ANNOUNCEMENT: T-Party Northeast at Harvard (2/27)

[Mechanical Beasts]

Harvard will be hosting T-Party on February 27, 2010.

QUESTIONS

This set will feature at least fifteen packets unless something goes terribly wrong. It will contain packets of at least twenty powermarked tossups and twenty bonuses. The tossups will obey a strict length cap: no tossup will feature any words on the seventh line, and ideally most tossups will not be six full lines. Good teams should, consequently, be able to expect to buzz early on tossups. People who have committed to working on this project include Rob Carson and Bernadette Spencer; I imagine Dallas will tell me fairly soon for sure if they're in, and Mike Cheyne is being asked as we speak if he'd like to edit the old man distribution. (A serious breakdown of what each of us is working on will appear here when appropriate.) (UPDATE: Mike Cheyne is secured.)

We're going to try to playtest these pretty extensively (early and often, as they say, but since packet-submission tournaments never seem to allow for "early" maybe we'll just playtest the editors packets a WHOLE lot), so if you don't think you'd want to play this event (which targets the ever-nebulous "regular" difficulty, but will have a buzz distribution less shaded towards the end than most contemporary "regular" difficulty events), feel free to volunteer to contribute in that way!

PACKET SUBMISSION DETAILS

We want packets. We don't (here's the part where I say "don't" again, but somehow you miss it both times) want packets to come in the week before the tournament. That is quite unpleasant! You wouldn't want me to start coming up with particularly horrifying things to compare it to, now would you? In a submitted packet, we'd like to see:

5/5 literature (1/1 American, 1/1 British, 1/1 European, 1/1 World, 1/1 additional of any category)
5/5 history (1/1 American, 3/3 European [of which one question is on British history and one is on ancient history], 1/1 World)
5/5 science (1/1 physics, 1/1 chemistry, 1/1 biology, 1/1 other science [math, CS, earth science, astrophysics; don't do two of the same], 1/1 additional of any category or difficult-to-categorize topics)
3/3 RMP (1/1 mythology, 1/1 religion, 1/1 philosophy; try to ensure that your mythology is about dudes and deeds and your religion is about worship)
3/3 fine arts (1/1 painting, 1/1 non-opera music, 1/1 other arts [opera, architecture, sculpture, dance, photography, film, jazz, questions about Bob Dylan if you are Chris White; please do one vis and one aud])
2/2 social science (at least one question must be geography; no more than 1/1 can be geography)
1/1 trash
24/24 total

Here's the submission schedule, based off the date we imagine most mirrors will take place, 2/13:

12/20: -$50 (-$75 for teams that don't have to submit by ACF guidelines) -- if you gift-wrap your packet and mail it to one of us, you are discounted whatever that would cost you because it would make me SO HAPPY
1/3: -$25 (-$50 for teams that don't have to submit by ACF guidelines)
1/17: $0 (-$25 for teams that don't have to submit by ACF guidelines)
1/24: +$25
1/31: +$50
2/7: +$100
After 2/7, we'll grant twenty-four hour extensions one at a time; each one will cost $10.

Here's something that is a little unclear sometimes: when does this amorphous blob we call "12/20" end? This is particularly difficult because of time zones. So here it is: if your packet isn't in one of our hands by 4:00am Central time on the night of the deadline day (so your clock would, technically, read 4:00am 12/21, for example), then you have missed the deadline. There won't be leniency here because leniency gets exploited. End of story.

DO I HAVE TO SUBMIT A PACKET? As per ACF guidelines, if your teams has one or more players on it who's played a tournament before September of 2008, then you have to submit a packet.

FEES:
$100 base
-$5 per buzzer

FIELD (8 buzzers)
1 Brown
1 Dartmouth
1 Columbia (2 buzzers)
1 Yale (1 buzzer)
1 Harvard Alums
1 RPI (1 buzzer)
1 Brandeis (1 buzzer)
1 BU (2 buzzers)

[Mechanical Beasts]

Yale will be sending one team and bringing one buzzer system. We might be able to drum up enough interest for a second team.

Great; keep us up to date re: packet. I'll make an announcement for the Harvard site right now and split our posts to it.

[Ondes Martenot]

RPI will probably send a team and buzzer system

[MicroEStudent]

I'll see if RIT is interested, but as this is the weekend following finals and before "Spring" break, I'm not so sure I could get people to go to this.

[DumbJaques]

Well you guys were awesome enough to come down for TIT last year, so Maryland would like to make the trip up to Cambridge this year - we're deciding between HI and T-Party based largely on side events/the local mirror situation. Is there any news on either of those things, for either event?

[Mechanical Beasts]

A T-Party mirror in the Mid-Atlantic is near-inevitable; we certainly want one to happen. An HI mirror in the Mid-Atlantic is pretty much not going to happen.

[grapesmoker]

Some number of Brown teams will come.

[Mechanical Beasts]

I edited the post up top with fees because somehow I'd forgotten to do that before.

