The Quizbowl Resource Center

St. Ignatius will be bringing at least four people to SEMO this summer—myself and the Deveaus included. Who else be going?

We'll send people

I believe at least one sophomore from Latin plans to attend.

We're supposedly sending 3

EDIT: To clarify, that means to SEMO and would include both me and marcel, as well as possibly Brian (who you may have seen at atrophy).

We're sending at least two, but we've yet to poll freshman for interest.

We will be sending at least one person (not Chris O.)

We're sending one, but I think he's going to Milligan.

NoWayItsTanay wrote:We're sending one, but I think he's going to Milligan.

Why aren't you going Tanay applesauce Kothari?

I made other plans, Nolan bobcat Winkler.

How beneficial is ACE camp really?

Is ACE camp really that beneficial?

The short answer is "yes." I have twice attended ace camp, and plan to go again this year. As a player, I feel that ACE does two very important things; it exposes us to large amounts of material, and it gives us many opportunities to play.

On the first day of camp, students sign up for three classes. Those classes cover subjects ranging from Math to Shakespeare to Astronomy, and many other subjects besides (a complete listing of last year's classes is available on the camp website). Those classes meet each day, and the instructors (who have all been playing/coaching Quiz Bowl for a very long time) cover material in a methodical, structured way. They help players to establish a framework upon which to build later knowledge, and present players with material that comes up time and again in matches. I would venture to say that, out of the thousands of things my team has memorized for Quiz Bowl, nothing has yielded us greater points than the information we were given at ACE camp. In addition, instructors devise quizzes for the beginning of each day, and students are encouraged to do well on the quizzes (for bragging rights!). I will finish my first point by asserting that, in my experience, there is no faster or more effective way to firmly ground a new player in Quiz Bowl knowledge or to catapult an experienced player to a higher level of performance.

The second important thing ACE camp accomplishes is giving students time to play. Buzzer practices are held for two class periods each day, in addition to tournaments every evening. There is also an individual subject-specific tournament at the end of camp, in which fifteen of the best go head to head in literature, science, and history. Time on the buzzer, playing on good questions, is one of the most effective ways for players at any level to improve. And since players are sorted by ability, they play/compete in a field that allows them to learn and develop along with players of a similar level of skill.

I must conclude by saying that I love ACE camp, and that it has become the high point of my summer. I find that the people are friendly and knowledgeable. Those willing to teach are never far from you, and there are as many opportunities to learn from campmates as from coaches. The benefits of such a camp are very real, and immediately recognizable. I would encourage any student to try ACE camp once, and, though it is not for everyone, it is the ideal learning environment for both new players and seasoned veterans. I will come down from my soapbox now, but not before asserting that ACE camp has been the single most influential factor in my development as a player.

... I hope that I have you convinced!

Hmm, would you say that ACE camp is good for just quizbowl or would you say it could help someone learn extensively about a certain topic?
Also, what is the level of difficulty (in terms of quizbowl) of the classes/topics that are taught?

ACE Camp not only makes you a drastically better player, it's one of the best educational experiences I've ever had.

Dan-Don wrote:ACE Camp not only makes you a drastically better player, it's one of the best educational experiences I've ever had.

And you get to meet people like Dan Donohue! Honestly, at least half the fun of ACE Camp is meeting and playing with players you don't know. Especially if, like me, you attend a camp that is very far away from where you live.

It's just too far away for any of my players to afford. It's a darn shame that ACE doesn't realize that people from the East Coast aren't going to come in large numbers until you move one of these camps out of the middle of the country. I know one was there before, and i just don't know why the attendance wasn't high. I could practically guarantee players from CR going if it was within 200 miles of Delaware. Until then, i doubt i would have anyone willing to spend the money to go to it at this point. But i'll try to convince more of them next year.

Carangoides ciliarius wrote:It's just too far away for any of my players to afford. It's a darn shame that ACE doesn't realize that people from the East Coast aren't going to come in large numbers until you move one of these camps out of the middle of the country. I know one was there before, and i just don't know why the attendance wasn't high. I could practically guarantee players from CR going if it was within 200 miles of Delaware. Until then, i doubt i would have anyone willing to spend the money to go to it at this point. But i'll try to convince more of them next year.

Yeah, Kentucky and Tennessee are just barely close enough for us to send people (looks like about five of us). ACE, if you're reading this, please do a camp somewhere out here!
Shame that it wasn't successful at Mt. St. Mary's.

AlphaQuizBowler wrote:

Dan-Don wrote:ACE Camp not only makes you a drastically better player, it's one of the best educational experiences I've ever had.

And you get to meet people like Dan Donohue! Honestly, at least half the fun of ACE Camp is meeting and playing with players you don't know. Especially if, like me, you attend a camp that is very far away from where you live.

Yeah, I'll agree with this wholeheartedly. The facts I learned at ACE camp still help out a lot--often, at a tournament, I'll hear some new lead-in that was taught in an ACE camp class and buzz in surprised. Frankly, however, with enough initiative, I may have learned many of those clues on my own, and there's only so much you can learn in four days. What's really unique to the ACE experience is getting to know quizbowlers and coaches you'll be competing with for the next year, both from and outside of your region. I hung out a lot with Trey and Isaac, and I got smacked around a whole lot by the Dorman crew, both of which inspired me to get more involved with quizbowl. Moreover, as you meet new people, you're introduced to new study methods, new stories, and new ways of thinking about the game. Although the knowledge learned at ACE has definitely been useful, it's really been those intangibles which have improved my level of play the most.

I don't think Stevenson is sending anyone, although Malis might show up.

sssssssskkkk wrote: Also, what is the level of difficulty (in terms of quizbowl) of the classes/topics that are taught?

Varies-at least with some of the literature classes I took, I was taught some obscure stuff that wouldn't be unusual as a third part of a hs nationals bonus.

For me, ACE quizbowl camp is only marginally useful for the classes they have, and is worth it solely for the evening tournaments and the sheer fun of the four days. Last year my teammates and I befriended people like Deveau, Dan-Don, and William Horton at camp, which has made quizbowl tournaments 100x as fun.

Looking more and more likely that there will be a June, 2011 ACE camp somewhere in Illinois north of US36! We'll formally announce it as soon as the deal is struck.

Hmm. Given he got as specific as US 36, I'm thinking Springfield.

jrbarry wrote:Looking more and more likely that there will be a June, 2011 ACE camp somewhere in Illinois north of US36! We'll formally announce it as soon as the deal is struck.

This is really really awesome.