For those of you outside the south, I am Robin Richards and I run the College Bowl/NAQT team for the Univ of GA. Those in the South know who I am and I hope that these same people know full well that I am not someone who would bitch and moan if something does not go my team's way. However, after looking at the NAQT ICT Div II bid list, as well as the stats for all the teams who were invited to play the Div II ICT, I feel that I need to say my peace and see what those out in Yahooland have to say (if anyone cares). The basics: UGA B, our Div II team, placed 2nd in the Midsouth Regionals by means of a playoff against Florida, a team they beat previously. Upon looking at the stats, I noticed that UGA was the ONLY 2nd place team in the nation to not get a bid to the ICT. Upon further review (and some emails to NAQT), the following reasons were given: 1- The Midsouth region, was, in NAQT's eyes, the weakest Div II region in the nation. The reason for the supposed "weakness" of the Midsouth D2 roster is the fact that most of the players were fresh out of high school, and some have never played NAQT in their life. No team can control who they play at the SCT, and penalizing them for that just does not seem right. As opposed to college football teams, we do not have the liberty of making our own schedules. If Florida, who played the exact same "weak" teams we did, gets a bid for winning a playoff, once again, why cant we? (I know they won the Region, but someone out there has to see my logic, no?) 2- The whole "secret forumla" spiel: If NAQT is so proud and confident about their formula, then why is it so secret? We're not talking about eleven herbs and spices here, we're talking about Quizbowl, and keeping a secret formula just that, a secret, can make some people begin to wonder what the truth really is. The solution should be simple: take the top two from each region regardless, and then go from there. In some cases (such as ours), the top two are determined by playoffs and tiebreakers. 3- Community Colleges playing Div II: In my eyes, CCs should not be playing four years schools in the ICT. If you want CCs to play at the D2 level at the ICT against four-year schools, they should play D2 at the SCT. If this is not the wish of NAQT, I suggest creating a Division III. 4- The "bonus factor:" Bonuses do not necessarily mean all that much in my eyes. Sometimes you get extremely hard bonuses on Quantum Physics (when no one on your team knows diddly about it) and score 30 points on the ones your opponents get. Getting the right bonus is (pardon the pun) a toss-up. I wouldnt be making this case to NAQT and the Court of Public Opinion if I didnt feel that my team, who played to win, did there best. In fact, they exceeded way beyond my expectations. Regardless of a bid or not, Im proud of them, and I do not mind sticking my neck way out for them. Im hoping to continue UGA's involvement in NAQT. It was just that I couldnt sit on the sidelines and see what I feel was a gross error go by the wayside. Thanks for hearing me out, Robin J Richards Speaking for and on the behalf of UGA College Bowl Quizdogs_at_... "Knowing is half the battle...the other 60% is ringing in first."
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