ANNOUNCEMENT: VCU Open/Novice (Aug16-17), Richmond

BuzzerZen · Post by **BuzzerZen** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 12:43 am

metsfan001 wrote:I may not be nearly as awesome as Katy Peters, but I guess I'll piggyback on her post and say that I, too, would appreciate a ride down in a similar fashion.

I could only fit one of you comfortably.

FIGHT TO THE DEATH.

dtaylor4 · Post by **dtaylor4** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 1:19 am

BuzzerZen wrote:FIGHT TO THE DEATH.

Or, do what I did when riding with the Florida people during CO weekend: smaller person takes the trunk space. Takes some getting used to, but still comfortable enough for a catnap.

fleurdelivre · Post by **fleurdelivre** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 10:23 am

BuzzerZen wrote:
metsfan001 wrote:I may not be nearly as awesome as Katy Peters, but I guess I'll piggyback on her post and say that I, too, would appreciate a ride down in a similar fashion.
I could only fit one of you comfortably.

FIGHT TO THE DEATH.

Okay, Jerry, it's all up to you now - and a New Yorker carpool sounds a lot more fun than a dead Guy, no? No pressure...

Magister Ludi · Post by **Magister Ludi** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 10:44 am

If people are looking for a place to stay Friday night, my house is open to anyone. It is a short metro ride away from both Union Station and Reagan airport. We are leaving early on Saturday morning for the trip down to Richmond with a van that can accomodate a lot of people.

fleurdelivre · Post by **fleurdelivre** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 10:53 am

Magister Ludi wrote:If people are looking for a place to stay Friday night, my house is open to anyone. It is a short metro ride away from both Union Station and Reagan airport. We are leaving early on Saturday morning for the trip down to Richmond with a van that can accomodate a lot of people.

Way to ruin the death match... anyway, it sounds like something will work out for everyone. If Jerry can't come then, Guy, are you up for braving the Chinatown bus?

Post by **theMoMA** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 5:47 pm

Magister Ludi wrote:If people are looking for a place to stay Friday night, my house is open to anyone. It is a short metro ride away from both Union Station and Reagan airport. We are leaving early on Saturday morning for the trip down to Richmond with a van that can accomodate a lot of people.

Ted, we're going to be driving from Minnesota to the DC area on Friday, probably getting in around midnight. There are going to be quite a few of us though (six or seven)...would this still work?

Post by **DumbJaques** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 7:25 pm

I'm not sure if this has already been done, but Maryland wants to register one team for both events. In all likelihood we'll be registering a second team in the next couple of days.

Theory Of The Leisure Flask · Wed Jul 30, 2008 12:38 pm

If this second car from up north (i.e. Jerry, it looks like) materializes, will it have any spare room? And if so, is there any chance that I could also humbly beg for a ride? (Assuming a stop in Philadelphia isn't too far out of the way, of course.)

Note: Given that I'm ~90 percent sure to be not playing on Sunday, and most everyone else will be sticking around, I have no problem taking either Amtrak or Greyhound back up. But coordinating travel before the tournament would be really, really helpful.

Post by **DumbJaques** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 2:43 pm

Ok, "Maryland" will be bring two teams to both events.

grapesmoker · Post by **grapesmoker** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 5:50 pm

benjaminthedonkey wrote:If this second car from up north (i.e. Jerry, it looks like) materializes, will it have any spare room? And if so, is there any chance that I could also humbly beg for a ride? (Assuming a stop in Philadelphia isn't too far out of the way, of course.)

Note: Given that I'm ~90 percent sure to be not playing on Sunday, and most everyone else will be sticking around, I have no problem taking either Amtrak or Greyhound back up. But coordinating travel before the tournament would be really, really helpful.

So the chances of me coming to this thing are about 50/50 still, but a stop in Philly will take me far out of the way. Right now, assuming I go I'm looking at a car of myself, Eric Mukherjee, Katy Peters, and Guy Tabachnik. I can take one more person if you feel up to taking the bus or train to NYC, but, again, please don't take this as a commitment to go; I have a lot of things I'm juggling but as soon as I have a definitive answer, I will let people know.

