ACF Nationals 07 in Miami

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Would you go to ACF Nationals in Miami in 2007?

Yes but I would go anywhere to play it
13
39%
Yes because I want to visit Miami
2
6%
Yes because I like playing ACF Nationals and I would like to visit Miami
9
27%
No I hate Miami
6
18%
No I hate ACF Nationals questions
3
9%
 
Total votes: 33

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ACF Nationals 07 in Miami

Post by miamiqb »

I know this is way early but I just wanted to see what people thought of the following idea: ACF Nationals in Miami. I don't know exactly what the hosting requirements for ACF Nationals are but with a little help it could be run here, at UM. The administration is always interested in having national events and would be supportive. It would be a real attractant to a lot of teams who otherwise might not be willing to shell out a couple of hundred dollars just in traveling. Now teams could play ACF Nationals and spend an extra day or two and see South Beach, the Grove, etc.

The only downside I see is expensive airline tickets, but bought in advance they can be cheap.

This is more of a discussion thread than an offer, just gauging interest. I think it could really benefit ACF to run the national tournament in a location as attractive as Miami. How many who didn't attend ACF Nationals this year would be more willing to do so if it were held down here?

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Post by Rothlover »

Your plan seems airtight, with one problem. How can ACF nationals compete with Sun N' FUNN, which many believe to be the finest question set of the calendar year?
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Post by Agostino Tassi »

I think I speak for everyone in the circuit when I say, "Yes, but only if you guarantee that kelli will be there too."
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Post by steven-lamp »

HAH! I LOVE TEH INTERNET MAcKING SKILLZ OF TAHT GUY!!!

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Post by Rothlover »

Yes, A. Tassi is a noted internet pedophile...
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Post by NotBhan »

Just to give a genuine response to this, I don't think the logistics would be favorable. Adequately qualified staff would be hard to find locally (say, within a five-hour drive), and the travel costs would be substantial (even with discount plane tickets) for nearly every team in the field. As such, I don't think Miami would ever be a good location, barring a sudden flowering of a strong quizbowl community in the southern half of Florida.

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Post by First Chairman »

If we changed the date of ACF Nationals to Spring Break and hold matches at the beach... (ACF, the swimsuit calendar... :shock: ).

I think that the recent experience of holding PACE Nationals at Orlando suggests that it can be done (there) with the support and experience of the mid-Florida contingent. I don't know if I would want to do it in Miami because the logistics and costs of travel may not be worth it. (Even though Orlando was "expensive" for many of the teams that traveled to PACE, the experience was outstanding.)
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Post by ValenciaQBowl »

Well, if this gets any serious momentum, I can assure you that I can help supply a large amount of staff, as we did in Orlando for PACE. Of course, many would have only CC-level moderating experience, but if the great players who attend would promise not to crush the spirit of a newer reader trying to pronounce something like Siupillulimas, I think it could work. Still, I reckon it's a long, long shot.
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Post by Monica Marks »

After pitching the Miami idea to my comrades at Louisville, I can say that the proposal of ACF Nationals near the beach generated alot of interest. Ann Arbor, though only 6 hours away, isn't the most scintillating locale, and none of my players found the idea of trekking up to Michigan sufficiently motivating. Tossing the beach (and the prospect of seeing Billy Beyer shirtless, of course) into the bargain would result in more participation, at least from UofL.
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Post by miamiqb »

NotBhan wrote:Just to give a genuine response to this, I don't think the logistics would be favorable. Adequately qualified staff would be hard to find locally (say, within a five-hour drive), and the travel costs would be substantial (even with discount plane tickets) for nearly every team in the field. As such, I don't think Miami would ever be a good location, barring a sudden flowering of a strong quizbowl community in the southern half of Florida.

--RD
Thanks for the response Raj. That is the main problem I see with the idea...the dates for ACF Nationals are not conducive to good prices on air tickets. Perhaps a better idea would be running a similar tournament in the summer or fall?
E.T. Chuck wrote:If we changed the date of ACF Nationals to Spring Break and hold matches at the beach... (ACF, the swimsuit calendar... Shocked ).

