<<You as a writer have to know that reboundable bonuses preclude you from writing "yes or no" boni, for example>> You would think that, wouldn't you? Sadly, it is not always the case. Especially in conference meets, we get a lot more of these "yes/no" boni than is appropriate(the number that is appropriate: Zero). I think this is part of what is contributing to the lack of good boni this year: the writers not being careful enough so that if one team misses a bonus part, the other team automatically gets that part. (Sadly enough, there have been instances where the other team didn't get such a bonus part because they weren't paying attention. That is one good thing about reboundable boni: they cultivate your attention span. ;) Also, there is something to be said for knee-jerk responses. I LIVE for knee-jerk responses. I have created a list of some of the most common phrases in Quiz Bowl and what the knee-jerk response should be, and that list is currently circulating among my teammates. It's true that depth plays a large role in creating a competitive quiz bowl team-- my philosophy is that breadth helps you know the answer, but depth helps you get points on that knowledge-- but the experience of hearing certain key phrases helps immensely. And as a result, I am thoroughly annoyed when the question-writer decides to be clever and picks the more unusual answer. This is probably not a great mindset to have, but it seems to work for me. For the most part, these key phrases are embedded deep in the question, so early buzzes aren't necessarily a matter of the question-writing. I find that a lot of my early buzzes are a result of temporary loss of brain function. ;) Also, Mr. Riley: I am a senior, so I narrowly miss the new format for the Ultima tourney. However, it sounds interesting, and as I have an itchy buzzer finger, I think that format would work pretty well for me. Too bad-- but maybe I can get some of that at the Panasonic tryouts.
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