Difference between revisions of "Joe Feldman"

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{{Infobox|Name = Joseph "Joe" Feldman
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{{Infobox|Name = Joe Feldman
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|Image = E44592f0-cdd0-40eb-8af3-b9664b1d74ee-min.jpg
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|Image = QBNC Joe.png
 
|Subjects = History, Geography, Current Events, Tournament Directing
 
|Subjects = History, Geography, Current Events, Tournament Directing
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|schoolcur = Suffolk County Community College (2021-2022)
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|schoolcur = None
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|schoolpast = [[Stony Brook]] (Intermittently 2016-2019); [[Adelphi]] (2016)
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|schoolpast = Suffolk CCC (2021-2022)
 
|highschool = [[Smithtown West]] (2012-2016)
 
|highschool = [[Smithtown West]] (2012-2016)
 
|middleschool = Great Hollow (2009-2012)
 
|middleschool = Great Hollow (2009-2012)
 
| }}
 
| }}
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'''Joe Feldman''' is the President of the [[Long Island Quiz Bowl Alliance]] and the founder and past President of the [[American Quizbowl League]]. He had a four-year high school playing career for [[Smithtown West]] from 2012 to 2016, and played for [[Stony Brook]] intermittently from 2016 to 2019, but dropped out repeatedly and never played a collegiate event under their banner. He enrolled in Suffolk County Community College in 2021 and took 4th at the 2022 [[CCCT]].
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'''Joe Feldman''' is the President of the [[Long Island Quiz Bowl Alliance]] and the founder and past President of the [[American Quizbowl League]]. He had a four-year high school playing career for [[Smithtown West]] from 2012 to 2016. He later enrolled in Suffolk County Community College in 2021 and took 4th at the 2022 [[CCCT]], but dropped out before graduating.
  
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After a few years of playing a [[Knowledge Master Open]]-esque tournament by Great Auk and Geography Bees in Middle School, winning the school championship each year in each event, and a somewhat successful high school career, where he tried and failed for four years to put West "On the Map", Joe began directing tournaments; after the first was a failure, he took a hiatus and enrolled in Stony Brook. Over the next three years, he dropped out and re-enrolled repeatedly, before dropping out for a final time in 2019. He then founded the [[Long Island Quiz Bowl Alliance]] to host the [[Island Cup]]; the tournaments were roundly mocked and were a financial disaster. In March 2020, the LIQBA shifted to online tournaments, and after a string of successful events, he founded the [[American Quizbowl League]] in June 2020 before selling the company. He then restarted the LIQBA to great success, and has branched out to in-person events all over the New York tri-state.
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His career began by playing three National Geographic Bees and one ASAL Scholastic Challenge in Middle School, taking home the school championship in every event he played, and making his way to 11th in New York in his 8th grade geo bee. He went to West for high school and joined the Quizbowl team, which often struggled until his Junior year, when the team became a local powerhouse. After graduation, Joe began directing tournaments. The first, [[SWISS]], ran hours late. After taking a hiatus, he founded the [[Long Island Quiz Bowl Alliance]] to host the [[Island Cup]]; the tournaments were well-regarded, but mocked online for their small field sizes. In March 2020, the LIQBA shifted to online tournaments, and Joe separately founded the [[American Quizbowl League]] in June 2020, leaving the LIQBA idle, before selling the company to [[Nick Pruitt]] in October. Joe returned the LIQBA to activity in May 2021, and grew it into a massive Quizbowl enterprise; he arranged for the buyout of [[Questions Unlimited]] in 2024.
  
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One of the most polarizing figures in Quizbowl, Joe has been the subject of intense controversy for his entire career as a tournament director. During his time directing online tournaments, he oversaw multiple cheating scandals, was the subject of numerous boycotts, and was accused of profiteering, monopolistic behavior, and underpaying staff; these concerns have abated since the return to in-person tournaments and large increases in staff payments. The AQBL launched to the chagrin of the entire Quizbowl community and was roundly mocked. He drew intense controversy for cutting a politics-related tossup he felt was biased and flouting mask rules at an event he directed in October 2021, which resulted in a failed attempt to oust him from Quizbowl. On the contrary, he is somewhat admired for the LIQBA's and AQBL's extremely successful outreach efforts, for hosting the majority of Quizbowl tournaments during the pandemic, staving off the folding of dozens of teams, for keeping Good Quizbowl alive on Long Island, and for helping lead the return to in-person events in 2021. With a single exception, his tournaments have drawn overwhelmingly positive responses and accolades from those in attendance, and he stands among the best and most prolific tournament directors in Quizbowl.
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Joe is one of the most polarizing figures in Quizbowl, and often finds himself embroiled in controversy, sometimes of his own making. He has detractors and defenders of equal ardentness; he tends to be most reviled by the Collegiate quizbowl community, particularly online, and most admired by the High School community, particularly in the Northeast, though many exceptions exist.
  
