Re: High School Nationals

• From: KCommo
• Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2001 22:02:14 -0700
• Message-ID: <000TDIAQM.000B1RV9U.12170551-quizbowl_at_...>

For the most part I agree with what has already
been said about high school nationals. Let me say my
own experience with nationals is limited (I have
played and coached at Panasonic and coached at PACE),
but from what I've seen and heard the division
between the college-style games at NAQT and PACE and the
game style at ASCN and NAC are too different to easily
compare. Unless one school wins a tournament from each of
these groups, as State College did in '99, there will
not be a clear cut national champion.

However,
I also think any single high school that can manage
to win at Panasonic (last done by Klein, Texas in
1997) at least has the right to CLAIM be the
"undisputed" national champion. Do not consider this an
endorcement of the Panasonic format (which I dispise), but
any single school which can be good enough across the
board to beat the all-stars from Maryland, South
Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, etc. must
be doing something right. I equate Panasonic to a
high school or college track meet. Your team can be
better than four of the five teams you are playing in a
given subject and still not get any points. You have to
be the best in your room in more categories than
anybody else to win and in many cases those opposing
teams (the all-stars) are designed specifically to
cover all the subject bases as best as can be done in
that state. It puts regular high school teams at an
enormous disavantage that only an increadibly talented
team can overcome.

-Kevin Commo