I'd love to hear that schools like Princeton, Dartmouth, etc. are looking at making the trek to Harvard, as well as schools like Tufts, etc. in the area. This should be a great, difficulty-appropriate tournament.

[Aaron]

Yale will be bringing exactly one team and one buzzer system.

[Chico the Rainmaker]

Does Harvard need staffers for this?

[Mechanical Beasts]

Does Harvard need staffers for this?

We'd never turn one down, I assure you! But is Tufts not interested in playing?

[Chico the Rainmaker]

I can't speak for Tufts Quiz Bowl but I would be highly surprised if we sent a team to a regular difficulty event.

[Ondes Martenot]

I can't speak for Tufts Quiz Bowl but I would be highly surprised if we sent a team to a regular difficulty event.

You sent a team to Harvard International last year, which was probably the hardest event during the regular season.

[Chico the Rainmaker]

I can't speak for Tufts Quiz Bowl but I would be highly surprised if we sent a team to a regular difficulty event.

You sent a team to Harvard International last year, which was probably the hardest event during the regular season.

Yes, and based on what people have told me about that experience it is unlikely we'll send a team to T-Party. But I could be wrong!

[Sen. Estes Kefauver (D-TN)]

That's an illogical decision to make. One tournament was possibly the hardest thing played all school year. Another one is a "regular" tournament which will probably be much easier than the D1 Sectionals set we just played. To decide not to go to the medium difficulty tournament because of the difficulty of the extremely hard tournament does not really follow.

[grapesmoker]

That's an illogical decision to make. One tournament was possibly the hardest thing played all school year. Another one is a "regular" tournament which will probably be much easier than the D1 Sectionals set we just played. To decide not to go to the medium difficulty tournament because of the difficulty of the extremely hard tournament does not really follow.

I have no idea what the final difficulty of T-Party will be, but I don't think you are in any position to claim that it will be much easier than the DI SCT. It's not going to be outrageously hard and I'd certainly encourage Tufts to attend, but let's not try to sell people on it with potentially false advertising.

[Chico the Rainmaker]

And also, "we" played D2 SCT, not D1.

[Skepticism and Animal Feed]

I'm editing T-Party and have access to all of the questions. I can assure you they are much easier than Harvard International. In fact, the single most common complaint I've heard during playtesting of T-Party tossups is that a given question was "too easy."

T-Party will be one of the easiest tournaments of the year. It will be much easier than, for example, THUNDER, which Tufts attended.

[Chico the Rainmaker]

Thanks; I will certainly relay that message.

[Sen. Estes Kefauver (D-TN)]

I have no idea what the final difficulty of T-Party will be, but I don't think you are in any position to claim that it will be much easier than the DI SCT. It's not going to be outrageously hard and I'd certainly encourage Tufts to attend, but let's not try to sell people on it with potentially false advertising.

According to the announcement, it is supposed to be "regular" shaded towards the easy side of that, and if you guess that translates to what ACF Winter was this year, that means it will be substantially easier than the SCT that just happened (at least based off of comparisons between bonus conversions).

[Mechanical Beasts]

Hey, so right now this looks like a seven-team tournament. Is there interest from Dartmouth, perhaps? You guys certainly came out to SCT in force. Other teams? I'm hearing rumblings from UConn; I bet there are others, too!

[Cheynem]

EDIT: Jerry is right (see below). Please come to this event and hopefully the difficulty is appropriate.

[grapesmoker]

In terms of what I wrote for T-Party, I can say it is definitely easier than THUNDER, probably easier than anything but Fall. But I've only been working on a few topics.

Give past experiences with telling people a target difficulty and then having things turn out completely different, I'm wary of telling teams how easy this or that set will be. I'm sure Harvard is trying to make T-Party appropriately accessible, and again, I'd encourage teams like Tufts to come, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

[grapesmoker]

Hey guys, any possibility that we can get the visual arts dealie mirrored at this tournament?

[Ondes Martenot]

Hey so I hope this doesn't come off as sounding selfish, but since we have a long drive back to RPI once this tournament is done, if we could run some rounds of the visual tournament during lunch that would be awesome and I would definitely play (I'm not advocating making lunch any longer than what it would normally be).

[grapesmoker]

Hey so I hope this doesn't come off as sounding selfish, but since we have a long drive back to RPI once this tournament is done, if we could run some rounds of the visual tournament during lunch that would be awesome and I would definitely play (I'm not advocating making lunch any longer than what it would normally be).

Perhaps Mike can weigh in on how long it took. If we coordinate this right, we should be able to do something smart like order pizza that will be delivered just before lunch starts and play this tournament.

[Ondes Martenot]

Yeah that works for me

[Mike Bentley]

Hey so I hope this doesn't come off as sounding selfish, but since we have a long drive back to RPI once this tournament is done, if we could run some rounds of the visual tournament during lunch that would be awesome and I would definitely play (I'm not advocating making lunch any longer than what it would normally be).