Matt Weiner · Post by **Matt Weiner** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 5:53 pm

Good news: I think our staff situation is more or less under control, though 1 or 2 more people for just-in-case purposes could always be helpful.

Bad news: With all the recent movements, I'm totally lost as to who is playing on what team and which people who are playing on Saturday are reading on Sunday. I want to make sure I have the right number of teams listed as coming before I make a schedule. Please check the first post in the thread and make sure I have your team listed. If I don't have your roster, send it to me so I can put it there and eliminate some confusion as to who is playing where. Also, let me know (again, if applicable) if you plan to read on Sunday.

The Goffman Prophecies · Wed Jul 30, 2008 8:04 pm

Brice Russ and I will be reading on Saturday and playing on Sunday. We'd play Saturday, but I suspect we'd probably combine for about 10ppg.

We're looking for a couple free agents if anyone is interested.

Post by **theMoMA** » Thu Jul 31, 2008 4:06 am

There will be seven MN people driving down (Carsten is the only one of those seven currently listed). I'd imagine we'll form one all-MN team and farm out two free agents to other teams in addition to the already-accounted-for Carsten.

First Chairman · Post by **First Chairman** » Thu Jul 31, 2008 10:00 am

I'll check my planner. Probably can only do Saturday.

stevengfeldman · Post by **stevengfeldman** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 6:20 am

The "Brandeis" team for Saturday will consist of: Jonathan Magin, Hannah Kirsch, Guy Tabachnick and Steve Feldman
The "Brandeis" teams for Sunday is not actually a Brandeis team at all, but will consist of: Steve Feldman, Guy Tabachnick and two other, yet to be determined, people. They will likely be hobos that I pick up in downtown Richmond before the tournament.

EDIT: Henry Gorman will be playing as the third member of our not actually Brandeis team on Sunday. We will still be bringing a fourth, as of yet undetermined player or a hobo.

EDIT #2: Our fourth for Sunday will be Gaurav. So unfortunately, there will not be an appearance by a hobo at VCU Novice.

Theory Of The Leisure Flask · Sun Aug 03, 2008 3:04 pm

grapesmoker wrote:
benjaminthedonkey wrote:If this second car from up north (i.e. Jerry, it looks like) materializes, will it have any spare room? And if so, is there any chance that I could also humbly beg for a ride? (Assuming a stop in Philadelphia isn't too far out of the way, of course.)

Note: Given that I'm ~90 percent sure to be not playing on Sunday, and most everyone else will be sticking around, I have no problem taking either Amtrak or Greyhound back up. But coordinating travel before the tournament would be really, really helpful.
So the chances of me coming to this thing are about 50/50 still, but a stop in Philly will take me far out of the way. Right now, assuming I go I'm looking at a car of myself, Eric Mukherjee, Katy Peters, and Guy Tabachnik. I can take one more person if you feel up to taking the bus or train to NYC, but, again, please don't take this as a commitment to go; I have a lot of things I'm juggling but as soon as I have a definitive answer, I will let people know.

Understood 100%. As crazy as it sounds, backtracking up to NYC might actually make sense for me if you end up coming. It's certainly better than overnight Greyhound or driving a rental car by myself. (If those are my only options, I might have to bail on the tournament entirely.)

Alternatively, are there any caravans heading down from DC on Saturday morning that a) still have space and b) are stopping by somewhere on the Metro?

The Atom Strikes! · Post by **The Atom Strikes!** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 6:40 pm

I'm pitching my hat into the ring as a free agent for Saturday's event (I'm playing with Feldman and Guy on Sunday). If anybody's interested in recruiting me, email me at [email protected]

Post by **theMoMA** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 7:08 pm

Okay, the "Minnesota" team is going to be: Brendan, Gautam, Trevor, and me.

Carsten already has a team, Gaurav is looking for a team (I believe), and we might have another free agent coming (Sam Peterson or Quentin Roper).

Post by **gaurav.kandlikar** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 8:07 pm

Yeah, as Andrew said, I am looking for a team for both days, as of now.

