Outreach - Revision history

Kevin Wang at 19:16, 6 January 2022

2022-01-06T19:16:49Z

Kevin Wang at 19:02, 26 October 2021

2021-10-26T19:02:21Z

Kevin Wang at 19:01, 26 October 2021

2021-10-26T19:01:23Z

Chris Chiego at 04:03, 21 May 2021

2021-05-21T04:03:30Z

Chris Chiego: /* Assuming one post is enough for outreach */

2021-05-16T19:45:14Z

Assuming one post is enough for outreach

Chris Chiego: /* Only reaching out to "elite" schools */

2021-05-16T19:41:50Z

Only reaching out to "elite" schools

Chris Chiego: /* Assuming one post is enough for outreach */

2021-05-16T19:41:36Z

Assuming one post is enough for outreach

Chris Chiego at 05:00, 14 May 2021

2021-05-14T05:00:02Z

Chris Chiego at 04:56, 14 May 2021

2021-05-14T04:56:11Z

Chris Chiego at 04:55, 14 May 2021

2021-05-14T04:55:15Z

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 {{Intro}}
 <onlyinclude>
-'''Outreach''' is a broad term in quizbowl that refers to actions taken to grow the game as a whole through the establishment of quizbowl teams at new schools, the conversion of existing teams and tournaments playing [[bad quizbowl|non-pyramidal quizbowl]] to [[pyramidal]] quizbowl questions and [[good quizbowl]] practices, and the expansion and support of existing teams on the quizbowl [[circuit]].</onlyinclude>
+'''Outreach''' is a broad term in quizbowl that refers to actions taken to grow the game as a whole through the establishment of quizbowl teams at new schools, the conversion of existing teams and tournaments playing [[bad quizbowl|non-pyramidal quizbowl]] to [[pyramidal]] quizbowl questions and "[[good quizbowl]]" practices, and the expansion and support of existing teams on the quizbowl [[circuit]].</onlyinclude>
 ==Need For Outreach==
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 Currently, only a relatively small proportion of existing educational institutions in the United States (and the world as a whole) have active quizbowl teams, though forms of quizbowl maintain a relatively expansive [[Quizbowl#History|global geographic footprint]]. Many other institutions have teams that play only one or two events per season. And many schools have teams that only participate in non-pyramidal events each year. The exact proportion of schools in each state that actively participate in multiple [[pyramidal]] quizbowl events each year varies considerably from state-to-state. Even in states with very high levels of participation in pyramidal quizbowl like [[IHSA|Illinois]], there are hundreds of schools that do not field quizbowl teams each year.
-In other states like [[Arkansas Governor's Quiz Bowl Association|Arkansas]] and [[KSHSAA Scholars Bowl|Kansas]], a large proportion of schools have quizbowl teams but almost all of the teams in the state play only non-pyramidal events. Attracting more of these teams to more [[pyramidal]] quizbowl events and convincing existing hosts in those states to change the types of questions used as well as potentially the format and rules for their tournaments to match the standards of [[good quizbowl]] is a major outreach challenge.
+In other states like [[Arkansas Governor's Quiz Bowl Association|Arkansas]] and [[KSHSAA Scholars Bowl|Kansas]], a large proportion of schools have quizbowl teams but almost all of the teams in the state play only non-pyramidal events. Attracting more of these teams to more [[pyramidal]] quizbowl events and convincing existing hosts in those states to change the types of questions used as well as potentially the format and rules for their tournaments to match the standards of "[[good quizbowl]]" is a major outreach challenge.
 ===Outreach Within Schools (Internal Outreach)===
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 ===Avoid bad-mouthing other formats or activities===
-Even though non-pyramidal questions are commonly referred to as [[bad quizbowl]] among the broader quizbowl circuit, many schools that play on those questions and in those formats are satisfied with their experiences and will view any alternative formats or denigration of their local format with suspicion. Over time, if they play [[pyramidal]] quizbowl events, they may very well change their mind, but they need to attend [[good quizbowl]] events first. Thus, focus on the benefits of [[pyramidal]] quizbowl more broadly, such as helping teams learn new clues or getting more experience playing. For many non-pyramidal teams, winning their county [[league]] or local [[TV show]] tournament is a prestigious honor within their community and they are more interested in anything that will help them achieve that. Keep this in mind as you conduct outreach and interact with these schools.
+Even though non-pyramidal questions are commonly referred to as [[bad quizbowl]] among the broader quizbowl circuit, many schools that play on those questions and in those formats are satisfied with their experiences and will view any alternative formats or denigration of their local format with suspicion. Over time, if they play [[pyramidal]] quizbowl events, they may very well change their mind, but they need to attend "[[good quizbowl]]" events first. Thus, focus on the benefits of [[pyramidal]] quizbowl more broadly, such as helping teams learn new clues or getting more experience playing. For many non-pyramidal teams, winning their county [[league]] or local [[TV show]] tournament is a prestigious honor within their community and they are more interested in anything that will help them achieve that. Keep this in mind as you conduct outreach and interact with these schools.
 ===Be patient===

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:02, 26 October 2021
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		+	{{Intro}}
	<onlyinclude>		<onlyinclude>
	'''Outreach''' is a broad term in quizbowl that refers to actions taken to grow the game as a whole through the establishment of quizbowl teams at new schools, the conversion of existing teams and tournaments playing [[bad quizbowl\|non-pyramidal quizbowl]] to [[pyramidal]] quizbowl questions and [[good quizbowl]] practices, and the expansion and support of existing teams on the quizbowl [[circuit]].</onlyinclude>		'''Outreach''' is a broad term in quizbowl that refers to actions taken to grow the game as a whole through the establishment of quizbowl teams at new schools, the conversion of existing teams and tournaments playing [[bad quizbowl\|non-pyramidal quizbowl]] to [[pyramidal]] quizbowl questions and [[good quizbowl]] practices, and the expansion and support of existing teams on the quizbowl [[circuit]].</onlyinclude>

