Team - Revision history

Kevin Wang at 21:48, 10 February 2023

2023-02-10T21:48:45Z

Reilly Melville at 18:31, 7 October 2021

2021-10-07T18:31:46Z

Kevin Wang: /* Generalist + Specialists */

2021-06-20T20:47:50Z

Generalist + Specialists

Kevin Wang: /* One-person teams */

2021-06-20T20:46:56Z

One-person teams

Kevin Wang at 20:08, 20 June 2021

2021-06-20T20:08:45Z

Kevin Wang: /* Generalist + Specialists */

2021-06-20T16:02:35Z

Generalist + Specialists

Kevin Wang at 16:02, 20 June 2021

2021-06-20T16:02:04Z

fix>QBWikiBot at 01:07, 25 January 2010

2010-01-25T01:07:37Z

New page

A '''team''' is defined as a collection of players who combine their knowledge to score points during a game of quizbowl. A typical team consists of up to four players, though in some places like [[Illinois_Scholastic_Bowl|Illinois]] a fifth player is added. A team may also contain alternates/substitutes and one or more coaches.

In [[Knowledge Master Open]] format, there does not appear to be a limit on the number of players that can be on a team at once, so long as they are all students at the same school.

= Types of Teams =
While the knowledge base and composition of each team is different, there are general archetypes that teams follow. Coaches and other people who determine team composition for tournaments are encouraged to look at the personnel available to them and decide which archetype best suits their players' strengths.

== One-man teams ==
:''See article on [[One-man teams]]''
A one-man team consists of one player who scores a lot of tossup points and up to three [[buzzer rock|buzzer rocks]], who in general combine to score about 1 tossup per game or less. Literal one-man teams (in which a player completely lacks teammates) also fall into this category.

One-man teams can be somewhat successful at the local high school level, though are rarely competitive nationally. At the college level, literal one-man teams are more common, and have occasionally placed highly at national tournaments.

== [[Generalist]] + [[Specialist|Specialists]] ==
The most successful team archetype at the college level, virtually every modern champion fits this description to some degree. At the high school level, this type of team also meets with success, though national competitiveness usually depends on the depth of the generalist. The four members are usually designated #1, #2, #3, and #4 players, in rough accordance with their points per game averages.

=== The #1 Player ===
The #1 player has a wide and deep knowledge base and is the team's primary tossup scorer. For most top teams, the #1 player is an excellent generalist who can score points in many subjects against quality opponents. At the high school level, the #1 player often, but not always, serves as the [[captain]].

=== The #2 Player ===
The #2 player is an excellent complementary player to the #1, who specializes in multiple categories and supports the #1 with strong buzzes in these areas. On many championship-level teams, the #2 player is also a solid generalist and plays more like a co-#1.

=== The #3 Player ===
The #3 player is a weaker version of either the #1 or #2 player. On some teams, the #3 player is a generalist with less depth than the team's #1 but has good instincts and buzzer speed. On other teams, the #3 player fills a specific need by specializing in a category that is a relative weakness for both the #1 and #2 players. In this case, the #3 player is often a solid science player on a team with two strong humanities players.

=== The #4 Player ===
The #4 player is a wild card. Most #4 players have command of one or two niche subjects and often fill in glaring weaknesses in a team's knowledge base. At [[NAQT]] events, the #4 player is often a trash/current events/general knowledge specialist, due to the large amount of emphasis placed in those categories. The #4 sometimes fulfills the same role as the #3 player, but with a different focus.

Even if a team plays a consistent lineup at every tournament, the roles of players within this paradigm may change. For instance, the [[2008 Maryland]] team featured [[Jonathan Magin]] as the team's typical #1 player; however, [[2008 ICT|ICT]] catered more to [[Charles Meigs|Charles Meigs']] strengths, and it could be argued that Meigs was the #1 on the ICT team while Magin moved to a #2 role.

Occasionally, the #3 or #4 player serves as the teams' primary winner of buzzer races on giveaways; this "assassin" role is vital among teams where the #1 and #2 are just a hair slower, and it makes these teams that much more aggravating to play against. A good example is MIT 2008's [[Jason Trigg]].

== Four Specialists ==
Extremely common among top-tier high school teams, less common in college. Three of the four specialists are almost always a literature specialist, and history specialist, and a science specialist. The fourth specialist is often a computation specialist in high school formats that place emphasis on computation questions. Other common specialties for the fourth specialist are arts, pop culture/current events, or providing overlap in literature, history, or science.

== Whoever Shows Up ==
This team is made up of whoever can come to a particular tournament, without regard for balancing team strengths. Team members may significantly overlap in their strengths and lack knowledge in one or more major categories, leading to an imbalanced and often weak team.

[[Category: Quizbowl basics]]
[[Category:Original QBWiki Page]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:48, 10 February 2023
Line 1:		Line 1:
−	<onlyinclude>A '''team''' is defined as a collection of [[players]] who combine their knowledge to score points during a game of quizbowl, as well as one or more [[coach]]es.</onlyinclude>	+	<onlyinclude>A '''team''' is defined as a collection of [[players]] who combine their knowledge to score points during a game of quizbowl, as well as one or more [[coach]]es. Generally speaking a team is [[affiliated]] with a [[school]] at either the high school or college level.</onlyinclude>

	Most formats allow four players to play at once - there may also be [[substitutes]], but for simplicity most [[tournaments]] will limit teams to either six or eight.		Most formats allow four players to play at once - there may also be [[substitutes]], but for simplicity most [[tournaments]] will limit teams to either six or eight.