My email address is gkandlikarremovetext@yahoo.com

Gaurav

Edit - I'll be playing with the Feldman/Gorman/Guy team for VCU Novice. I am still looking for a team for the open.

grapesmoker · Post by **grapesmoker** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 11:37 am

I know people were waiting for me to say whether I can go, so I thought I'd post here and let the relevant individuals know that I'll be coming. Right now, I have a car that contains myself, Eric, Katy, and Guy. Chris White of Penn said he was interested, so Chris, please note that you'll have to take public transit to get yourself to midtown Manhattan on Friday so I can pick you up. Eric, you'll have to take a bus from Providence, as I'll be coming from New York. I propose that the lot of you arrange to meet at the Port Authority no later than 6 PM on Friday and I'll pick you all up; it's easier if you are all in the same place. It's a 6-hour drive to Richmond and I'd like to not waste any more time than I have to.

Teamwise, it looks like I'm playing on whatever team Ted and Eric are on, so I'm no longer a free agent.

Mechanical Beasts · Post by **Mechanical Beasts** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 2:10 pm

Sweet.

Granted, I don't really know of a category on which my knowledge isn't a proper subset of Ted/Eric/Jerry, but I do need coattail riding practice. I hear it takes a lot of balance.

EDIT: oh yeah i'll study japanese literature i hear none of you tools know anything about this kobo abe fella, problem solved.

Frater Taciturnus · Post by **Frater Taciturnus** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 3:20 pm

Also, anyone planning on staying at my house should email me before Wednesday at [email protected]

The Goffman Prophecies · Sat Aug 09, 2008 5:25 pm

Handy wrote:Also, anyone planning on staying at my house should email me before Wednesday at [email protected]

Additionally, I have limited amounts of floor space if anyone is lacking lodging for Friday and/or Saturday nights.

fleurdelivre · Post by **fleurdelivre** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 9:04 pm

Now that I know where I'm going to be Friday night, I should probably post my usual request for a place to lay my sleeping bag. I'd worked out possible options for the DC area but have no lodging worked out for Richmond. Then again, I'm not fussy. Someone, pretty please?

Blackboard Monitor Vimes · Sat Aug 09, 2008 9:08 pm

Bum-Hating Virgil Hate-Bum wrote:Now that I know where I'm going to be Friday night, I should probably post my usual request for a place to lay my sleeping bag. I'd worked out possible options for the DC area but have no lodging worked out for Richmond. Then again, I'm not fussy. Someone, pretty please?

Dan and George have offered (see above). George lives in my neighborhood, which is 10-15 minutes from VCU depending on traffic and whether or not you obey posted speeds. I'd offer, but my parents would not be cool with this...

The Goffman Prophecies · Sat Aug 09, 2008 9:42 pm

MLWGS-Gir wrote:
Bum-Hating Virgil Hate-Bum wrote:Now that I know where I'm going to be Friday night, I should probably post my usual request for a place to lay my sleeping bag. I'd worked out possible options for the DC area but have no lodging worked out for Richmond. Then again, I'm not fussy. Someone, pretty please?
Dan and George have offered (see above). George lives in my neighborhood, which is 10-15 minutes from VCU depending on traffic and whether or not you obey posted speeds. I'd offer, but my parents would not be cool with this...

I'm not far from George either. dgoffATasaltypieceofdanDOTnet is the best way to get a hold of me.

intothenegs · Post by **intothenegs** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 10:30 pm

Yeah, so I am still trying to find a fourth team member. Is anyone playing on Sunday still a free agent?

Edit: If you're willing to play with a group of inexperienced high school players, email me at chewy3326 at yahoo dot com.

Matt Weiner · Post by **Matt Weiner** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:15 am

Hey, the tournament formats will be as follows, assuming nobody else enters or leaves the fields.

SATURDAY: The 12 teams will play an 11-game round robin. There will be ACF-format finals.

SUNDAY: The 14 teams will be divided into two brackets of 7, each of which will play a round robin with a single bye. The packets written by people at the VCU site will be used in the prelims during those teams' bye rounds. Afterwards, the top 3 teams in each bracket will go to another round-robin over rounds 8-12, and the bottom 4 will play crossover in rounds 8-11. In all playoff brackets, only the part of your prelim record that was earned against other teams in the same playoff bracket as you will carry over. There will be ACF-format finals.

