Although I am probably 99% done with quiz bowl, I was involved in moderating this weekend, and would like to make a few remarks/ comments about the packets. 1) I noticed in many cases that the packets were remarkably unbalanced. Packet 9, for example, had 3 visual art tossups in the first 20. Packet 2 had 2 comp sci tossups in the first 20. Also, Packet 12 had two art tossups about Renaissance architects. ETC, ETC. I don't think it would be too difficult to ensure that all packets had the same distribution. Otherwise, unbalanced packets allow worse teams with a specific area of specialization to do very well. 2) There were a large number of typos and mistakes that could have thrown teams off track. The Pendleton Act forty years too early. A certain Shakespeare collector retiring a century earlier. Prompt on Narmer? These were problems that I think could have easily been avoided by simply playtesting packets before sending them out. 3) Some of the questions were just badly badly written, and in many cases, were in inverse pyramidal (with the easiest clues first). The Turkish tossup, John Hinckley, and Tobasco come to mind as examples of these. -Lenny
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