Difference between revisions of "Matt Weiner"

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{{Infobox|Name = Matt Weiner
 
{{Infobox|Name = Matt Weiner
 
|Image = MattWeiner.JPG
 
|Image = MattWeiner.JPG
|Subjects = General, History, Literature
+
|Subjects = General, History, Religion
|schoolcur = None
+
|schoolcur = none
|Gold Stars = Two
+
|schoolpast = [[Pitt]] (2001-2002) [[VCU]] (player 2003-2007, team advisor 2007-2015), [[J. Sargeant Reynolds]] CC (2014)
|schoolpast = [[Category:VCU]] [[VCU]] (2003-2008), [[Category:Players active in 2003]] [[Category:Players active in 2004]] [[Category:Players active in 2005]] [[Category:Players active in 2006]] [[Category:Players active in 2007]] [[Category:Players active in 2008]][[Category:Pitt]] [[Pitt]] (2001-2002) [[Category:Players active in 2001]] [[Category:Players active in 2002]]
+
|highschool = [[Maggie Walker]] (1998-2000)
|highschool = [[Maggie Walker]] (1998-2000) [[Category: High school players active in 1998]] [[Category: High school players active in 1999]] [[Category: High school players active in 2000]][[Category:Maggie Walker]]
+
|firstname = Matt
 +
|lastname = Weiner
 
| }}
 
| }}
 +
'''Matt Weiner''' (IPA: '''/ˈwi.nɚ/''') is one of the greatest quizbowl players in the history of the game, and perhaps the most important figure in promoting the expansion of "[[good quizbowl]]" in the modern era. Across his 17-year career, he played for school teams at [[Maggie Walker|the Governor's School]], [[Pitt]], and [[VCU]], and served as a writer, editor, advisor, tournament director, and organizer for [[VCU]], [[ACF]], [[PACE]], [[NAQT]], [[HSAPQ]], and [[NHBB]] as well as many independent events. Weiner was the founder and long-time owner of the [[hsquizbowl.org|Quizbowl Resource Center]], where he served as a forums administrator from 2003 to 2015, and won the 2004 Benjamin [[Cooper Award|Cooper]] Young Ambassador Award, the 2011 [[Cooper Award|Benjamin Cooper Academic Ambassador Award]], and the 2013 [[Carper Award]] for his efforts.
  
'''Matt Weiner''' (IPA: '''['wi.n?r]''') is one of greatest quizbowl players in the history of the game, and is perhaps the most important figure in promoting the expansion of good quizbowl in the modern era. He is an alumnus of [[VCU]] and played as an undergraduate for [[Pitt]]. He currently plays [[open]] tournaments and does a lot of editing, writing, TDing, and organizational work for [[VCU]], [[ACF]], [[PACE]], [[NAQT]], and [[HSAPQ]] as well as independently.
+
==Playing==
  
He is also known as "the talented Mr. Weiner." [http://www.naqt.com/Results/2005-ict-results.html]
+
Weiner's playing career began on one of the first high school teams that systematically studied past quizbowl questions at the Governor's School of Richmond, which was renamed for [[Maggie Walker]] soon after his graduation (serving as team captain under then-new head coach [[John Barnes]]). He then played in college at [[Pitt]] and for [[VCU]], playing many tournaments solo and racking up many individual scoring titles for much of his time at the latter institution.
  
==Writing==
+
Matt's just-as-long career at open tournaments thereafter included winning the inaugural [[Minnesota Open]] with [[Charlie Dees]], and leading the victorious team at [[Chicago Open]] for an unmatched span of four years straight, from 2007 to 2010, with non-overlapping sets of teammates each time.
  
