Wow, nice to see that my post merits 4 replies. :-) Honestly, if you wanted to determine pure, raw talent on the part of each team, what you would do is have them play 15 packets against empty chairs. This is the only way in which the S-curve can be a true, unbiased representation of all team power. But, this is quizbowl, and we *play the games*. I maintain, then, that the outcome of the games is wholly relevant. Obviously, NAQT agrees (at least partially) with this assumption by sanctioning automatic bids to teams declared the champion at sectionals. What particularly galls me is that (taking again this Saturday's SCT at A&M as the best example I have) Texas could very well do everything that is asked of them, win all their games and beat up on the D2 teams, and still not come out of the day with an automatic bid. Sure, they'd more than likely get an at-large bid, but even this is (by definition) dependent on the results of the other sectionals. In other words ... There is absolutely NOTHING that either of the Division I teams at this tournament could do to secure a bid by the end of the day. If this in any way makes you scratch your head as it does mine, I'd really like to know. I mean, what's the point of offering automatic bids in the other sectionals? On the other hand, I see the problem with offering an automatic bid to a single D2 team in a field otherwise made up of D2 teams, in which the single D1 team goes winless. That would be laughable. Perhaps I can offer an alternative. If there are fewer than four teams in any division, there will be no divisional play. The putative champion of the division with a quorum qualifies as under current rules. But, why not offer an automatic bid to the overall tournament winner, regardless of division? If the winner comes from the larger division, no problem, as they would qualify anyway. However, this would give the few teams from the smaller division an opportunity to claim a bid outright. This should satisfy everyone, and if it doesn't, I'd certainly love to know why. Shouldn't every eligible team attending SCT this weekend have a shot at securing a bid by the end of the tournament? -- eps
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0: Sat 12 Feb 2022 12:30:46 AM EST EST