I think that the recent experience of holding PACE Nationals at Orlando suggests that it can be done (there) with the support and experience of the mid-Florida contingent. I don't know if I would want to do it in Miami because the logistics and costs of travel may not be worth it. (Even though Orlando was "expensive" for many of the teams that traveled to PACE, the experience was outstanding.)
The Orlando success is what got me thinking in the first place.
ValenciaQBowl wrote:Well, if this gets any serious momentum, I can assure you that I can help supply a large amount of staff, as we did in Orlando for PACE. Of course, many would have only CC-level moderating experience, but if the great players who attend would promise not to crush the spirit of a newer reader trying to pronounce something like Siupillulimas, I think it could work. Still, I reckon it's a long, long shot.
Thanks for the offer Chris. It is a long shot, but I think it could really benefit ACF Nationals or any national event to be held in Miami (or other parts of South Florida)
Monica Marks wrote: After pitching the Miami idea to my comrades at Louisville, I can say that the proposal of ACF Nationals near the beach generated alot of interest. Ann Arbor, though only 6 hours away, isn't the most scintillating locale, and none of my players found the idea of trekking up to Michigan sufficiently motivating. Tossing the beach (and the prospect of seeing Billy Beyer shirtless, of course) into the bargain would result in more participation, at least from UofL.
This is exactly the type of response that I hoped for...I really do think there is room for a Miami national tournament precisely becuase of the location.


Anyways, it is a long shot and next year's ACF Nationals is a ways off. Who knows what will happen by then? For all I know UM could be leveled by a hurricane this summer :shock: .
But I wanted to see what people thought because it is an idea that interests me...please feel free to keep posting comments, thoughts, or ridicule at my poorly conceived plan (or lack of a plan I should say). I just think that with time Miami could be a good venue.
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Post by Mr. Kwalter »

Look, Miami is a bad choice. It's expensive, and it's not centrally located for the SE. But your heart's in the right place. I think the idea of locating ACF nationals somewhere where teams that don't traditionally come is something the editors should really consider. In my opinion, the region with the most unrealized attendance potential is, in fact, the SE. However, Miami is just too far south. So where else? Orlando? I understand Chris Borglum runs a pretty good tournament, but airfare might be expensive anywhere in Florida that close to spring break. Atlanta? Pretty far from Miami, really closer to the midsouth, but still accessible (from the POV of someone that has repeatedly driven the nine hours or so from Austin to Tulsa and/or Fayetteville for non-national tournaments). How bout it, GA Tech? It's been done there before. Delta flies cheap to Atlanta. I think a major airport is key; even a place like Ann Arbor, which really requires a car rental, can be prohibitive to some teams. Obviously some teams are averse to the idea of coming to ACF nationals on principle (a debate reserved for other threads), but I think that proximity could attract teams that might otherwise not be able or willing to spend the money to try it. Thoughts on this?
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Post by Leo Wolpert »

ekwartler wrote:How bout it, GA Tech? It's been done there before.
...with the result being a god damned clusterfuck.
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Post by Chris Frankel »

ekwartler wrote:Look, Miami is a bad choice. It's expensive, and it's not centrally located for the SE. But your heart's in the right place. I think the idea of locating ACF nationals somewhere where teams that don't traditionally come is something the editors should really consider. In my opinion, the region with the most unrealized attendance potential is, in fact, the SE. However, Miami is just too far south. So where else? Orlando? I understand Chris Borglum runs a pretty good tournament, but airfare might be expensive anywhere in Florida that close to spring break. Atlanta? Pretty far from Miami, really closer to the midsouth, but still accessible (from the POV of someone that has repeatedly driven the nine hours or so from Austin to Tulsa and/or Fayetteville for non-national tournaments). How bout it, GA Tech? It's been done there before. Delta flies cheap to Atlanta. I think a major airport is key; even a place like Ann Arbor, which really requires a car rental, can be prohibitive to some teams. Obviously some teams are averse to the idea of coming to ACF nationals on principle (a debate reserved for other threads), but I think that proximity could attract teams that might otherwise not be able or willing to spend the money to try it. Thoughts on this?
Location-wise, ACF Nationals at Georgia Tech fucking sucked. And I'm not just giving a hard time to the GT club; GT is just a very large, non-descript campus (i.e. it's really damn hard to find your way around the campus if you don't go there) located in the sketchiest part of Atlanta (an otherwise nice city from the times I've been there), and I know way too many people had complaints about last time to try it again.

Miami is more interesting than you give it credit for, as is Orlando (which you do possibly suggest). I agree though, having every tournament be in Chicago, Ann Arbor, or College Park does get old fast, and if a competent (key word there) hosting job can be done in another place, I'm all for it.
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Post by grapesmoker »

May I suggest Providence? Ample weekend parking, relatively close to most programs on the East Coast, and what's best, Southwest flies to TF Green for not all that much money.

Alternately, I think it may be time for another West Coast nationals. Stanford and Berkeley bid on ACF Nats one year jointly, but didn't get it. Either the Bay Area or Los Angeles would work pretty well, although flights to Oakland are usually cheaper than to LAX.
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Post by Rothlover »

I really do enjoy Chicago as a host city, between its hot dogs and other non-nitrate related attractions, though with CO and potential other tournaments, I would probably have my fill come nats time. Ann Arbor/Detroit really didn't float my boat (and I'd imagine it doesn't pique the interest of many "fence" teams.) Things to look into: maybe Penn if enough staff could be mustered? There are tons of cheap fares to Philly and it has some stuff that doesn't suck. Boston has the same benefit, except rooms are more expensive, and sqbs usage can be spotty at times. I still would probably go to ACF anywhere, but it seems like someplace in the M-A to NE would be proximal to the most teams.

