Re: More bid predictions for ICT (and Community Colleges)

--- In quizbowl_at_yahoogroups.com, abillsmood <no_reply_at_y...> wrote:> I 
have a question for Valencia... will this "formidable competition" 
> once again result from a packet being heard beforehand?
> 
> - Brad K.

Well, Brad, I'll be happy to field that question.  The incident you 
refer to, as you obviously know, occurred when my players took in a 
Div. I match during our bye on the first night at the 2002 ICT.  R. 
was moderating, and I specifically asked whether we could watch a 
match, both so my players could see R. read and see hardore teams 
play.  R. said this would be fine, and read the round they saw.

Lo and behold the next match contained a number of questions that 
were read while they watched.  My three frosh and one sophomore were 
delighted to knock out some questions early, and they thus unfairly 
beat a very 
good Princeton team.  After the next match, when it became clear what 
had happened, I and my captain, Jim Baker, who was the fifth-leading 
scorer in DII mind you (without benefit of hearing other packs early, 
obviously), went to Craig Barker and told him we needed to forfeit 
that match.  We also asked if we could replay our game with 
Princeton, but Princeton declined the offer, and I don't blame them--
why play a match that's already a win?

In any case, I was under the impression that DI used completely 
separate packs.  As this was Valencia's (and my) first-ever 
experience with NAQT (outside of a fall tournament in 98, long before 
any of last year's players were there), we didn't know we shouldn't 
watch DI games.  Further, as I mentioned, R. himself told us it was 
okay.  Where we dropped the ball was in not stopping the Princeton 
match at the time.  For that I will be eternally regretful.

I'm confident that those who know me on this board, and those who 
know my team from competition the last couple years, will vouch for 
our sportsmanship and good natures.  We made a mistake last year, and 
we voluntarily took care of it and asked for our forfeit.

Now, as to the snideness of your post, it leaves me wondering why you 
felt the need to take this nasty shot at us.  We beat a number of DII 
four-year schools last year, and won the national title for CCs, with 
no recourse to having heard questions previously.  I don't know if 
you are from Princeton, but their players seemed last year to 
understand and accept our apologies.  If you're not from Princeton, I 
don't see it as being any of your business.  In any case, I 
hope you are playing on a DII team at the ICT this year, so you can 
see for yourself how improved this team is, and how well it comports 
itself.  I'd be happy to discuss the matter with you further if you 
wish to contact me at cborglum at valencia dot edu.  And to all 
others heading to LA in April, we look forward to seeing you all, and 
we'll stay the hell away from DI matches.

--chris borglum
Valencia Quizbowl Grand Poobah  

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