2019 NASAT: June 22 & 23
Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2018 6:49 pm
This is a preliminary announcement that the 2019 NASAT will be held on June 22 and 23, 2019. It will likely be held in Lexington, Kentucky again.
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It seems to me that talk about "IQBT" as if it is some large organizational apparatus is misleading, since the very substance of this post suggests it consists of "pretty much just you", and your "connections" extend only to the local circuit in which you are embedded. If these local interpersonal connections are so essential to the functioning of IQBT, then it doesn't seem that IQBT isn't an organization suited to running a major national tournament. To be such an organization, IQBT will need to engage substantial outside help (much as every national tournament with a rotating site does on a yearly basis).AKKOLADE wrote: ↑Mon Dec 03, 2018 6:53 pm A belated reply to the above: we're aware of the relative difficulties of traveling into Lexington, Kentucky, but that is where IQBT is base. A lot of our connections for local staff and room reservations are dependent on hosting in Lexington. Additionally, one of the co-owners would also be unable to travel out of town the weekend of NASAT due to professional obligations, which would cut the amount of in-house support staff for the tournament down by at least two people.
IQBT does include people other than myself - Nicole is an equal partner and is an important part of the organization's operations.vinteuil wrote: ↑Mon Dec 03, 2018 7:36 pmIt seems to me that talk about "IQBT" as if it is some large organizational apparatus is misleading, since the very substance of this post suggests it consists of "pretty much just you", and your "connections" extend only to the local circuit in which you are embedded. If these local interpersonal connections are so essential to the functioning of IQBT, then it doesn't seem that IQBT isn't an organization suited to running a major national tournament. To be such an organization, IQBT will need to engage substantial outside help (much as every national tournament with a rotating site does on a yearly basis).AKKOLADE wrote: ↑Mon Dec 03, 2018 6:53 pm A belated reply to the above: we're aware of the relative difficulties of traveling into Lexington, Kentucky, but that is where IQBT is base. A lot of our connections for local staff and room reservations are dependent on hosting in Lexington. Additionally, one of the co-owners would also be unable to travel out of town the weekend of NASAT due to professional obligations, which would cut the amount of in-house support staff for the tournament down by at least two people.
It is perfectly fine to have a shell organization because doing so makes certain things easier, but to then talk about this shell organization as if it is a deliberative body rather than just a person is liable to cause confusion. If you would like IQBT to be treated as a fully functioning quizbowl organization instead of a shell organization to make your running of NASAT more expedient, you'll need to start having IQBT function like one, and that includes not being bound to the Lexington area.
Fred, this is really a very understandable position and dilemma to be in, but as someone who inherited the mantle of a national tournament whose job it is to be relatively convenient for every state, you (and Nicole) may have to give more leeway to the needs of the teams. Lexington is, no offense, that bad of a location to host a national (yes, I know the high school debate Tournament of Champions is also held at UK, but the resources available to the teams that attend that are really not comparable to a bunch of students going on their own). Most of the California A team this year was forced to take a red-eye to CVG and then a 1.5 hour Uber to arrive in the morning in time for the opening meeting. Max Shatan and others have related their stories of extreme cost and inconvenience, which, for many top high schoolers, is tacked on to the cost/inconvenience of attending HSNCT and NSC. Choosing another location might enable more teams to get there, pay out, and cover the additional costs associated with that move (also, there are plenty of local staffers in at least one of the places I know you're considering). You both are put into a difficult position here, and I respect that, but many teams that could otherwise attend are put into a difficult position if you choose Lexington.AKKOLADE wrote: ↑Mon Dec 03, 2018 10:25 pmIQBT does include people other than myself - Nicole is an equal partner and is an important part of the organization's operations.vinteuil wrote: ↑Mon Dec 03, 2018 7:36 pmIt seems to me that talk about "IQBT" as if it is some large organizational apparatus is misleading, since the very substance of this post suggests it consists of "pretty much just you", and your "connections" extend only to the local circuit in which you are embedded. If these local interpersonal connections are so essential to the functioning of IQBT, then it doesn't seem that IQBT isn't an organization suited to running a major national tournament. To be such an organization, IQBT will need to engage substantial outside help (much as every national tournament with a rotating site does on a yearly basis).AKKOLADE wrote: ↑Mon Dec 03, 2018 6:53 pm A belated reply to the above: we're aware of the relative difficulties of traveling into Lexington, Kentucky, but that is where IQBT is base. A lot of our connections for local staff and room reservations are dependent on hosting in Lexington. Additionally, one of the co-owners would also be unable to travel out of town the weekend of NASAT due to professional obligations, which would cut the amount of in-house support staff for the tournament down by at least two people.
It is perfectly fine to have a shell organization because doing so makes certain things easier, but to then talk about this shell organization as if it is a deliberative body rather than just a person is liable to cause confusion. If you would like IQBT to be treated as a fully functioning quizbowl organization instead of a shell organization to make your running of NASAT more expedient, you'll need to start having IQBT function like one, and that includes not being bound to the Lexington area.
As an organization that's existed for less than a year, IQBT's funding is not comparable to other organizations that run national championships, and as such being frugal in things like expenditures related to staffers is a reality that we have to work with. Having local staffers helps keep costs down, just like it does for other nationals.
Seeing as 2017 NASAT had a public call for staffers less than a month from the tournament, I'd say you're probably right. NASAT's field size, being comparable to a regular season tournament in many high school circuits, probably should not necessitate an open call for staffers to come from several hundred miles away.An Economic Ignoramus wrote: ↑Tue Dec 04, 2018 11:06 am Yeah Kentucky actually seems like it'd have fewer local staffers than other sites.