks north of UMCP and for dinner there are things like IHOP as you get close to the beltway.

There's also a Hard Times and some other stuff in the Shopper's near the IHOP/Beltway.

[Jeremy Gibbs Freesy Does It]

I sent an email to Adam already, but in case he checks here first, my ride got me to the airport at the 30 minute cutoff point prior to when the Columbia Regional Airport will let me board their miserable little crop dusters, and the security guards decided I was just barely too late to board even though they literally had not begun boarding my plane. There are no more flights out, and I can't get any workable flights out of St. Louis, so Missouri has to withdraw.

[Carangoides ciliarius]

I sent an email to Adam already, but in case he checks here first, my ride got me to the airport at the 30 minute cutoff point prior to when the Columbia Regional Airport will let me board their miserable little crop dusters, and the security guards decided I was just barely too late to board even though they literally had not begun boarding my plane. There are no more flights out, and I can't get any workable flights out of St. Louis, so Missouri has to withdraw.

Sorry to hear that Charlie.

[dtaylor4]

Live Stats

[dtaylor4]

Updated through R4.

[Cernel Joson]

The stats aren't loading on this computer; is anyone else having this problem?

[Hilarius Bookbinder]

Updated through R4.

I'm still only seeing the one through round 2.

[dtaylor4]

Updated through R4.

I'm still only seeing the one through round 2.

Check it now. I forgot to re-generate the files.

[dtaylor4]

Jobbings:

Maryland A over Brown A 240-205.

[dtaylor4]

Stats are in through 6. Lunch break, round 7 starts at 2:30.

[Ronnie the Bear]

Chicago A only has four games.

[dtaylor4]

Chicago A only has four games.

For the millionth time, they already had their two byes.

[Ronnie the Bear]

Chicago A only has four games.

For the millionth time, they already had their two byes.

First time in this thread.

[nobthehobbit]

How impressed can one be by State College's showing so far?

Also, will the playoff brackets be called "Creditor" and "Debtor"?

[jonpin]

Just for clarification of the viewers at home, there are three playoff brackets, on a 5-5-4 split. Here they are (I don't know if there will be witty names), with carryover records.

Top bracket: Minnesota-A 4-0, Stanford 3-1, Penn 2-2, Harvard 1-3, VCU-A 0-4 | Chicago-A 4-0, Illinois-A 2-2, Brown-A 2-2, Maryland A 2-2, UCSD 0-4
Middle bracket: Yale 4-0, Michigan 3-1, Carnegie 2-2, Brown-B 1-3, Chicago-B 0-4 | State Coll 4-0, S Carolina 3-1, Columbia 2-2, Minnesota-B 1-3, Virginia 0-4
Bottom bracket: Carleton 3-0, Illinois-B 2-1, G Mason 1-2, Maryland-B 0-3 | Rutgers 3-0, Chicago-C 2-1, UCLA 1-2, VCU-B 0-3
The only upsets across brackets that have been wiped away were Michigan (middle) over Harvard (top); and UCLA (bottom) over Minnesota-B (middle).

Minnesota and Harvard are the only two undergraduate teams in the top bracket. State College HS and Brown-B are the only two Division II teams in the middle bracket. Does anyone know the official rules for determining if there are finals for these two titles?

[sobek27]

Since, in both cases, the top two teams in each division (Undergrad and Division II) made the same playoff bracket, the same rules as for determining the overall champion apply:

- 2+ game difference = no final necessary
- 1 game difference = advantaged best-of-three final for first-place team
- Tie = one game final

[Crazy Andy Watkins]

If Bruce arrives this coming morning, by the way, then we'll no longer be UG.

[dtaylor4]

Playoff Live Stats

[dtaylor4]

I'm also providing live commentary on procedures in IRC. No, I'm not watching games.

[dtaylor4]

Minnesota is playing Chicago for a guaranteed spot in the final.

Stanford is playing UCSD. If Stanford wins, the final is one game. If Stanford loses, then there will be a Stanford/(Chi-Min loser) play-in game to a final where (Chi-Min winner) has the advantage.

[jdeliverer]

Stanford and Minnesota are playing a 1-game final, Yaphe has gotten 5 of the first 6 TU, 135-0.

Edit: Stanford up 190-70 at halftime.

Double edit: Minnesota leads by 40 going into the final question.

Minnesota wins by 10.

Triple edit: Stanford wins after a protest resolution

[jonpin]

from what i can tell

MINNESOTA 270-260 STANFORD

There may be a protest of some sort.