Matt has been a critical force in sustaining good quizbowl by editing countless college tournaments. However, he has been criticized for not being a meticulous or careful writer, writing confusing common link questions, and for finishing many of his tournaments at the last minute. [[Ryan Westbrook]] aptly called him the "Gilbert Arenas volume shooter of quizbowl." Some of his most notable editing jobs include working as the editor-in-chief for the [[2009 ACF Nationals]], editing Penn Bowl from 2007-2009, editing the well-received [[2008 ACF Regionals]] with [[Matt Keller]], writing [[FICHTE]] and [[FICHTE II]], and working on every incarnation of the [[VCU Open]].  
+
In 2014, Matt reenrolled at [[J. Sargeant Reynolds]] Community College for a single year, ultimately placing 7th at [[2014 ICT]].
  
Matt has also been an important writer of the high school questions. He was the founding CEO of [[HSAPQ]] and now serves on their editorial board. He was the Chief Editor for the [[PACE]] [[NSC]] from 2002 to 2008 keeping the organization afloat.  
+
In all, Weiner claimed the [[NAQT]] [[ICT]] DI scoring title four times, including three in succession from 2005-07, both of which are records for the tournament.  With his 2001 scoring title in DII, Weiner became the first player to win scoring titles in both DI and DII. He added scoring titles at the 2005 and 2007 [[ACF]] Nationals.
  
==Playing==
+
==Writing==
  
Matt has won many tournaments and countless scoring titles, but his greatest achievement is leading the winning team at [[Chicago Open]] the last three years. His other notable finishes include winning the inaugural [[Minnesota Open]] with [Charlie Dees]] as his only contributing teammate, winning the [[2008 Chicago Open]] and the [[2007 Illinois Open]] as part of a team with [[Jonathan Magin]], [[Eric Mukherjee]], and [[Jerry Vinokurov]]).  He has also won [[Ryan Westbrook]]'s Experimental Doubles Tournament on a team with [[Gautam Kandlikar]], and earned third at the [[2007 Illinois Open Literature Tournament]], playing alongside [[Mike Sorice]].
+
Matt was a critical force in sustaining "good quizbowl" by editing dozens of tournaments over a span of about 15 years. Some of his most notable editing jobs include:
  
 +
*High school
 +
**[[PACE NSC]]: completed the [[2001 NSC|2001]] set after its head editor disappeared, Chief Editor from 2002 through 2008 (instilling the now-established quality standards of that event), subject editor 2012-2014
 +
**[[HSAPQ]]: founder, writer, frequent subject editor and set editor (incl. [[NHBB]] 2012-14)
 +
*College
 +
**many invitationals, including [[Penn Bowl]] 2007-9, [[ACF Regionals]] 2008 (w/ [[Matt Keller]]), ACF Regionals 2011 (w/ [[Rob Carson]] et al.), [[VCU Closed]] 2013 (with [[Eric Mukherjee]])
 +
**[[College History Bowl]] 2012, 2014
 +
**[[ACF Nationals]] 2008 (subject editor), [[ACF Nationals]] 2009 (head editor)
 +
*Open
 +
**[[FICHTE]] I and II
 +
*many incarnations of [[VCU Open]]
  
==Quizbowl Advocacy==
+
Matt has, however, been criticized for not being a meticulous editor, for writing confusing common link tossups, and for finishing many of his tournaments at the last minute (and on occasion having to cancel them outright, as with College History Bowl 2013 and 2015). [[Ryan Westbrook]] once called him the "Gilbert Arenas volume shooter of quizbowl." [http://hsquizbowl.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=5520]
  
Matt Weiner has been one of the most important advocates of good quizbowl in the modern era. Aside from editing PACE for seven years and founding HSAPQ, he founded the [[hsquizbowl.org]]'s forums where he currently is an administrator. Matt has also been an important leader for Virginia quizbowl since his graduation serving as an informal coach to [[VCU]] and mentoring several high school players such as [[Tommy Casalaspi]] and [[Sarah Angelo]] by holding summer practices at [VCU]]. However, some of his mentoring attempts have been less succesful including his disastrous attempt to have [[Tommy Casalaspi]] (then a high school sophomore) write for the [[2009 ACF Nationals]] leading to bonuses on the lesser known works of William Plomer. (Note that this was actually a bonus on South African literature to which "William Plomer" from all possible clues was the hard part, not a bonus on any works of William Plomer, and it was written not by Tommy Casalaspi, but by Andrew Yaphe, but other than those minor details Ted Gioia is a good wiki editor).
+
Matt was a founder of [[HSAPQ]] and served on the company's board as Chairman from that position's establishment until 2015, and also wrote and subject-edited for [[NAQT]] for a short period in the mid-2010s.
  
