In theory, Quiz Bowl is supposed to reward the
players' knowledge, not just their speed. Often, I'll find
myself getting beaten on something I know just as well
as someone else, but I'm just not as fast as many
players. When I was first starting out, I got outbuzzed a
lot. Things like the worksheet and/or lightning round
still allowed me to feel good about knowing some facts
and being able to help my team, despite my lack of
speed. It's very disheartening to come out of a match
thinking that you knew the answer to a lot of questions
but just didn't get that many due to a lack of buzzer
speed.
So, while some may call it boring, I'd call it a big
confidence booster to many players. However, I'm not sure if
it belongs in a varsity HS tournament, with players
who are pretty well developed by that point and
understand the game and their competition
well.
Whatever. I guess all I'm really saying is that the
worksheet has its points of merit, and those shouldn't be
ignored.
Sudheer