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The consummate "Quizbowl Capitalist", Joe is known by many nicknames, including "Buttery Joe", "'THE' Joe", and "Quizbowl's Happy Warrior", among others. He has drawn many unfavorable comparisons to John D. Rockefeller, jokingly compares himself to C. Montgomery Burns, and, while he ran online tournaments, had long-running corporate rivalries with [[Groger Ranks]] and the [[Texas Quizbowl Alliance]]. He is one of the few Quizbowlers to have played on questions from [[Questions Unlimited]], [[Academic Hallmarks]], [[Avery Enterprises]], [[Questions Galore]], [[NAQT]], [[SCOP]], and Housewrites during his high school career. Luckily for all of us, he preferred the latter three.
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Joe is also known for having an atypical background compared to most Quizbowlers, having spent his early 20s in the trades; he was an electrician's apprentice and often worked in construction, which he now does for fun during the summer. He gained the nickname of "THE" Joe in middle school, as there were two people named Joe Feldman in his class. He has attracted many other nicknames and comparisons over the years, most of which are forgotten or obscure. His general opinions on what quizbowl "ought to be", which are usually strongly held, tend to be very different from the community consensus, and his jocular, laid-back personality is either loved or hated, and nothing in between; it has been compared to both Rodney Dangerfield and a stereotypical used car salesman. He speaks with a comically thick New York accent, and is often seen in a double-breasted pinstripe suit at tournaments.  
  
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[[Category:People]]
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While those who work with him regard him as relaxed, he is unusually brutal in business competition. In the AQBL days, he had rivalries with [[Groger Ranks]] and the [[Texas Quizbowl Alliance]]; had a long-running dispute with [[PACE]]; and now has a bitter rivalry with NAQT.
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[[Category:Stubs]]
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During his Quizbowl career, he competed on questions from a particularly large number of vendors: Questions Unlimited, Academic Hallmarks, Avery Enterprises, Questions Galore, NAQT, SCOP, and various housewrites. In the end, he was drawn to NAQT's style, and considers the first tournament he played with NAQT questions, in November 2015, to be one of the most formative moments of his Quizbowl career; aside from the LIQBA's house style, NAQT's is still his favorite by far.
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He also has a Corgi named Tony, who is the LIQBA mascot and is often seen running around greeting people at events, and both Tony and Joe share a particular fondness for cheese of all kinds, which has become a running gag.
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[[Category:People]] [[Category:LIQBA]]
 
{{c|Smithtown West}}
 
{{c|Smithtown West}}
 
{{activehs|2012|2013|2014|2015|2016}}
 
{{activehs|2012|2013|2014|2015|2016}}
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{{active|2022}}

Latest revision as of 17:11, 14 August 2026

Joe Feldman
QBNC Joe.png
Noted subjects History, Geography, Current Events, Tournament Directing
Current college None
Past colleges Suffolk CCC (2021-2022)
High school Smithtown West (2012-2016)
Middle school Great Hollow (2009-2012)
Stats HDWhite • NAQT

Joe Feldman is the President of the Long Island Quiz Bowl Alliance and the founder and past President of the American Quizbowl League. He had a four-year high school playing career for Smithtown West from 2012 to 2016. He later enrolled in Suffolk County Community College in 2021 and took 4th at the 2022 CCCT, but dropped out before graduating.

His career began by playing three National Geographic Bees and one ASAL Scholastic Challenge in Middle School, taking home the school championship in every event he played, and making his way to 11th in New York in his 8th grade geo bee. He went to West for high school and joined the Quizbowl team, which often struggled until his Junior year, when the team became a local powerhouse. After graduation, Joe began directing tournaments. The first, SWISS, ran hours late. After taking a hiatus, he founded the Long Island Quiz Bowl Alliance to host the Island Cup; the tournaments were well-regarded, but mocked online for their small field sizes. In March 2020, the LIQBA shifted to online tournaments, and Joe separately founded the American Quizbowl League in June 2020, leaving the LIQBA idle, before selling the company to Nick Pruitt in October. Joe returned the LIQBA to activity in May 2021, and grew it into a massive Quizbowl enterprise; he arranged for the buyout of Questions Unlimited in 2024.

Joe is one of the most polarizing figures in Quizbowl, and often finds himself embroiled in controversy, sometimes of his own making. He has detractors and defenders of equal ardentness; he tends to be most reviled by the Collegiate quizbowl community, particularly online, and most admired by the High School community, particularly in the Northeast, though many exceptions exist.

Joe is also known for having an atypical background compared to most Quizbowlers, having spent his early 20s in the trades; he was an electrician's apprentice and often worked in construction, which he now does for fun during the summer. He gained the nickname of "THE" Joe in middle school, as there were two people named Joe Feldman in his class. He has attracted many other nicknames and comparisons over the years, most of which are forgotten or obscure. His general opinions on what quizbowl "ought to be", which are usually strongly held, tend to be very different from the community consensus, and his jocular, laid-back personality is either loved or hated, and nothing in between; it has been compared to both Rodney Dangerfield and a stereotypical used car salesman. He speaks with a comically thick New York accent, and is often seen in a double-breasted pinstripe suit at tournaments.

While those who work with him regard him as relaxed, he is unusually brutal in business competition. In the AQBL days, he had rivalries with Groger Ranks and the Texas Quizbowl Alliance; had a long-running dispute with PACE; and now has a bitter rivalry with NAQT.

During his Quizbowl career, he competed on questions from a particularly large number of vendors: Questions Unlimited, Academic Hallmarks, Avery Enterprises, Questions Galore, NAQT, SCOP, and various housewrites. In the end, he was drawn to NAQT's style, and considers the first tournament he played with NAQT questions, in November 2015, to be one of the most formative moments of his Quizbowl career; aside from the LIQBA's house style, NAQT's is still his favorite by far.

He also has a Corgi named Tony, who is the LIQBA mascot and is often seen running around greeting people at events, and both Tony and Joe share a particular fondness for cheese of all kinds, which has become a running gag.