Edit: I'd certainly get behind Jerry's Providence suggestion. I do hope that isn't too far for teams in Boston though...
Last edited by Rothlover on Wed Apr 12, 2006 6:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by jazzerpoet »

I think that a location like Miami would do well as a host for a summer event, similar to Viva TRASH Vegas in Las Vegas a couple of years back. I wouldn't mind spending a few days in the summer in Miami playing quiz bowl and checking out the beach; but during the school year, it would be highly impractical and too expensive.

As for alternate locations for ACF Nationals, would someone please host ACF Nationals somewhere west of the Mississippi River? I know that there are not as many teams that like ACF west of the Mississippi than east of it, but still there are some of us in the West who do like ACF.

We (Tulsa) put in a bid to host ACF Nationals two years ago, but we never heard anything back from ACF. We would consider hosting it next year, although I would prefer to finally get to play in it.

Maybe we could start a thread for potential ACF Nationals hosts for next year, listing pros and cons of such and such location, in addition to general interest in said location.
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Post by QuizBowlRonin »

grapesmoker wrote:Alternately, I think it may be time for another West Coast nationals. Stanford and Berkeley bid on ACF Nats one year jointly, but didn't get it. Either the Bay Area or Los Angeles would work pretty well, although flights to Oakland are usually cheaper than to LAX.
Jerry, I bet there would be a lot of resistance for having a west coast nationals (witness flame-a-thon after NAQT announced UCLA as the ICT host). That said, I could enjoy a trip back to the northeast.
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Post by vandyhawk »

Actually, I think Nashville would be a good place for a national tournament. It's driveable for the southeast, midwest, maybe southwest, and for some mid-atlantic teams. All big airlines fly here, and Southwest goes directly from here to most places that it flies. Vandy's campus is nice, there are a ton of restaurants within a 5 minute walk from where we hold tournaments, and campus is only a couple miles from downtown. Here's my question, though - if we were to submit a bid and be chosen, could our A team still play, or would we be expected to help run things that day? Obviously we would be involved in the leg work prior to the tournament, but just wondering if it would preclude us from playing.
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Post by Skepticism and Animal Feed »

vandyhawk wrote:Obviously we would be involved in the leg work prior to the tournament, but just wondering if it would preclude us from playing.
Michigan not only played ACF Nats in Michigan, but was a serious contender and nearly won.
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Post by ASimPerson »

Atlanta is central, and believe it or not, campus is infinitely easier to get around then it was 3 years ago. (They had this wonderful idea to actually put up signs in front of buildings! What a novel concept!)

We would also have it in a different building.

But there are still the other factors working against it. First, a lot of people probably remember what happened last time. Second, actually getting to Tech without a car is a pain - Atlanta is not a pedestrian friendly town. Most of the lodging around Tech is either really sketch or really expensive (though if you really wanted you can shell out $150 a night for the GT hotel).

But, yeah, reason #1 might be the main thing.

As for Nashville, I've been to Vandy plenty of times. It's a great campus, and Nashville is a nice town. Good fares are available to there via Southwest and American.

Of course, the likelihood of me being invovled in any of this is low - I'm probably graduating this December.
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Post by miamiqb »

ekwartler wrote:Look, Miami is a bad choice. It's expensive, and it's not centrally located for the SE. But your heart's in the right place. I think the idea of locating ACF nationals somewhere where teams that don't traditionally come is something the editors should really consider. In my opinion, the region with the most unrealized attendance potential is, in fact, the SE. However, Miami is just too far south. So where else? Orlando? I understand Chris Borglum runs a pretty good tournament, but airfare might be expensive anywhere in Florida that close to spring break. Atlanta? Pretty far from Miami, really closer to the midsouth, but still accessible (from the POV of someone that has repeatedly driven the nine hours or so from Austin to Tulsa and/or Fayetteville for non-national tournaments). How bout it, GA Tech? It's been done there before. Delta flies cheap to Atlanta. I think a major airport is key; even a place like Ann Arbor, which really requires a car rental, can be prohibitive to some teams. Obviously some teams are averse to the idea of coming to ACF nationals on principle (a debate reserved for other threads), but I think that proximity could attract teams that might otherwise not be able or willing to spend the money to try it. Thoughts on this?
Exactly where I wanted people to go with this...it doesn't have to be Miami but hold ACF Nationals somewhere where you will attract more besides the usual crowd...make the tournament more competitive with other national tournaments, whether you hold it in the Southeast (which I will freely admit to selfishly preferring), Midwest, Pacific, Northwest, whatever.
Honestly I think most people who like quiz bowl would be willing to attend ACF Nationals despite its difficulty if the convenience of attending was lower.
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Next Year?

