Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

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chaossolver
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Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by chaossolver »

Southington High School Quiz Bowl and E. O. Smith High School Quiz Bowl are pleased to announce Connecticut Invitational I, which will take place on February 6th, 2010 at Southington High School in Southington , CT. This is an official NAQT event, featuring NAQT packet IS-90.

It is hoped that this tournament will become an annual event with the purpose of promoting quiz bowl in the Southern New England area. New England teams are strongly encouraged to attend. There will be a brief meeting of coaches midday to discuss the topic of creating a Connecticut Quiz Bowl League.
Registration will begin at 8:30 AM with the first round beginning at 9:30 AM. Though it is difficult to know exactly when the tournament will end, it is safe to assume sometime in the early evening around 5 or 6PM.

Fees for this tournament will be kept low to encourage participation. Registration information for the tournament is as follows:

Base fee, first team: $65
Additional teams: $60
Working buzzer system: -$10 each
Moderator: -$5 each

Copies of the questions are also available for $10 per set. Question orders sent by January 15th, 2010 will be filled the day of the tournament.


Please make checks payable to: E. O. Smith Academic Quiz Bowl. Please plan to pay on arrival at the tournament.

A copy of the registration form can be obtained by emailing the tournament director at [email protected]. You may also use this email for any questions you may have about the tournament.



For those concerned about transportation, a map and driving directions will be sent upon registering. Southington , CT is located in the central part of the state, 20 minutes for Hartford and 1 hour, 45 minutes from New York City .


We hope that you will join us February 6th 2010 for Connecticut Invitational I in Southington , CT.
Bing Xu
Ass. Coach, E.O. Smith High School
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rpirrie
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Re: Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by rpirrie »

More details on the Connecticut Invitational:
It is very much hoped that we will receive a strong response from Connecticut based teams. To be sure, teams from outside the state are very much welcome and strongly encouraged to attend. It’s still an NAQT event with all the thrills and fun implied by that statement. However, there will be a meeting at the tournament to discuss formation of a Connecticut Quiz Bowl League, similar to the Vermont-NEA Scholar’s Bowl. In the CT League, regions will be created to allow teams in the state to have smaller, shorter quiz bowl meets (capable of being run in an after-school session) with shorter transportation distances to those meets. Dues from member teams will be used to offset expenses of running the league, but will also be used to help send a state champion to the NAQT Quiz Bowl National Championships. The goal is to make quiz bowl at a higher level available to more teams from Connecticut. The benefits of quiz bowl go without saying, of course—from scholastic improvement for individual students to enhanced status for academics at participating schools. Besides, a league would be a lot of fun!

A word on the actual tournament on February 6th: running of the tournament is to be done by a third party, specifically IQConn, the University of Connecticut quiz bowl team. Questions for the tournament are being sent to this third party, and stats will be taken by the same group of UConn students. As of 12/02/09, 6 schools have taken an interest:

E. O. Smith
Southington
Newtown
Thomaston
Simsbury
Housatonic Valley

By the way, let me know how many teams you'll be bringing so I can add that info.

Drop me a line if you have any questions. I will gladly take any constructive suggestions as well.

DON'T FORGET, ALL YOU NON CT TEAMS--YOU ARE WELCOME TOO!

Bob Pirrie
Academic Quiz Bowl Coach
E. O. Smith High School

Thomaston
Last edited by rpirrie on Wed Dec 02, 2009 5:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Bob Pirrie
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Re: Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by David Riley »

IIRC, Massachusetts has quiz bowl but is not very well organized, and it is barely known in Rhode Island (outside of Brown).....I'll check my old notes and see if there are any contacts in Massachusetts (you probably know some already). Let's all welcome the Nutmeggers to quiz bowl! :smile:
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Re: Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by shsquizbowl »

Simsbury, CT! is VERY INTERESTED (30 minute ride? NO WAY! :) )! And will be able to bring at least 2 teams.
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Re: Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by rpirrie »

Sounds good! Just drop me a line at [email protected] and we'll get started.

Bob Pirrie
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E. O. Smith High School
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Matt Weiner
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Re: Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by Matt Weiner »

rpirrie wrote:However, there will be a meeting at the tournament to discuss formation of a Connecticut Quiz Bowl League, similar to the Vermont-NEA Scholar’s Bowl. In the CT League, regions will be created to allow teams in the state to have smaller, shorter quiz bowl meets (capable of being run in an after-school session) with shorter transportation distances to those meets.
Any particular reason you are looking at this approach rather than a series of Saturday invitationals?
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Re: Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by rpirrie »

I'm looking at this from an "after school sports event" type perspective. I am thinking I will get better attendance if it is part of the regular school week. I am open to other opinions, of course--and there is certainly no reason why a group of teams couldn't play on a Saturday, if it suits them. It's all open right now.
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Re: Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by Matt Weiner »

There's pros and cons to after-school leagues that other parts of the country have experienced. I'll try to summarize the situation later.
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Re: Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by rpirrie »

Hey--what was it you meant to say about league play? Thanks.
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Re: Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by Matt Weiner »

Hey, sorry I took so long to get back to this.