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-'''Outreach''' is a broad term in quizbowl that refers to actions taken to grow the game as a whole through the establishment of quizbowl teams at new schools, the conversion of existing teams and tournaments playing [[bad quizbowl|non-pyramidal quizbowl]] to [[pyramidal]] quizbowl questions and [[good quizbowl]] practices, and the expansion and support of existing teams on the quizbowl [[circuit]].
+<onlyinclude>
 ==Need For Outreach==
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 *[https://gpqb.wordpress.com/2016/02/10/how-to-invite-teams-to-quizbowl-tournaments/ A sample email template for inviting teams to quizbowl events]
 *[https://qwiz.webinarninja.com/automated-webinars/15015/register Expanding Quizbowl in Your Community: How to Do Outreach Well ([[Qwiz]] conference 2021 video)]

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 ==External Outreach Techniques==
-[[File:Gpqbflyer.png|600px|thumb|right|A Sample Informational Flyer That Was Handed Out at an In-Person School Fair]]
+[[File:Qboutreachflyer2.png|600px|thumb|right|A Sample Informational Flyer That Was Handed Out at an In-Person School Fair]]
 Many instances of external outreach take place as part of a tournament [[host]]'s efforts to attract teams to attend a given tournament, but external outreach can be undertaken by individuals or groups at any time. It is, however, often very helpful to have specific dates of upcoming tournaments&mdash;preferably those with a novice division for new teams&mdash;available when you conduct outreach to give new teams a specific date to aim for and organize around.
 ===Emailing===

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 The best-laid plans for outreach are entirely useless if they are not actually put into action. Talking about doing outreach is fine insofar as you are attempting to enlist others in your outreach efforts and/or learn more about the area that you are planning to do outreach in. But sooner rather than later, you should start sending out emails and actually do some outreach.
 ===Assuming one post is enough for outreach===
-Posting on the [[HSQB]] forums, making an announcement on an existing quizbowl Facebook group, or saying something in the Quizbowl [[Discord]] is fine, but usually insufficient for effective outreach. Do not be surprised if you get only a tiny handful of registrations from such announcements (and usually only from existing, plugged-in teams). People who are not already interested in quizbowl are very unlikely to come across announcements or information about quizbowl in those locations. You need to send out announcements via email or snail mail to schools that do not frequent the forums or follow the other external outreach techniques to reach out to new schools directly. Within schools, you should also make sure to spread your message through as many different mediums as possible as well; do not assume a single slide on a school-wide powerpoint presentation about club options will suffice.
+Posting on the [[HSQB]] forums, making an announcement on an existing quizbowl Facebook group, or saying something in the Quizbowl [[Discord]] is fine, but usually insufficient for effective outreach. Do not be surprised if you get only a tiny handful of registrations from such announcements (and usually only from existing, plugged-in teams). People who are not already interested in quizbowl are very unlikely to come across announcements or information about quizbowl in those locations. You need to send out announcements via email or snail mail to schools that do not frequent the forums or follow the other external outreach techniques to reach out to new schools directly.
 ===Only reaching out to "elite" schools===

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 ===Only reaching out to "elite" schools===
 Schools of all kinds can benefit from having quizbowl teams and there are far more "non-elite" schools than "elite" schools (via whatever criteria you want to use to define "elite") out there. Limiting outreach only to a tiny handful of schools is likely to lead to a very limited pool of potential players and hurt the ability of quizbowl to make inroads in new places and with new groups of people. Quizbowl as a whole benefits from more teams playing, so casting a broad net in terms of outreach is a better idea than just limiting outreach to a few schools.
 ===Not providing new teams with difficulty-appropriate competition opportunities===
 New teams will greatly benefit from a graduated introduction to quizbowl starting with [[novice]]-level questions and similar novice-level competition. Thus, a broader outreach effort that tries to bring in 3-4 new-to-quizbowl schools at any one time is more likely to lead to a critical mass of new-to-quizbowl teams that will enjoy and benefit from playing against other novice teams than isolated outreach efforts that might only bring in one new school at a time. This especially helps to avoid the classic "one new team shows up to play against a bunch of veteran teams on hard questions, loses every match, and is never seen again" phenomenon.

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 ==Sample Outreach Email==
-[[File:Outreachsample.png |1000px|thumb|center|A sample outreach email targeting a school with a current Academic Decathlon team.]]
+[[File:Outreachsample.png |1000px|thumb|center|A sample general outreach email targeting a school with a current Academic Decathlon team.]]
 ==See Also==
 *[https://hsquizbowl.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=20400 A Guide to the State of Good Quizbowl, State By State (as of 2017)]
 *[https://hsquizbowl.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=22762&p=358703 An Excellent Guide to Outreach to Establish and Expand Teams At Your School]
-*[https://gpqb.wordpress.com/2016/02/10/how-to-invite-teams-to-quizbowl-tournaments/ A sample email template for conducting outreach via email]
+*[https://gpqb.wordpress.com/2016/02/10/how-to-invite-teams-to-quizbowl-tournaments/ A sample email template for inviting teams to quizbowl events]
 *[https://qwiz.webinarninja.com/automated-webinars/15015/register Expanding Quizbowl in Your Community: How to Do Outreach Well ([[Qwiz]] conference 2021 video)]