Perhaps Mike can weigh in on how long it took. If we coordinate this right, we should be able to do something smart like order pizza that will be delivered just before lunch starts and play this tournament.

It should take around 90 minutes, maybe a bit faster if you're going at a fast clip.

Although it will probably take a while to get things set up properly as this will be the first time people have done this type of stuff before.

[Mechanical Beasts]

I would love to do this; the question is securing a projector. There's no obvious (or non-obvious!) way to do this through room reservations here.

[Ondes Martenot]

depending on how many people there are, and how cramped people are willing to be, could this just be run on a laPtop? Is this meant to played in a single room?

[Mike Bentley]

depending on how many people there are, and how cramped people are willing to be, could this just be run on a labtop? Is this meant to played in a single room?

Yes, you can do it on a laptop if you really wanted to. You could also run multiple rooms if you really wanted to.

[RishiK]

Boston University will send a team.

[Mechanical Beasts]

Awesome!

[RishiK]

Oh, yeah, and we also have 2 buzzer systems.

[grapesmoker]

Who constitutes the Harvard Alums team?

[Skepticism and Animal Feed]

What time should staff and teams arrive? Will this tournament take place at historic Sever Hall, or at some other location?

[Mechanical Beasts]

What time should staff and teams arrive? Will this tournament take place at historic Sever Hall, or at some other location?

Tournament's at Sever; staff should arrive at 8:30, teams at 8:45. We will start games at nine sharp.

[grapesmoker]

Tournament's at Sever; staff should arrive at 8:30, teams at 8:45. We will start games at nine sharp.

You funny man! Well, we'll be there by 9, assuming we don't get as lost as we did last time.

[Mechanical Beasts]

Tournament's at Sever; staff should arrive at 8:30, teams at 8:45. We will start games at nine sharp.

You funny man! Well, we'll be there by 9, assuming we don't get as lost as we did last time.

Sweet. Also, google maps the lot you got your parking pass for so I don't have to approximate where it might be on the phone; I am especially bad at phone directions.

[Kyle]

Just the other day, I was reliving the past by reading the 2007 Northeast SCT thread, which featured me making fun of Jerry for being unable to find his way reliably to Sever Hall. It has now been over three years!

[Auks Ran Ova]

We will start games at nine sharp.

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

[Mechanical Beasts]

We will start games at nine sharp.

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

We've done this before, you know. Successfully.

[grapesmoker]

Just the other day, I was reliving the past by reading the 2007 Northeast SCT thread, which featured me making fun of Jerry for being unable to find his way reliably to Sever Hall. It has now been over three years!

No one should ever be mocked for being unable to find their way around your stupid city. Apparently the technology known as "road signs," and "street markers," has yet to make it to the Northeast.

[Susan]

Just the other day, I was reliving the past by reading the 2007 Northeast SCT thread, which featured me making fun of Jerry for being unable to find his way reliably to Sever Hall. It has now been over three years!

No one should ever be mocked for being unable to find their way around your stupid city. Apparently the technology known as "road signs," and "street markers," has yet to make it to the Northeast.

Maybe we can increase the dollar limit just a hair and your SMV partner can give you a GPS system next year.

[grapesmoker]

Maybe we can increase the dollar limit just a hair and your SMV partner can give you a GPS system next year.

u r so meen susan ferrari

[AKKOLADE]

jerry needs mapquest to get to this thread

[Mechanical Beasts]

If RPI makes it, we'll have eight teams and field a house team for obvious reasons. Then we'd have a full round robin (eight games on nine packets) split into upper and lower brackets of four (house team dropped) which would play a round-robin on the six editors packets, then we would play finals if necessary. Overall: ten games on eleven packets. I'd really rather be able to do more games on more packets, but a second round robin requires eighteen packets and we only have fourteen nonfinals and a double round robin among the rebracket requires six packets on top of the nine already used.*

If RPI drops, we'll have seven teams and play a round-robin for six games on seven packets, followed by a double round robin in playoff brackets of four and four (having introduced a house team).


*One scheme would be to play a round robin with eight teams for prelims, using the six editors packets, plus two of the non-Northeast packets (there are three packets with a northeast contribution). That's seven rounds on seven packets. Then the playoffs would require the addition of a house team to whichever bracket contains Yale, Brown, and Brandeis (we'd have to hope that that is a single bracket), and the other bracket, at least, could play a double round robin while the bracket-with-a-bye could play a single round robin. That kind of scheme is probably not worth the fuss.

[Mike Bentley]

If you guys are running Eyes That Do Not See and don't have the questions already, let me know and I can send them to you.

[Ondes Martenot]

Andy already knows this but really crap weather+horrible road conditions means we can't make it tomorrow.

[Mechanical Beasts]

Does anyone have David Farris's phone number? People who know people who know Berkeley people, especially valuable. He's coming to this tournament but he is not here.