Post by salamanca »

Hi all,

I was actually planning to post the call for a host fairly soon, so I am glad to see that this is an issue that teams are interested in. My own preference would be to find somewhere new, but what folks have to understand about ACF Nats is that we aren't anything like NAQT-- who bring with them a virtual army of moderators, scorekeepers, and attract more teams and thus more staff [coaches, ex players, etc.].

There are a few reasons for this including, but not limited to: the fact that we can't pay for people's hotel rooms and other perks, that reading this material in a concise manner is hard [even exhausting to some] and people are going to really have to want to be there all day, and, finally, there are the lingering misconceptions about what ACF represents which may drive folks away.

For these reasons, and also because the bulk of the teams that have tended to play the format are so close, we have chosen to move between the Mich/Chicago area and the Mid-Atlantic in the past. There are numerous connections in that area with well established programs for most of the ACF editors, which allows us to ask folks to read and for our alma maters to provide the facilities. It isn't a conspiracy, in other words, to keep the plum that is ACF Nationals out of everyone else's backyard. :wink:

I have been and will continue to monitor this discussion and I have to say that while Miami seems like more of a stretch, Nashville does intrigue me...

We shall see.

later,
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Post by First Chairman »

Just recall for me this... Vanderbilt did host ICT years back, didn't it?
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Vanderbilt (Re: ACF NCT in Miami)

Post by colonial »

Yes, Vanderbilt hosted the ICT in 1998.

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Post by vandyhawk »

Huh, didn't know that. I got here in Fall '99 for undergrad, but didn't really do much with quizbowl till spring of my junior year. I guess that supports my notion that we'd make for a decent host, provided it went well back then... I think we're more likely to go for ACF than deal with the craziness of ICT, though I'll need to bring it up at our last meeting tonight to make sure the rest of the team would actually support the idea. Out of curiosity, how do the financial rewards of hosting ICT vs. ACF Nat's compare? I imagine neither is a major money-maker for the host, but at least they don't have to travel.
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Post by cvdwightw »

grapesmoker wrote:Alternately, I think it may be time for another West Coast nationals. Stanford and Berkeley bid on ACF Nats one year jointly, but didn't get it. Either the Bay Area or Los Angeles would work pretty well, although flights to Oakland are usually cheaper than to LAX.
LA Area Quiz Bowl Schools, and why they wouldn't work:

Note: Any school is not going to have good public transportation to and from the tournament site. Having/renting a car is a must for getting anywhere in LA. We like our cars, what can I say?

UCLA: We might be able to pull it off, but we would barely provide enough staff. Plus, the hotels that are within walking distance are fairly expensive, and the cheaper ones will probably take over an hour in traffic up the 405, but it's the closest one to LAX. I don't think our club, however, would have any interest in hosting a tournament that consistently falls over our spring break.

USC: They might be able to run it competently if they had help from the ACF brass, but I'm not sure anyone wants to be out and about in that part of LA after the tournament ends at 10:00 or whatever.

Caltech: IMHO, not a big enough club to run it. Plus, I don't think any public transportation goes there, and I'm not sure about hotels in Pasadena. It's a nice place, and if Noah can get some more people and some interest, I think they could get a competitive bid in for, say, 2008.

UCI/Claremont Colleges: Seriously, um, no. The last time either of these schools hosted an ACF tournament it was a (near-)disaster. However, I would love to bring ACF West Regionals back to Southern California, and I am of the opinion that UCI is at the point where with a little help they could do a competent job of this. I think I'll try to encourage them and/or USC to bid on Regionals.
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Post by jagluski »

vandyhawk wrote:Huh, didn't know that. I got here in Fall '99 for undergrad, but didn't really do much with quizbowl till spring of my junior year. I guess that supports my notion that we'd make for a decent host, provided it went well back then... I think we're more likely to go for ACF than deal with the craziness of ICT, though I'll need to bring it up at our last meeting tonight to make sure the rest of the team would actually support the idea. Out of curiosity, how do the financial rewards of hosting ICT vs. ACF Nat's compare? I imagine neither is a major money-maker for the host, but at least they don't have to travel.
As for the ICT, from the '07 Bid Call.

" The host club or institution will receive $20 per team (Division I or Division II) in attendance. In addition, the host club will receive $75 for each trained staff member (moderator or scorekeeper) beyond the required 25 that commits a month in advance (up to a maximum of 30 additional staff for $2,250). Note that NAQT does not reimburse the travel or lodging expenses of local staff."
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