Online Geographic Boundaries

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The Favourite
Wakka
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Joined: Mon Aug 11, 2014 8:01 pm

Online Geographic Boundaries

Post by The Favourite »

Let me preface this by saying that I love that quizbowl being more online has allowed teams from different regions to play against each other at tournaments that aren't any of the National tournaments. I also didn't know where the best home for this was, so I posted here. Mods, Feel free to move it.

A few weeks ago, I hosted a tournament online using an NAQT set. After having teams from multiple states register for our tournament and me deleting their registrations, I finally had NAQT add a note to our tournament announcement on their webpage that our tournament was limited to Oklahoma teams only. As I have looked through fields, results, and waitlists (https://www.naqt.com/stats/tournament/s ... t_id=11809 and https://www.naqt.com/stats/tournament/s ... t_id=11773 and https://www.naqt.com/registration/field ... t_id=11901 and here is a tournament hosted in Singapore with only one team registered, and they are from California: https://www.naqt.com/registration/field ... t_id=11960), I can't help but notice that some of the better teams nationally are eschewing tournaments in their region to play tournaments with a presumably weaker field 700 miles away from their home school. While this wouldn't be an issue if the calendar wasn't so full, it seems like we have roughly the same amount of tournaments across the nation this year as we normally would. This creates a few problems, in my opinion.

1) Teams that can qualify for a National Tournament within their own region, but are playing in another region takes away one or more bids for teams from the host region. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't happen, and it shouldn't happen now. NAQT should take a little notice of this, as it could potentially impact their National Fields.

2) Good teams playing in a circuit weaker than their own really doesn't benefit the team that is "travelling." Playing weaker competition doesn't make you better, it just strokes your ego.

3) Coordinating a tournament across states is more difficult, especially for less experienced TDs and staff. When you are dealing with coaches and players that you aren't familiar with (no matter how nice and sportsmanlike they are), it makes communication and logistics far more difficult.

Am I the only one that sees an issue with this? Is this just sour grapes? Is there a way for us, as a community, to correct this?
Last edited by The Favourite on Wed Oct 21, 2020 9:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
Tracey Hickman
Rock Creek 12
Redlands 14
Central Oklahoma 16
Coach, Murray State College (OK)
Former Coach, Coalgate Schools (OK)
Curriculum Director, Oklahoma Quizbowl Camps
jonah
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Re: Online Geographic Boundaries

Post by jonah »

For the record, NAQT has a feature (I think new since your tournament) by which hosts can limit their tournament to schools from the same state. Whether to use it is, of course, up to the host.

(So far there aren't more flexible options like "schools from within a 100-mile radius" or "schools from these few states." That could happen, though it's definitely more complicated.)
Jonah Greenthal
National Academic Quiz Tournaments
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The Favourite
Wakka
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Re: Online Geographic Boundaries

Post by The Favourite »

jonah wrote: Wed Oct 21, 2020 9:46 am For the record, NAQT has a feature (I think new since your tournament) by which hosts can limit their tournament to schools from the same state. Whether to use it is, of course, up to the host.

(So far there aren't more flexible options like "schools from within a 100-mile radius" or "schools from these few states." That could happen, though it's definitely more complicated.)
This is a great feature!

Also, I didn't mention this, but I think it should be stated. I have no problem with hosts allowing schools from other states to play their tournaments. I'm all for making as much in fundraising as possible and having the biggest and most competitive fields possible. I also think that, as hosts, it is our job to make sure that teams in our region are not short changed, as ultimately we are doing a service to our region first. We should be researching every team that registers for our tournaments, and should be making field decisions with the best interests of our region in mind.
Tracey Hickman
Rock Creek 12
Redlands 14
Central Oklahoma 16
Coach, Murray State College (OK)
Former Coach, Coalgate Schools (OK)
Curriculum Director, Oklahoma Quizbowl Camps
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Everything in the Whole Wide World
Wakka
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Joined: Sat Dec 25, 2010 11:37 pm
Location: West Chester, PA

Re: Online Geographic Boundaries

Post by Everything in the Whole Wide World »

When I initially set up the Pennsylvania tournaments for this season, we tried to replicate what a "normal" event would look like by restricting it to teams within two hours of the Pennsylvania border. This has worked pretty well- several teams outside this radius tried to register, but when I explained the situation to them they were very understanding and gracious.
Ben Herman
Henderson High School (2007-2011) [West Chester, PA]
University of Delaware (2011-2015)
Penn State University (2015-Present)
Co-Founder and Director, Greater Pennsylvania Quizbowl Resource
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