TrashMasters at UTC Sat.-Sun., Dec. 3-4, 2005

     The UT-Chattanooga Academic Trivia Association will host the 
13th annual TrashMasters trash tournament on Saturday and Sunday, 
December 3-4, 2005.  This is a *two-day* open trash tournament (in a 
quizbowl format, but all about pop culture), a continuation of the 
first and longest-running trash tournament in the known universe.

    TIME & PLACE: Registration will begin at 9:30 AM EDT on Sat. 
12/3/04, with announcements at 9:45 and play starting at 10 AM.  We 
will tentatively set the start time for Sun. 12/4 at 9 AM but reserve 
the right to move it up if circumstances require it.  Come hell or 
high water, we will be finished by 2 PM Sunday.  Tournament 
headquarters will be Grote 129 on the UTC campus.  

    WHO'S IN CHARGE: Charlie Steinhice is your tournament director, 
editor, and genial quizmaster.  See below for contact info.

    ELIGIBILITY:  This tournament is open to all interested players, 
assuming they fulfill three basic tasks (let me know you're coming, 
pay fees, and arrange for a packet as described below.)  Current or 
former academic affiliation, or lack thereof, doesn't matter.  If you 
want to play, then form a team, tell me in time, and submit a packet 
or make arrangements otherwise (see below.)  Please let me know as 
soon as you know you are definitely or probably attending so I can 
adjust the format and scare up more officials to accommodate more 
teams if needed. As it stands now, the field will be capped (as in 
limited, not as in gunned down) at 33 teams.

    FREE AGENTS: If you want to attend but don't have teammates, let 
me know. Or if you have a partial team and are looking for 
reinforcements, do the same. Any folks like this, I'll put you in 
touch with each other and let you sort it out. Hybrid teams won 
TrashMasters 1997 and took 2nd in 2001.

    FORMAT:   20 questions per round, untimed.  Packet submission is 
expected unless other arrangements are made in advance (see 
guidelines and timetables below.)  Teams will be four players each, 
with alternates OK as long as there are no substitutions in mid-
match. Depending on the number of teams, the format will be round 
robin or bracketed round robin.  This of course means I need to know 
the number of teams in advance. So if you're coming, TELL ME!!! 
Getting me your clever team names in advance will also help.
 
    WANT TO READ INSTEAD OF PLAYING? By now most of you know the 
standard UTC bribe: you read, we feed. Dinner at Provino's is on us 
for anyone who comes just to read. Besides, you want to see the 
trashiest of the trashy in action.

    K-TEL HELL MUSIC ROUND: Once again we will provide a musical 
interlude for your competitive pleasure.  This one is run by your 
genial quizmaster himself, and if he still hasn't mastered certain 
technical skills, it'll still include the amusing spectacle of seeing 
him shuffle stacks of CDs.  (If you think that's old-fashioned, you 
shoulda been there when we still used vinyl.)  

    EXTRA SPECIAL BONUS TRASHY AWARDS CEREMONY: Buwahahahah.

    FEES: Fees are once again structured to increase the desire to 
submit a packet in a timely manner:
Base fee $100 per team
Discounts: - $10 for an experienced reader
   - $5 for a working buzzer (additional $5 for a second buzzer if we 
need it)
   - $20 for submitting full packet by midnight Sun., Nov. 13. 
   +/- $0 for packet received between Sun. 11/13 and midnight Sun. 
11/20.
Penalties: + $20 late fee for submitting packet between midnight 
Sun., Nov. 20, and midnight Sun., Nov. 27.
   + $30 for submitting no packet [must arrange in advance]
 
    PACKETS, PART 1 -- FORMAT, ETC.: Each team is expected to submit 
a packet unless arrangements otherwise are made in advance. To allow 
for bonus laming and to simplify editing of the inevitable numerous 
duplicates, each packet submitted needs to contain at least *28* 
tossups and 25 boni. Visual, tactile, and even gustatory boni will be 
accepted if possible; due to equipment limitations, audio questions 
won't.  We will consider physical challenge questions, provided they 
do not conflict with giving every team a fair shot regardless of 
individual members' physical limitations.
    Some format preferences: If at all possible, please send me 
packets in MS Word or RTF format.  Please place the required parts of 
each answer in bold, please put answers on a separate line from the 
question, and please precede them with the word "Answer:".  If you 
want to save me some more time, make the font 11 pt Times New Roman 
and the margins 0.5" all around.
    
    PACKETS, PART 2 -- SUBJECT MATTER: While we'll allow some 
flexibility, we prefer that you follow these loose distribution 
guidelines.  (Note: Especially in the first four major categories, we 
also recommend you mix it up for time periods, genres, etc.) 
Number Category
3 - 4 Movies
2 - 4 TV
3 - 4 Sports
3 - 4 Music
1 - 3 Trashy "literature"
1 - 3 Trashy current events
1 - 3 Food and beverage
No more than 2 each:
Computer games & other computer stuff
Comics
Gadgets
Consumerama
Roadside America
Board games, children's games, etc.
Anything else you deem suitably trashy is fine, as long as there are 
no more than two questions per as-yet-unnamed category. See FEES 
above for packet submission timetable.

    LODGINGS:  The Clarion Hotel in downtown Chattanooga offers 
discount rooms at the rate of $66 per night plus tax for up to 4 
people. The Clarion is within 5 minutes of UTC and was the clear 
choice in our poll of previous tournament attendees. The Clarion's 
number is (423) 756-5150; tell 'em you're with the UTC Academic 
Trivia Association quizbowl tournament to get the special rate.

    DIRECTIONS: Note that the entrance to the Grote Hall lot has 
changed.... 

* From Atlanta and points south -- take I-75 to Chattanooga, then I-
24 west towards downtown, then follow the freeway splitoff for U.S. 
27 North, downtown Chattanooga.  From 27 North take the 4th Street 
exit, within sight of the Tennessee Aquarium.  Go right on 4th St.  
(you have no choice) and follow it for ca. 1 mile.  Go past the UTC 
Arena, after which E. 4th St. becomes part of E. 3rd St.  After that, 
take the second right on Palmetto St.  Go two blocks and turn right 
on Vine St.  (just past the EMCS Building.)  Just before the place 
where Vine St. is blocked off, the parking lot for Grote and Holt is 
on the right.  Enter Grote by the door next to the dumpster.
* From Knoxville and points north -- take I-75 to Chattanooga, then I-
24 West; directions from there same as above.
* From Nashville and points west/north: Take I-24 east to 
Chattanooga. As you round Moccasin Bend (freeway goes alongside 
river) watch for two exit lanes on the right; take the less rightward 
of the two, which will have signs above it for U.S. 27 N.  Rest of 
directions are the same as above.
* From Birmingham and points southwest: Take I-59 to the outskirts of 
Chattanooga, where it dead-ends into I-24.  Get on I-24 East and 
follow the Nashville directions from there.

    CONTACT: Your genial quizmaster, Charlie Steinhice, coach of 
UTC's quizbowl team, can be reached by e-mail (steinhic at bellsouth 
dot net -- and yes, it's steinhic, not steinhice), by phone at 423-
504-8255 (cell) / 423-877-2706 (home), or by mail at 1185 Mountain 
Creek Rd. #1801, Chattanooga, TN 37405.

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