ANNOUNCEMENT – The Potru Prize

suds1000 <*no_reply_at_yahoogroups.com*> · Wed, 21 Apr 2004 15:32:23 -0000

Hello all:

Due to 1) the likely boredom that will result from my being on-campus
this summer, 2) my desire to hold a summer tournament, and 3) my
evident lack of creativity, I'd like to announce the first annual
Potru Prize tournament, a blatant rip-off of Michigan's Kidder Cup
that will take place on Saturday, June 12, 2004, at the University of
Illinois on our scenic campus here in Urbana-Champaign.

Like the Kidder Cup, this tournament is open to all who wish to enter,
but it will be a 2-on-2 event instead of 1-on-1 (to split up the
packet-writing), although one-person teams are certainly welcome.  It
will be packet-submission, and the same kind of "guerrilla editing"
will be used to edit out repeats between rounds.  However, this
tournament will not run like MLK:  instead, it will be untimed 20/20
mACF, hopefully somewhere between ACF Fall and Regionals level
(although closer to the former would be *MUCH* preferred).  So those
of you who (like me) complain about the Kidder distribution having too
much trash, too much current events, or too much geography, this is
the tournament for you.

The playoff packets will be written by yours truly, although I'll
probably ask Sorice and/or Andrew and/or Dom for some help, unless
they want to play.

I'm sorry to say that there will have to be some kind of fee, because
UIUC doesn't like giving me rooms for free.  But I honestly don't
think it'll amount to more than $20 per team at absolute maximum.  If
you're worried about hotel costs and the like, you're welcome to sleep
on the sofas/futon/floor at my apartment, and parking in Urbana is free.

Question Info:

Each packet will need at least 24/24 total to account for possible
repeats.

Distribution:

4/4 History
4/4 Literature
4/4 Science
3/3 Religion, Myth, and Philosophy
3/3 Fine Arts
2/2 Social Science
1/1 Geography
1/1 Trash
1/1 Spelling*
1/1 Computational Math*
1/1 Your Choice (except for Spelling/Computational Math)

* - I was sorry to see that there were no spelling or computational
math questions in collegiate quizbowl, so I'm trying to bring them
back.  Actually no, I'm not, but I think they're an interesting
addition to any tournament.  If you're really averse to them and you
don't think they're well written, you're free to bury them at the back
of your packet, although this is in no way officially endorsed.

For those of you who have never written a spelling tossup before, it
goes something like:

Originating in Babylonian creation stories, it occurs a section of the
Baal myth, but also appears in Psalms 74:14 and Isaiah 27:1 as a sea
monster symbolizing the enemies of Israel that will be slain by God. 
Also naming a famous work by Thomas Hobbes, FTP, spell the word
"Leviathan."
Answer:	_L-E-V-I-A-T-H-A-N_	

And here's a sample bonus (which is, by the way, the only six-part
bonus format allowed at this tournament):

Spell the following words from definitions for 10, or from the word
itself for 5.
1. (10) Considered by Josh Hill to be his alter ego or alternative
personality or something, this is a member of the cat family that is
often orange with black stripes.
(5) tiger
Answer:	_T-I-G-E-R_
2. (10) You're on the campus of one right now.  Other examples include
one "of Michigan", one "of Texas", and Harvard.
(5) university
Answer:	_U-N-I-V-E-R-S-I-T-Y_
3. (10) Originally used by Maryland, this term denotes a desire to win
based on both hatred of losing and hatred of other teams.  A
"transfigured" version of it was a subtitle for the 2003 Illinois Open.
(5) spite
Answer:	_S-P-I-T-E_

For those of you who have never written a computational math tossup
before, it's the only place you can use "FAQTP", or "for a quick ten
points":

Pencil and paper ready.  FAQTP, what is 95 times 24?  You have ten
seconds.
Answer:	_2280_

Sample bonus:

Evaluate the following integrals, FTPE.
1. (10) sin x dx
Answer:	_negative cosine of x + constant_
2. (10) e to the x dx
Answer:	_e to the x + constant_
3. (10) x dx, from 5 to 6
Answer:	_11/2_ or _5.5_ 

PLEASE keep all tossups under six lines in MS Word with standard 1"
margins and 10-point font.  In addition, please keep all bonus parts
under two lines in length.

Well, I can't really think of anything else at the moment, so that's
about it.  Please contact me (potru at uiuc dot edu) with any
questions or if you want to register.

Thanks for actually reading all of this, and I hope to see you in
Urbana-Champaign on June 12!

Sincerely,

Sudheer Potru
Vice-President, UIUC ABT
Tournament Director, Potru Prize 2004