Geography

From QBWiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
The Categorical Imperative

Geography questions appear in most quizbowl tournaments. They may be on physical or cultural geography topics—most tournaments will strive for a balance of both.

Distribution

NAQT IS-sets and the HSNCT have approximately 1.9/1.9 geography per 24/24 round [1] [2]; their Division I collegiate packets have about 1.2/1.2 on average per round out of 26/26 [3]. In contrast, ACF packets require only .5/.5 geography in a submitted packet of 24/24 (which is then cut to 20/20) [4]. mACF college sets often have .5/.5 or .33/.33 per packet, and high school sets range from .5/.5 to 1/1.

Some geography content inevitably appears outside its designated category, given the relevance of geographical locations to history, literature, etc.

Debate

A long-running debate in quizbowl exists over whether to reduce or eliminate geography questions from the distribution of some tournaments, particularly higher level college events such as ACF Nationals [5]. Opponents of geography questions often cite them for being uninteresting, full of unlearnable information beyond the basics, or fundamentally difficult to write as anything but a list of "almanac clues" of little importance. Supporters note that geography is knowable and known, and can be written to use information about interesting and famous places that affect/have affected the world.

Over time in part due to this debate, there has been a shift away from the use of said almanac clues in geography questions and to a more diverse range of clues including music, food, traditions, and the interactions between human and physical geography.

Notable Players

Notable geography specialists in quizbowl do exist, contrary to the anti-geography crowd's insistence; such specialists have included Jeff Hoppes, Kyle Haddad-Fonda, Dallas Simons, and Raynell Cooper.

See also: