Sun 'n Fun VI - official announcement

jeremycec <*no_reply_at_yahoogroups.com*> · Tue, 01 Feb 2005 22:06:50 -0000

The Quiz Bowl Team at USF is pleased to announce its 6th annual spring
break Sun 'n Fun Quiz-in which will take place at the University of
South Florida (Tampa campus) on Saturday, March 19, 2005.

SNF6 is a mACF packet submission tournament open to all collegiate
teams.  Masters and high schools are also welcome as exhibition teams.
We ask that your question packets be of a difficulty caliber for
approximately first or second-year players with some tournament
experience. If you do not wish to submit a packet, we can accommodate
this as well (see below).

FEES: Base team fee for SNF6 is $85. (Minimum fee with all discounts: $50)

Discounts:
    > Second team: -$10
    > Third team: -$15
    > Fourth+ teams: -$20
    > Packet received in good order by Feb. 19: -$20
    > Packet received in good order by Feb. 26: -$10
    > Traveling from out of state: -$10
    > Working buzzer system: -$10
    > Competent tournament official: -$10

* Only first teams have to provide a packet. Second+ teams may provide
a packet for additional discounts.

Penalties:
    > Packet received in good order by Mar. 5: +$0
    > Packet received after Mar. 5, or if you do not wish to write a
packet: +$25

QUESTION GUIDELINES: Packets will consist of 22 Toss-ups/Bonuses.
Please conform as closely as possible to the following distribution
and rules (largely purloined from Penn Bowl):
    * SCIENCE [3 Tossups / 3 Boni]
    * LITERATURE [3/3]
    * HISTORY [3/3]
    * RECENT EVENTS [1/1]
    * POPULAR CULTURE & SPORTS [2/2]
    * FINE ARTS [2/2 or 2/2]
    * RELIGION/MYTHOLOGY/PHILOSOPHY [2/2 or 2/2]
    * SOCIAL SCIENCES [1/1]
    * GEOGRAPHY [1/1]
    * YOUR CHOICE [4/4]

DIFFICULTY: Packets should be accessible to all teams competing. Aim
for an overall conversion rate of 80-85%. Do not write more than one
or two tossups that are unlikely to be answered in most rooms; the
bottom two teams in a bracket should be capable of answering at least
55-65% of the tossups as written. Boni: Aim for an average bonus
conversion rate of 15-18 points per bonus. While 30s and 0s should
both be relatively rare, zeros should be rarer than 30s.

FORMAT: All packets are expected to be submitted in Times New Roman,
12 point font, 1 inch margins; all line limitations below are in those
terms.

TOSSUPS: No spelling tossups. No "For a quick 10 points" (FAQTP)
tossups. Tossup texts should not exceed four lines, and must not
exceed five lines. Please do not mark power points in tossups. The
Tournament Director will mark these.

BONI: All boni must be worth 30 points. No one-part, all-or-nothing
boni. No bonus may contain more than four prompts. Bonus lead-ins
should be kept as short as possible. Place answers after each bonus
part, not all at the end of the question. We may use visual boni in
the prelim rounds; if you wish to submit a visual bonus, please e-mail
the tournament director for instructions.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: At the author's option, you may randomize your
own packet. You may send tossups and boni in the same file or two
different files, but please do not intersperse tossups and boni. Use
boldface and underlining to indicate minimally accepted answers. If
you submit files in text format, please enclose the minimal answer in
_underscores_. Please do not use unnecessary italics or
capitalization. Please indicate the start of a bonus part by placing
its value in brackets: [15], [30], [10], even if they are all the
same. Please do not use any other marking(s).

Please submit your packet as an attachment to an e-mail message to
jeremy.rasmussen_at_gmail.com, in the following order of preference:
1) MS Word (preferred), Rich Text Format (RTF), plain text/ASCII
(least preferred). The header must contain the following information:
school, team(s), and the names of all question writers for that
packet. Please include pronunciation guides for unfamiliar words. If
you believe a word needs a pronunciation guide, but have absolutely no
idea how the word should be pronounced, please prefix it with an
asterisk: *kwyjibo.

HOTEL INFO:
    * We are pleased to offer a special rate on rooms from the Wingate
Inn (3751 E Fowler Ave, Tampa, FL 33612), which is directly across the
street from USF. If you call 1-800-228-1000 to make a reservation at
the Wingate Inn Tampa USF and mention the "USF Special" rate, you can
get a double room (1-4 people) for $69/night
    * The Embassy Suites Hotel, directly on campus, recently announced
a special rate as well. Call (813) 977-7066 and ask for the "USF Rate"
of $149/night for a deluxe suite.
    * Amerisuites (11408 N 30th St, Tampa, FL 33612) has also chimed
in with a nice deal. If you call (813)979-1922, and mention the "USF
Rate", you can get a suite with 2 double beds and a pullout sofa for
$79.00/night.
     * Holiday Inn (2701 E Fowler Ave) also has a "USF Special" rate
of $69/night.

Please email jeremy.rasmussen_at_gmail.com (replace _at_ with _at_) and
let me know how many teams, buzzers, and tournament officials you are
bringing.  Thanks,

Jeremy R.
Quiz Bowl at USF
http://ctr.usf.edu/quizbowl