Matt Weiner has very strong opinions on some philosophical topics, including a distaste for the opinions of Edmund Gettier. Nevertheless, he should not be confused with [http://mattweiner.net/ this guy.] He is also not the bassist for The Hot Club of Cowtown or the creator of Mad Men.
+
After the contract between [[NHBB]] and [[HSAPQ]] was not renewed for the 2014-15 year, Matt was hired full-time as Head Writer for all events under the History Bowl and History Bee aegis worldwide, a position he held from July 2014 until his March 2015 resignation.
  
==Things Matt Weiner doesn't like==
+
==Quizbowl Advocacy==
  
* Most things, especially [[Wikipedia]]
+
Matt Weiner has been one of the most important advocates of "good quizbowl" in the modern era. His roles editing the PACE NSC for seven years, directing that tournament thereafter in 2009, 2012, and 2013, and mentoring new members helped establish that organization's reputation. In 2003, he created the [[hsquizbowl.org]] forums (now the Quizbowl Resource Center), and oversaw the integration of [[quizbowlpackets.com]] and [[Jeffrey Hill]]'s ScoBo results database into that site as the [[Quizbowl Resource Database]] in 2012. Matt has also been an important leader for quizbowl in the state of Virginia since his graduation by serving as an informal coach to [[VCU]], and has mentored several high school players such as [[Tommy Casalaspi]] and [[Sarah Angelo]] by holding summer practices at [[VCU]]. Starting in 2010, he also oversaw the transition of [[VHSL]], previously a much-maligned event, to a partnership with HSAPQ, which now means that 90% of all high schools in the state of Virginia are part of an institution that uses "[[good quizbowl|good]]" questions and can be prepared for in the same way as weekend tournaments. For many years he also staffed or directed a tournament almost every weekend, including [[ACF Nationals]] 2009, 2012, 2013, and 2014.
  
==Things Matt Weiner Likes==
+
On March 5th, 2015, Weiner resigned effective immediately from all of his remaining quizbowl commitments, precipitating the [[5th of March Incident|NHBBBlitz]].
  
*[[ACF]]
 
*Chupa Chups
 
*Comedy skits that end with someone running through a wall and leaving a person-shaped hole behind
 
*Driving ridiculous distances instead of flying
 
*Edith Wharton
 
*Edwidge Danticat
 
*Floor hockey
 
*80s alternative music
 
*[[Mike Bentley|MIKE BENTLEY]]
 
*New York City
 
*Oscar Wilde
 
*[[PACE]]
 
*Robots wearing clothes
 
*Round-robin formats
 
*Russian history
 
*Sex with men, according to [[Robin Richards]]
 
*Shops named after what they sell
 
*Star Wars comic books
 
*Team handball
 
*Top Chef
 
*''Victory Over the Sun''
 
*Wayside School
 
*William Shatner
 
  
 
==See also==
 
==See also==
 
*[[Weiner's Laws]]
 
*[[Weiner's Laws]]
 
*[[Weiner's Factual Argument Paradox]]
 
