GSAC XVII at Maggie Walker (12/12/09)

Blackboard Monitor Vimes · Tue Sep 15, 2009 4:48 pm

GSAC XVII will take place on December 12, 2009 at Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies in Richmond, VA. I'll post a link with directions to our school after we move our website off Geocities. This tournament is being written by members of the Maggie Walker team and edited by Tommy Casalaspi, Greg Tito, Mehdi Razvi, and myself. A field cap of some sort will be established based on the amount of staff we can find, once I have a better idea. Please register here so that you are in our records. Feel free to either contact me at gsacdirector AT gmail DOT com or SeaAngel147 AT aol DOT com or post any questions/comments.

Our distribution is:

4/4 Lit
4/4 Science
4/4 History
3/3 RMP
2/2 Arts
1/1 Social Science
1/1 Trash
1/1 Geography

Fee structure:

First team: $60
Each additional team: $50
Functional Buzzer Discount: $10
Travel Discount (200+ miles traveled): $10
Staff Discount (please only volunteer a competent staffer): $10

Registered:
Blacksburg
Charlottesville
Cosby
GDS (2)
Godwin
Henrico (2)
Freeman
Meadowbrook
Mountain Vista Governor's School (2)
New Kent (3)
Ocean Lakes (2)
Raleigh Charter (4)
St. Anselm's
St. Christopher's
Southside
State College
TJ (3)
Tucker
Warwick

Total: 30 teams

Buzzers:
Charlottesville
Cosby
Freeman
GDS
Mountain Vista Governor's School (2)
New Kent (2)
Ocean Lakes
Raleigh Charter (3)
St. Anselm's
Southside (2)
State College
TJ
Tucker
Warwick

Frater Taciturnus · Post by **Frater Taciturnus** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 5:00 pm

MLWGS-Gir wrote:I'll post a link with directions to our school after we move our website off Geocities.

http://tinyurl.com/mlwgsgis

Algeria · Post by **Algeria** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 6:25 pm

I'll go ahead and express interest for TJ. We'll probably send more than one team.

Self-incompatibility in plants · Tue Sep 15, 2009 8:47 pm

CR is interested.

Down and out in Quintana Roo · Tue Sep 15, 2009 8:49 pm

Self-incompatibility in plants wrote:CR is interested.

As long as it doesn't conflict with Charter's Fall Tournament (which i don't think has been announced), yeah, we'd be definitely interested. This was a great tournament last year and we enjoyed the trip.

TheKingInYellow · Post by **TheKingInYellow** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 8:54 pm

SC will probably show, probably with 2 teams

Down and out in Quintana Roo · Fri Sep 18, 2009 12:12 pm

Dr. Isaac Yankem, DDS wrote:
Self-incompatibility in plants wrote:CR is interested.
As long as it doesn't conflict with Charter's Fall Tournament (which i don't think has been announced), yeah, we'd be definitely interested. This was a great tournament last year and we enjoyed the trip.

Yeah, turns out that what i thought might happen will probably happen, so... i'll keep you posted officially, but it's looking doubtful for us.

btressler · Post by **btressler** » Tue Sep 22, 2009 5:26 am

Actually coach, I just found out that the building became unavailable to me on that date. So register away.

rchschem · Post by **rchschem** » Thu Oct 08, 2009 11:50 am

Raleigh Charter will come, and will likely bring 4 teams.

Robbie Ram · Post by **Robbie Ram** » Thu Oct 08, 2009 1:01 pm

Am I missing something, or is the "register here" link in the announcement not actually linked to anything?

Blackboard Monitor Vimes · Thu Oct 08, 2009 5:07 pm

Robbie Ram wrote:Am I missing something, or is the "register here" link in the announcement not actually linked to anything?

Whoops. Looks like the link didn't paste. Thanks, Mr. Campana; I'll get on that.

Adventure Temple Trail · Thu Oct 08, 2009 7:25 pm

GDS is also very interested in this.