So, pros of league play: Most schools who participate in sports leagues will feel obligated to get a team together; you're not in conflict with other things that happen on weekends, particularly other competitive academic activities (debate, Model UN, chess); most people can manage a tournament in a local area with a few teams better than dealing with dozens of teams coming from all over the place

Cons: There are also demands on the evenings of students and staff that it's hard to work around sometimes; if you're only selecting teams from a small area, it will quickly become apparent who the top and bottom teams are and there will be lots of foregone-conclusion games and little challenge for the top or opportunity for improvement for the bottom; teams who are devoting weekday time to playing tournaments are less likely to make time on Saturdays to go to invitationals

If you do a league, maybe you could try making it just one night a week for a limited period of time (six weeks or so) so that you can then try doing Saturday tournaments without doing both at the same time, and then people could see which they liked better without having to deal with two different claims on their time. The issue of the one team that dominates the league is also something that you'll get to find out about by doing the league separately at first, and you can alleviate it by moving to larger-scope invitationals later.
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Re: Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by rpirrie »

Thanks for the advice. I will most certainly keep it in mind Feb 6th. Let me pose a question...just brainstorming...have you ever heard of anyone handicapping a match? The point of early season matches would be fraternization as much as practice...the handicap could be turned off late in the season if the league wishes to produce a league champion... I dunno. Just throwing out ideas. Feel free to tell me this is hare brained.
CT teams--still time to sign up for the tourney. Non CT teams--you are welcome too. Really.
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Re: Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by Matt Weiner »

rpirrie wrote:Thanks for the advice. I will most certainly keep it in mind Feb 6th. Let me pose a question...just brainstorming...have you ever heard of anyone handicapping a match? The point of early season matches would be fraternization as much as practice...the handicap could be turned off late in the season if the league wishes to produce a league champion... I dunno. Just throwing out ideas. Feel free to tell me this is hare brained.
Yeah, I think it would be better to make sure everyone plays a wide range of opponents so they have a reasonable chance to win on a level playing field. Actual handicapping seems really patronizing and not conducive to getting people to improve.
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BroNi
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Re: Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by BroNi »

Bob,

We would love to attend, but bad date. Feb. 6th is our Regional Science Olympiad, held at Kellenberg, and I am the Regional Supervisor, so "no can go." Sorry.
Bro. Nigel, Coach, Kellenberg Memorial HS, NY
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Re: Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by rpirrie »

C'est la vie--I fully understand. Thanks for your continued support and see you next time!

Bob
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Re: Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by rpirrie »

Hey--last chance to register for our tourney. I will be posting the final field soon. So far we have a number of schools from CT and one from NY. All are welcome!!
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Re: Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by rpirrie »

The CT Invitational is 10 days away, and here is the current list of attendees:

E. O. Smith
Southington
Newtown
Thomaston
Simsbury
Housatonic Valley
Cheshire
Woodlands

Not too late to add your school to the list!
Bob Pirrie
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E. O. Smith High School
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Re: Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by AKKOLADE »

Is this going to be the next victim to the eternal snow storms?
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Re: Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by jdauphinais »

Great tournament to everyone involved! Looking forward to the next one.
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Re: Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by Down and out in Quintana Roo »

So, uh, what happened?
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Re: Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by rpirrie »

Hello everyone--
Stats and results will be posted soon, promise. From what I saw on the ground, everyone seemed to have a good time! When I post again I will also have news about the new CT quiz bowl league that has been started. Thanks for your patience--please check back in ~ 24 hours.

Bob Pirrie
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Re: Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by rpirrie »

Hello--

Final Results

Championship Game
Newtown A 280
Cheshire 210

3rd v 4th Place Game
E. O. Smith 165
New Milford 150

Full stats will be posted on the new CT Quiz Bowl League site, which I hope to have up and running by the end of the week. This site will also have news about the--you guessed it--CT quiz bowl league. I will repost here when the site is active. Thanks to all who participated in the tournament!
Bob Pirrie
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E. O. Smith High School
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Re: Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by Mechanical Beasts »

Coach Pirrie, I'd be happy to try to staff your league (on a free Saturday, or if some of the competition will happen on weekdays, as had been discussed).
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Re: Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by rpirrie »

Great! Thanks. This vacation I will be trying to get the thing a bit more off the ground...this first (1/2) year it's mostly about trying a few matches between schools in the state to see if logistics work. Next year I hope to have more regular mini matches between participating schools, culminating in a state championship around about March or so. I appreciate the interest, and will add you to the mailing list to keep you apprised.

Bob Pirrie
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Re: Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by jdauphinais »

Bob-

I'd be happy to help out with the website in any way if needed. I am the web coordinator here, and built the school's website. Let me know what I can do.

-J.Dauphinais
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J. Dauphinais
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Re: Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by rpirrie »

thanks. I am using a hosting service but will gladly take any suggestions you might have.
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Re: Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by rpirrie »

Hello--results for CT Invitational I will still be posted here by the end of the week, but I have opened up a league discussion in the National and Regional Comparisons and Discussions
section.
Bob Pirrie
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Re: Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by rpirrie »

Hello--stats now available at http://naqt.com/stats/tournament-teams. ... nt_id=3227. Thanks again to all.
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Re: Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by rpirrie »

Hello--slight change in playoff report--just with the scores, not the standings.


Championship
Newtown A 300
Cheshire 220

3 v 4
E. O. Smith A 165
New Milford 150
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Re: Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by Joe Cip »

Hi Bob,

Any chance you have the list of Individual results?? The kids were asking me today.

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Re: Inaugural Connecticut Invitational Tournament

Post by rpirrie »

Bob Pirrie
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E. O. Smith High School
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