Re: Quizbowl camp

etchuck · Wed, 04 Apr 2001 09:16:36 -0700

(Boy this has become a refreshing discussion...
:) )

First of all, I do agree that hearing
questions and experiencing game play is very important, and
I don't discount the value of the experience that
Andy Wehrman has described. If it makes a difference
in helping a player with lots of potential hear more
questions and know how to prep for comps, it's valuable.
And I'm sure for many people who have gone, it's
perhaps the most fun five days they have had regarding
academic competition.

Second, I do think that one
significant aspect that is unique to qb is the aspect of
research... something that the camp doesn't strongly
emphasize but is of utmost importance if the kids want to
do well in college and other "masters" competitions.
I agree with Matt's point that instilling good
habits of question writing will beget better quality
questions, better quality players, and better quality
tournaments from the HS level up. (I can go on with wanting
another session simply on how to organize tournaments at
such a camp, but I know that would be a reach of
reality.)

As it stands, that's probably the main reason why I
don't invite high school teams to play at college
tournaments. If I wanted the tournament to be
packet-submission, I know of maybe a handful of HS teams that could
submit a good set of questions... none of them in Ohio.
Similarly, summer tournaments will require packet
submission, and so high school students MUST learn the
various question-writing guidelines first to send us
"good" questions.

That's not to say that HS
students can't. Last year's Philly Experiment (in
Washington DC) featured a very large representation of high
school or graduated high school players (including
students from Gov School, State College, and I think
GDS??). Each of them won a few games, and it was very
exciting to see the infusion of new blood and
interest.

That being said, I know I wouldn't mind holding a
summer HS student tournament, but if I did, I'd have to
request singles/doubles-only play and a good set of
questions that none of the attendees have heard.
(Fortunately I know of a few programs that could accommodate
this.) However, I know no one in the immediate vicinity
that would want to either play in such a comp or help
organize it with me. Heck, even with Buzz-a-Trois moving
to April in 2002, I think it's possible we could
have a special "HS singles" division (if it weren't
for the fact we'd hold the tournament opposite the
Ohio regional championships) for that tournament... if
we knew there would be interest. But I think for
most kids who do not have coaches that sell their
souls to QB, the idea of boot camp is... well,
ludicrous; there are better things to do during the summer.
In Decathlon, some teams that are hardcore do
"practice" and "study" during the summer (to the extent that
kids don't do much travelling in the summer... you can
discuss those merits later); in qb, you'd be hard-pressed
to get summer practices coordinated... teachers want
vacation time.

As it stands and from my own
experience, many high school players are simply not
accustomed to playing the college style (cf my NAQT/PACE
grouping as "one day" of questions), and I don't think
many coaches WANT to go that direction.

That is
not to say that TD's of summer comps will summarily
reject any HS-level or pre-college player from
participating. I think most TD's will consider inquiries and
(after informing the candidate about it) decide to
accept the person in the field or not. Basically, it
doesn't hurt for the students to ask. Sure you might get
"eaten by the bear", but if you keep going, one of these
days you will be the bear. Experience is sometimes
painful, but always helpful.

Social aspects of
camps and summer comps: yes, I agree it would be lots
of fun to meet people and network. I'm completely
for that.