On Saturday, whether we play the finals packets as exhibitions, should less than 2 games of finals be needed, will be determined by what time it is, given the need to finish promptly and start Mike's tournament before we get too close to the end of our room reservations. On Sunday, everyone will definitely get a chance to play rounds 13 and 14 since nothing is happening afterwards. If they were not read the previous day, we will do the unused Saturday packets after the Sunday tournament as well.

First Chairman · Post by **First Chairman** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 2:37 pm

Can you advise me on parking, given that it is also move-in weekend at VCU?

Matt Weiner · Post by **Matt Weiner** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 3:07 pm

First Chairman wrote:Can you advise me on parking, given that it is also move-in weekend at VCU?

The dorms are all to the north and east of where we will be, so it should not be much of a problem with parking, though area traffic may be somewhat higher than usual for a weekend morning.

On the below map, the purple square is the building the tournament will be in. The streets I've circled in blue (the stuff to the west of Harrison) only have private homes, student-rented and otherwise, on them. They are 2-hr parking on weekdays only; you can park there all day on weekends. My suggestion is to try that first as it's the most convenient to the building.

There is also a limited amount parking on the Grove Avenue loop right in front of the Hibbs/library plaza, which is likewise time-unlimited on weekends. I can't imagine that move-in will affect this since it's nowhere near any of the dorms, so you can also try to park there.

If for whatever reason you can't park in either of those places, just keep moving west on Park, Grove, or Floyd and you should find something reasonable on either those roads or the cross-streets. There is also a parking deck at Broad and Harrison, a three-block walk north of the tournament site. As of the last time I looked into it, that deck is free on weekends.

The main thing I'll emphasize about dealing with the move-ins is that you want to keep yourself on the west of the tournament building and avoid the areas to the south and east of it, where the dorms are.

Post by **DumbJaques** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 2:16 pm

After some recent drops, Maryland is now seeking 1-2 free agents for Saturday's tournament (and 1 free agent for Sunday). If you're interested, please email me at [email protected].

Matt Weiner · Post by **Matt Weiner** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 3:55 pm

I have updated the Sunday format upon the happy news of more packets being available than I thought.

Lapego1 · Post by **Lapego1** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 5:23 pm

You can take me off the free agent list. Turns out I won't be able to make it

. Stupid August weddings.

Frater Taciturnus · Post by **Frater Taciturnus** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 12:22 am

Post day I edit: Well impromptu meta pyramid was provided to fill the one real gap in the tournament, the long pause before round 9. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this tournament.

Minnesota and "team Jerry" will meet in a final tomorrow morning.

Matt Weiner · Post by **Matt Weiner** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 10:43 am

Jerry & friends won in the first game of the final. The Novice tournament is now underway. Humorous suggestions for how to play off the extra packet from yesterday's set will be taken starting immediately.

pray for elves · Post by **pray for elves** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 11:35 am

When will we see stats?

Also, I recommend using the extra packet from yesterday as the finals packet for the novice tournament. "Harder playoffs" would be a slight understatement.

Post by **Susan** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 11:50 am

I recommend discarding the actual questions from the packet and using the answers in a rousing game of charades.

First Chairman · Post by **First Chairman** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 11:54 am

Matt Weiner wrote:Jerry & friends won in the first game of the final. The Novice tournament is now underway. Humorous suggestions for how to play off the extra packet from yesterday's set will be taken starting immediately.

Depends on how many more consoles on the Maryland buzzers still work, wouldn't it?

Matt Weiner · Post by **Matt Weiner** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 6:58 pm

The Minnesota team won today's tournament. Stats forthcoming.

Matt Weiner · Post by **Matt Weiner** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 10:13 pm

Stats for Saturday: http://www.hsquizbowl.org/vcuopen/vcuop ... dings.html
Sunday stats should be posted tomorrow.

cdcarter · Post by **cdcarter** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 9:11 am

Could you activate Round Report for the stats?

Matt Weiner · Post by **Matt Weiner** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 4:10 pm

Clark, servant wrote:Could you activate Round Report for the stats?

Done. Sunday stats are also up now, at http://www.hsquizbowl.org/vcuopen/vcuno ... dings.html .