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 Most formats allow four players to play at once - there may also be [[substitutes]], but for simplicity most [[tournaments]] will limit teams to either six or eight.
-In some places like [[Illinois_Scholastic_Bowl|Illinois]], a fifth player can be active.
+In some places (like [[Illinois_Scholastic_Bowl|Illinois]]), a fifth player can be active.
 In [[Knowledge Master Open]] format, there does not appear to be a limit on the number of players that can be on a team at once, so long as they are all students at the same school.

@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 Historically, the most common type of generalist has specialized in [[humanities]] ([[Andrew Yaphe]], [[Matt Bollinger]], [[Matt Jackson]], [[Jordan Brownstein]]), and so many of the top teams have had a skilled [[science]] specialist. There have, however, also been science-oriented generalists ([[Mike Sorice]], [[Seth Teitler]], [[Auroni Gupta]]).
-====The #2 Player====
+At [[NAQT]] events, one of the specialists is often a [[trash]]/[[current events]]/[[general knowledge]] specialist, due to the large amount of emphasis placed in those categories.
 ===Four Specialists===

@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 ===One-person teams===
 :''See: [[One-person teams]]''
-A one-person team consists of one player who scores the vast majority of the team's [[tossups]], with some number of other players. Literal "one-person" teams are typically referred to as [[solo]] instead.
+{{:One-person teams}}
 ===Generalist + Specialists===

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:02, 20 June 2021
Line 39:		Line 39:
	[[Category: Quizbowl basics]]		[[Category: Quizbowl basics]]
	[[Category:Original QBWiki Page]]		[[Category:Original QBWiki Page]]
		+	[[Category: Quizbowl concepts]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-A '''team''' is defined as a collection of players who combine their knowledge to score points during a game of quizbowl.  A typical team consists of up to four players, though in some places like [[Illinois_Scholastic_Bowl|Illinois]] a fifth player is added.  A team may also contain alternates/substitutes and one or more coaches.
+<onlyinclude>A '''team''' is defined as a collection of [[players]] who combine their knowledge to score points during a game of quizbowl, as well as one or more [[coach]]es.</onlyinclude>
 In [[Knowledge Master Open]] format, there does not appear to be a limit on the number of players that can be on a team at once, so long as they are all students at the same school.
-= Types of Teams =
+==Types of Teams==
-While the knowledge base and composition of each team is different, there are general archetypes that teams follow.  Coaches and other people who determine team composition for tournaments are encouraged to look at the personnel available to them and decide which archetype best suits their players' strengths.
+While the knowledge base and composition of each team is different, there are general archetypes that teams follow.
-== One-man teams ==
+One-person teams are frequently successful at the local high school level and occasionally competitive nationally.
-One-man teams can be somewhat successful at the local high school level, though are rarely competitive nationally.  At the college level, literal one-man teams are more common, and have occasionally placed highly at national tournaments.
+===Generalist + Specialists===
-== [[Generalist]] + [[Specialist]]s ==
+This is the most successful team archetype at the college level, with virtually every modern champion fitting this description to some degree. At the high school level, this type of team also meets with success with the generalist and top-scorer often being the team's [[captain]].
-=== The #1 Player ===
+Historically, the most common type of generalist has specialized in [[humanities]] ([[Andrew Yaphe]], [[Matt Bollinger]], [[Matt Jackson]], [[Jordan Brownstein]]), and so many of the top teams have had a skilled [[science]] specialist. There have, however, also been science-oriented generalists ([[Mike Sorice]], [[Seth Teitler]], [[Auroni Gupta]]).
-=== The #2 Player ===
+====The #2 Player====
 The #2 player is an excellent complementary player to the #1, who specializes in multiple categories and supports the #1 with strong buzzes in these areas.  On many championship-level teams, the #2 player is also a solid generalist and plays more like a co-#1.
-=== The #3 Player ===
+====The #3 Player====
 The #3 player is a weaker version of either the #1 or #2 player.  On some teams, the #3 player is a generalist with less depth than the team's #1 but has good instincts and buzzer speed.  On other teams, the #3 player fills a specific need by specializing in a category that is a relative weakness for both the #1 and #2 players.  In this case, the #3 player is often a solid science player on a team with two strong humanities players.
-=== The #4 Player ===
+====The #4 Player====
 The #4 player is a wild card.  Most #4 players have command of one or two niche subjects and often fill in glaring weaknesses in a team's knowledge base.  At [[NAQT]] events, the #4 player is often a trash/current events/general knowledge specialist, due to the large amount of emphasis placed in those categories.  The #4 sometimes fulfills the same role as the #3 player, but with a different focus.
@@ Line 31: / Line 38: @@
 Occasionally, the #3 or #4 player serves as the teams' primary winner of buzzer races on giveaways; this "assassin" role is vital among teams where the #1 and #2 are just a hair slower, and it makes these teams that much more aggravating to play against.  A good example is MIT 2008's [[Jason Trigg]].
-== Four Specialists ==
+===Four Specialists===
 Extremely common among top-tier high school teams, less common in college.  Three of the four specialists are almost always a literature specialist, and history specialist, and a science specialist.  The fourth specialist is often a computation specialist in high school formats that place emphasis on computation questions.  Other common specialties for the fourth specialist are arts, pop culture/current events, or providing overlap in literature, history, or science.
-== Whoever Shows Up ==
+===Whoever Shows Up===
 This team is made up of whoever can come to a particular tournament, without regard for balancing team strengths.  Team members may significantly overlap in their strengths and lack knowledge in one or more major categories, leading to an imbalanced and often weak team.