*[[Weiner's Factual Argument Paradox]]
[[Category:HSQB Moderators]]
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[[Category:Original QBWiki Page]]
+
{{Succession_box_(Carper)
 +
|year = 2013
 +
|previous = [[Jeff Hoppes]]
 +
|next = [[Susan Ferrari]]
 +
|}}
 +
{{Succession_box_(Cooper)
 +
|year = 2011
 +
|previous = [[R. Robert Hentzel]]
 +
|next = [[Linda Greene]] & [[David Riley]]
 +
| }}
 +
{{Succession_box_(Young_Cooper)
 +
|year = 2004 (with [[David Bykowski]])
 +
|previous = None
 +
|next = [[Tom Egan]]
 +
| }}
 +
{{Succession_box_(Individual)|Individual Honor = [[ACF|ACF Nationals Leading Scorer]]
 +
|year = 2005
 +
|previous = [[Wesley Mathews]]
 +
|next = [[Matt Lafer]]
 +
| }}
 +
{{Succession_box_(Individual)|Individual Honor = [[ACF|ACF Nationals Leading Scorer]]
 +
|year = 2007
 +
|previous = [[Matt Lafer]]
 +
|next = [[Mike Sorice]]
 +
| }}
 +
{{Succession_box_(Individual)|Individual Honor = [[ICT|ICT DII Leading Scorer]]
 +
|year = 2001
 +
|previous = [[Steve Perry]]
 +
|next = [[Matt Lafer]]
 +
| }}
 +
{{Succession_box_(Individual)|Individual Honor = [[ICT|ICT DI Leading Scorer]]
 +
|year = 2002
 +
|previous = [[Andrew Yaphe]]
 +
|next = [[Subash Maddipoti]]
 +
| }}
 +
{{Succession_box_(Individual)|Individual Honor = [[ICT|ICT DI Leading Scorer]]
 +
|year = 2005
 +
|previous = [[Sudheer Potru]]
 +
|next = [[Jerry Vinokurov]]
 +
| }}
 +
{{Succession_box_(Individual)|Individual Honor = [[ICT|ICT DI Leading Scorer]]
 +
|year = 2007
 +
|previous = [[Jerry Vinokurov]]
 +
|next = [[Jerry Vinokurov]]
 +
| }}
 +
 
 +
[[Category: People]]
 +
[[Category: HSAPQ]]
 +
[[Category: Maggie Walker]]
 +
[[Category: VCU]]
 +
[[Category: Pitt]]
 +
[[Category: Reynolds]]
 +
[[Category: Original QBWiki Page]]
 +
[[Category: High school players active in 1998]]
 +
[[Category: High school players active in 1999]]
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[[Category: High school players active in 2000]]
 +
[[Category: Players active in 2001]]
 +
[[Category: Players active in 2002]]
 +
[[Category: Players active in 2003]]
 +
[[Category: Players active in 2004]]
 +
[[Category: Players active in 2005]]
 +
[[Category: Players active in 2006]]
 +
[[Category: Players active in 2007]]
 +
[[Category: Players active in 2008]]
 +
[[Category: Players active in 2014]]
 +
[[Category:Question writers]]

Latest revision as of 18:17, 22 September 2023

Matt Weiner
MattWeiner.JPG
Noted subjects General, History, Religion
Current college none
Past colleges Pitt (2001-2002) VCU (player 2003-2007, team advisor 2007-2015), J. Sargeant Reynolds CC (2014)
High school Maggie Walker (1998-2000)
Stats HDWhite • NAQT

Matt Weiner (IPA: /ˈwi.nɚ/) is one of the greatest quizbowl players in the history of the game, and perhaps the most important figure in promoting the expansion of "good quizbowl" in the modern era. Across his 17-year career, he played for school teams at the Governor's School, Pitt, and VCU, and served as a writer, editor, advisor, tournament director, and organizer for VCU, ACF, PACE, NAQT, HSAPQ, and NHBB as well as many independent events. Weiner was the founder and long-time owner of the Quizbowl Resource Center, where he served as a forums administrator from 2003 to 2015, and won the 2004 Benjamin Cooper Young Ambassador Award, the 2011 Benjamin Cooper Academic Ambassador Award, and the 2013 Carper Award for his efforts.

Playing

Weiner's playing career began on one of the first high school teams that systematically studied past quizbowl questions at the Governor's School of Richmond, which was renamed for Maggie Walker soon after his graduation (serving as team captain under then-new head coach John Barnes). He then played in college at Pitt and for VCU, playing many tournaments solo and racking up many individual scoring titles for much of his time at the latter institution.