TheKingInYellow · Post by **TheKingInYellow** » Thu Oct 08, 2009 7:25 pm

SC will probably be down

wexs883198215 · Post by **wexs883198215** » Thu Oct 08, 2009 7:53 pm

WJ actually won't be able to get one team to this, unfortunately. Disregard what I had said.

KoH · Post by **KoH** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:00 pm

Southside will be bringing one team.

sageorator · Post by **sageorator** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 2:22 pm

Blacksburg is interested.

Blackboard Monitor Vimes · Thu Nov 05, 2009 9:33 pm

This tournament is now PACE-affiliated. We've had several registrations already, but Dr. B. hasn't passed along specifics yet, so there will be a field update soon.

Blackboard Monitor Vimes · Mon Nov 16, 2009 8:18 pm

Hey, just to let people know (and I'll be posting this in the thread I made in the discussion section as well), we had some internal discussion and are open to January mirrors. Please let me know if you're interested. Teams playing at this site that are coming from a long distance are welcome to mirror at a later date if they wish.

The King's Flight to the Scots · Thu Nov 19, 2009 6:39 pm

St. Anselm's would like to come to this.

Blackboard Monitor Vimes · Fri Nov 27, 2009 12:27 pm

Hey, I just sent out another announcement email to our mailing list in case some people missed it when it was combined with our Fall Novice announcement. Teams who have already registered, please feel free to ignore that. Thanks.

Adventure Temple Trail · Fri Nov 27, 2009 1:14 pm

We're going to this. Number of teams, buzzers, and staffers TBD.

Angry Babies in Love · Wed Dec 02, 2009 5:21 pm

Hey so it doesn't look like we'll be able to make this. Hope it goes well.

Zmastr · Post by **Zmastr** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 9:42 pm

Can you provide me with the link to Maggie Walker's new quiz bowl site? The geocities site that had all of the stats from past GSAC tournaments no longer exists, but the Ocean Lakes team and I are interested in viewing them.

Blackboard Monitor Vimes · Thu Dec 03, 2009 8:49 am

Due to staffing concerns I am tentatively capping the field at 30. That may change later, and we'll keep a waiting list.

Blackboard Monitor Vimes · Fri Dec 04, 2009 5:02 pm

We have now reached our field cap of 30 teams but will be keeping a waiting list.

The King's Flight to the Scots · Sun Dec 06, 2009 8:18 pm

For clarification, this set will not be power-marked, correct?

Blackboard Monitor Vimes · Sun Dec 06, 2009 8:20 pm

Journey to the Planets wrote:For clarification, this set will not be power-marked, correct?

Correct.

Blackboard Monitor Vimes · Sun Dec 06, 2009 9:49 pm

Including 2 borrowed from VCU, I count 16 buzzer sets available to us for 15 rooms. Since people often forget and sometimes things turn out to be broken, if you aren't currently planning on bringing your functional buzzer set and would like to do so for the stated discount, please let me know. If you are currently planning to bring a functional buzzer set, please be certain to remember it. Thanks, everyone.

Matt Weiner · Post by **Matt Weiner** » Sun Dec 06, 2009 9:50 pm

MLWGS-Gir wrote:Including 2 borrowed from VCU, I count 16 buzzer sets available to us for 15 rooms. Since people often forget and sometimes things turn out to be broken, if you aren't currently planning on bringing your functional buzzer set and would like to do so for the stated discount, please let me know. If you are currently planning to bring a functional buzzer set, please be certain to remember it. Thanks, everyone.

All of our buzzers are broken and are being sent out for repair tomorrow.

Blackboard Monitor Vimes · Sun Dec 06, 2009 9:53 pm

Matt Weiner wrote:
MLWGS-Gir wrote:Including 2 borrowed from VCU, I count 16 buzzer sets available to us for 15 rooms. Since people often forget and sometimes things turn out to be broken, if you aren't currently planning on bringing your functional buzzer set and would like to do so for the stated discount, please let me know. If you are currently planning to bring a functional buzzer set, please be certain to remember it. Thanks, everyone.
All of our buzzers are broken and are being sent out for repair tomorrow.

Uh oh, last I'd heard 2 of them worked. Ok, then, we now do not have enough buzzers, so if any team has another set, please bring it.

TheKingInYellow · Post by **TheKingInYellow** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 9:33 pm

Unfortunately, due to driver issues/ weather, State College will have to pull one team out. Our A team will still be attending, weather pending.

Blackboard Monitor Vimes · Tue Dec 08, 2009 9:47 pm

TheKingInYellow wrote:Unfortunately, due to driver issues/ weather, State College will have to pull one team out. Our A team will still be attending, weather pending.

Ok. Safe trip down, you guys.

This gives us one open spot if anyone is interested.

Blackboard Monitor Vimes · Wed Dec 09, 2009 4:30 pm

Meadowbrook brings us back up to 30 teams, and thanks to Raleigh Charter, GDS, and New Kent, the buzzer situation is looking much better. Thanks, everyone.

Adventure Temple Trail · Wed Dec 09, 2009 6:25 pm

Due to unforeseen circumstances, GDS is dropping down to 2 teams and going up to one buzzer set. Apologies for the late notice.

Blackboard Monitor Vimes · Thu Dec 10, 2009 12:03 am

Since I haven't seen the announcement thread up yet and in case I somehow forget, this set will mirrored in Missouri on 2/13, so the set will not be cleared for discussion until the conclusion of that tournament. Thanks, everyone.

Charbroil · Post by **Charbroil** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 2:48 am

MLWGS-Gir wrote:...this set will mirrored in Missouri on 2/13...

Really? That's cool--who's mirroring it?

Blackboard Monitor Vimes · Thu Dec 10, 2009 5:33 pm

Charbroil wrote:
MLWGS-Gir wrote:...this set will mirrored in Missouri on 2/13...
Really? That's cool--who's mirroring it?

Mizzou.

Blackboard Monitor Vimes · Fri Dec 11, 2009 6:07 pm

Warwick brings us back up to 30 teams. See everyone in the morning.

Blackboard Monitor Vimes · Sat Dec 12, 2009 2:34 pm

Play-offs have just started. State College, Southside, Raleigh Charter A, St. Anselm's, GDS A, TJ A, TJ B, Blacksburg, Freeman, Ocean Lakes A, New Kent A, and Raleigh Charter B are in the two championship brackets.

Blackboard Monitor Vimes · Sat Dec 12, 2009 5:46 pm

This tournament is over. State College defeated Southside in the finals. Stats will be posted as soon as Ted has finished entering the placement games.

Lightinfa · Post by **Lightinfa** » Sat Dec 12, 2009 6:07 pm

Combined stats:

http://results.scobo.net/SQBS.aspx?org= ... =standings

Blackboard Monitor Vimes · Sat Dec 12, 2009 7:13 pm

Thanks to Mehdi Razvi for stepping in on short notice to edit non-biological science and to George Berry for contributing 3/0 trash. I edited lit, visual art, myth, and trash; Greg edited history, geography, religion, and biology; and Tommy edited philosophy, music, and social science.

Thanks to all of the staff and teams for coming, and to Evan Adams and George for helping us with some proofreading yesterday, and everyone else who may have helped out in some capacity that I can't think of right now.

Please remember that this set will not be cleared for discussion until February. Thanks, everyone.

Post by **Kouign Amann** » Sat Dec 12, 2009 8:16 pm

This tournament was very fun. Things were run efficiently, and the questions, with the exception of a few difficulty outliers, were quite good. Thanks to everyone at Maggie Walker and elsewhere who helped make this thing work.

Adventure Temple Trail · Sat Dec 12, 2009 9:30 pm

Prof.Whoopie wrote:the questions, with the exception of a few difficulty outliers,

I have to respectfully disagree here. Across all categories, this set seemed way too difficult for non-'top teams', and there were far too many difficulty outliers even for the top teams, with many tossups especially in the later rounds degenerating into "have I heard of this"-bowl, and others being needlessly transparent or linguistically fraudable in the copious early clues. I honestly don't think this set should be mirrored until all tossups are cut down to 8 lines or fewer in 12-point Times New Roman (some hit 10 or 11 - I think the longest was 13), all bonuses are reappraised to make sure that their hard parts are in line with the rest of the set, and certain difficulty outliers are cut outright. With some moments of frustration, this set worked okay for the six or seven Nationals-level teams in the field, but it won't work anywhere else without revision.

Congrats nonetheless to State College, who undoubtedly deserved their victory, and to Gov for directing the tournament efficiently and well.

Post by **Kouign Amann** » Sat Dec 12, 2009 9:40 pm

RyuAqua wrote:
Prof.Whoopie wrote:the questions, with the exception of a few difficulty outliers,
I have to respectfully disagree here.

Well yeah, there were certainly way more than "a few" questions that weren't well done (or shouldn't have been done at all!), and I guess I was just trying to be general until we can actually talk about the set. My bad on phrasing. I probably should have said something like "these questions were mostly fun, but a good number were inappropriate for the field."

Blackboard Monitor Vimes · Sat Dec 12, 2009 9:42 pm

RyuAqua wrote:
Prof.Whoopie wrote:the questions, with the exception of a few difficulty outliers,
I have to respectfully disagree here. Across all categories, this set seemed way too difficult for non-'top teams', and there were far too many difficulty outliers even for the top teams, with many tossups especially in the later rounds degenerating into "have I heard of this"-bowl, and others being needlessly transparent or linguistically fraudable in the copious early clues. I honestly don't think this set should be mirrored until all tossups are cut down to 8 lines or fewer in 12-point Times New Roman (some hit 10 or 11 - I think the longest was 13), all bonuses are reappraised to make sure that their hard parts are in line with the rest of the set, and certain difficulty outliers are cut outright. With some moments of frustration, this set worked okay for the six or seven Nationals-level teams in the field, but it won't work anywhere else without revision.

Congrats nonetheless to State College, who undoubtedly deserved their victory, and to Gov for directing the tournament efficiently and well.

Charlie Dees is currently compiling a list of things he would like addressed before the Mizzou mirror; rest assured that we are on top of that.

sageorator · Post by **sageorator** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 12:15 am

First and foremost I'd like to thank Maggie Walker for a good tournament and a great time. We really got a feel for where we are as a team. Also, as a member of a non-elite team, I'd like to say that the questions weren't terribly hard. At the very least not enough to be discouraging. Round 11 got a little rough, as most teams were pretty out of it as it was, but otherwise it could have been worse. It seems that the concerns that I had with the set are already being addressed.

The King's Flight to the Scots · Sun Dec 13, 2009 4:46 pm

One thing that's slipped through the cracks is just how well-written this set was--vastly better than last year's justly-praised set. It fixed the technical problems of last year's set--for examle., dropping titles without ample description--and had some exciting and creative lead-ins for accessible subjects. Good job on that. The numerous difficulty- and length-outliers absolutely need to be corrected before the next mirror, but I'll note that only some of the difficulty outliers were totally absurd (many of them in the finals), and the majority did well to challenge and distinguish between the top teams in the field. There were very few questions constructed such that they wouldn't fit well in some tournament.

So, in conclusion--nearly everything was written well, but some tossups and bonuses were incredibly bad ideas for the field of this tournament. Fix those questions before the Mizzou mirror and this should be a great set.

jbarnes112358 · Post by **jbarnes112358** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 3:06 pm

Thanks for all the constructive feedback. Thanks to all the teams that attended. I really appreciate all the excellent readers and volunteers including the many Maggie Walker alums who helped us out.

Sarah Angelo should be commended for directing another excellent tournament. This was her fifth tournament directed while in high school, which is probably an all-time record for a high school student.