For the record- the team that came to our school came from Model SS for the Deaf, affiliated with Gallaudet University. They usually play in a special league for the deaf and hearing impaired and play a completely different format than we do (one set up for the deaf and hearing impaired) which involves a computer program and some set up. When we held our tournament, we had no idea. The team was not uncooperative, we just had some miscommunication because when we asked them if they had any special set ups they would need, they neglected to mention anything to include an interpreter. Note if you ever host a tournament with a deaf team attending, that you have an interpreter for each team. Most interpreters charge around $300 per hour (at least the ones affiliated with our university), so you might want to check with learning needs and see if you can't get the school to foot the bill (what we had to do since Model didn't bring their own and Gallaudet couldn't spare any- make sure you get interpreters at least two weeks in advance of the tournament). The main problem with the Model team was that they didn't give me enough information and didn't request an interpreter until two days before the tournament. Also, the format we used (revealing each question word for word on an overhead in a rather lacking attempt to simulate a computer program) was miserably slow and bogged down our tournament a lot. Advice: Use a different system than we did. And get an interpreter early. They were not unappreciative, they were quite appreciative of being able to play and played very well, making it into the second round of the finals. Just be aware that you need to plan very well to accomodate a deaf team. For more information about the special system they use, you might try finding someone involved in the deaf/hearing impaired quizbowl league and ask them about it. There must be some standard if they play as often as I am given to understand that they do. Katie WeyounClone666 wrote: "Edmund, I would be very leery. The high school tournament we hosted last fall was delayed THREE HOURS because of the method we used to help them, which amounted to using an overhead projector. I don't know if it's the same school, but the school that came was horribly uncooperative - it warned us two days ahead of time it needed a translator, and wanted us to pay the $300 for it. Plus, the method we used - revealing the questions one word at a time, was met with displeasure, as they insisted we reveal the WHOLE question immediately. They weren't a bad team, but they were maintenance heavy, and unappreciative to boot."
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