Quick Theory and Comments

• From: Brian Ulrich <st_aidan_at_almasudi.yahoo.invalid>
• Date: Thu, 24 Oct 2002 17:43:40 -0000
• Message-ID: <ap9bgc+m4ps_at_...>

Hi - To state my background and orientation, this is my 8th year 
around the college game, thought the first two we didn't travel 
much.  This will be my last year as a player in college-only 
invitationals, assmuing I ever actually play in one, which I will 
probably do at least once or twice in the spring.  The reason is not 
because I fear I will gradually overwhelm new players (I haven't 
gotten much better in recent years - any jump in stats is tracable to 
not playing with Subash Maddipoti or Steve Watchorn anymore) or a 
belief grad students shouldn't play (no one complains about people 
like Gautam Bharali who don't pick up a buzzer until grad school).  
It is simply that I'm losing interest in playing.  
After "retirement," I will still hang around the UW program making 
myself useful until I complete my degree.  When I go overseas to do 
dissertation research, I can start a Middle East circuit, petition 
for the 2005 Southwest Asia SCT to be held at SQU in Oman, and lay 
the groundwork for the 2008 ICT to be held in Kabul.

As for the theory - could it be that different areas of the country 
have different situations?  I know last year for Elvis, when we had 
the packet exchange, the stuff we got from the East Coast was 
extremely difficult, while that from the West Coast was easier.  My 
reading of all this discussion has not been a complete take-
everything-in analysis, but it seems like the people out east are 
tending to say things remain hard, and people out west think 
everything's fine.  Just a thought.

Brian Ulrich, speaking on behalf of the World Society for Correct 
Quiz Bowl