Matt's just-as-long career at open tournaments thereafter included winning the inaugural Minnesota Open with Charlie Dees, and leading the victorious team at Chicago Open for an unmatched span of four years straight, from 2007 to 2010, with non-overlapping sets of teammates each time.

In 2014, Matt reenrolled at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College for a single year, ultimately placing 7th at 2014 ICT.

In all, Weiner claimed the NAQT ICT DI scoring title four times, including three in succession from 2005-07, both of which are records for the tournament. With his 2001 scoring title in DII, Weiner became the first player to win scoring titles in both DI and DII. He added scoring titles at the 2005 and 2007 ACF Nationals.

Writing

Matt was a critical force in sustaining "good quizbowl" by editing dozens of tournaments over a span of about 15 years. Some of his most notable editing jobs include:

Matt has, however, been criticized for not being a meticulous editor, for writing confusing common link tossups, and for finishing many of his tournaments at the last minute (and on occasion having to cancel them outright, as with College History Bowl 2013 and 2015). Ryan Westbrook once called him the "Gilbert Arenas volume shooter of quizbowl." [1]

Matt was a founder of HSAPQ and served on the company's board as Chairman from that position's establishment until 2015, and also wrote and subject-edited for NAQT for a short period in the mid-2010s.

After the contract between NHBB and HSAPQ was not renewed for the 2014-15 year, Matt was hired full-time as Head Writer for all events under the History Bowl and History Bee aegis worldwide, a position he held from July 2014 until his March 2015 resignation.

Quizbowl Advocacy

Matt Weiner has been one of the most important advocates of "good quizbowl" in the modern era. His roles editing the PACE NSC for seven years, directing that tournament thereafter in 2009, 2012, and 2013, and mentoring new members helped establish that organization's reputation. In 2003, he created the hsquizbowl.org forums (now the Quizbowl Resource Center), and oversaw the integration of quizbowlpackets.com and Jeffrey Hill's ScoBo results database into that site as the Quizbowl Resource Database in 2012. Matt has also been an important leader for quizbowl in the state of Virginia since his graduation by serving as an informal coach to VCU, and has mentored several high school players such as Tommy Casalaspi and Sarah Angelo by holding summer practices at VCU. Starting in 2010, he also oversaw the transition of VHSL, previously a much-maligned event, to a partnership with HSAPQ, which now means that 90% of all high schools in the state of Virginia are part of an institution that uses "good" questions and can be prepared for in the same way as weekend tournaments. For many years he also staffed or directed a tournament almost every weekend, including ACF Nationals 2009, 2012, 2013, and 2014.

On March 5th, 2015, Weiner resigned effective immediately from all of his remaining quizbowl commitments, precipitating the NHBBBlitz.


See also

Carper Award
Preceded by
Year
Succeeded by
Jeff Hoppes
2013
Susan Ferrari
Benjamin Cooper Academic Ambassador Award
Preceded by
Year
Succeeded by
R. Robert Hentzel
2011
Linda Greene & David Riley
Benjamin Cooper Young Ambassador Award
Preceded by
Year
Succeeded by
None
2004 (with David Bykowski)
Tom Egan
ACF Nationals Leading Scorer
Preceded by
Year
Succeeded by
Wesley Mathews
2005
Matt Lafer
ACF Nationals Leading Scorer
Preceded by
Year
Succeeded by
Matt Lafer
2007
Mike Sorice
ICT DII Leading Scorer
Preceded by
Year
Succeeded by
Steve Perry
2001
Matt Lafer
ICT DI Leading Scorer
Preceded by
Year
Succeeded by
Andrew Yaphe
2002
Subash Maddipoti
ICT DI Leading Scorer
Preceded by
Year
Succeeded by
Sudheer Potru
2005
Jerry Vinokurov
ICT DI Leading Scorer
Preceded by
Year
Succeeded by
Jerry Vinokurov
2007
Jerry Vinokurov