Re: [quizbowl] In defense of my 'fake' tournament

Eric Kwartler <*ekwartler_at_areopaganini.yahoo.invalid*> · Tue, 21 Mar 2006 13:17:54 -0600

On 3/21/06, cancelbowl <cancelbowl_at_...> wrote:
> Wow, I didn't realize what a heartless bastard I am.

Again, you're not a heartless bastard.

> When I originally posted the date for Cancel Bowl, there was nothing
> on this group indicating a conflict. This is the the only group I
> read, and seeing nothing in the way I posted my announcement.
>
> (I know that my failure to read every single QB-related group,
> message board, and string-with-Dixie Cup network makes me hopelessly
> incompetent in the eyes of some. They're welcome to their opinion.)

This isn't just an opinion.  www.hsquizbowl.org isn't just some little
sideboard.  It's the primary forum for discussion of quizbowl
tournaments, and I would go so far to say that it is at least equal
with yahoo as far as announcing tournament dates and results.  There
is an entire section for Trash that is regularly populated by the
major trash tournaments, so it's not like this is some strictly
academic thing.

> Word got to me a little later that there was a conflict with the
> tournament at Brown. I contacted all of my teams, noted the conflict,
> and asked what teams wanted to do.  In response, I had one team
> express an interest in the tournament (one other team wasn't sure,
> and wound up not going to either).  I had several state that they had
> no interest in the other tournament. This isn't surprising, given
> that the bulk of Cancel Bowl's field is made up of regulars.
>
> It didn't make much sense to move Cancel Bowl, inconveniencing the
> vast majority of the field and the folks at BU (who'd taken care of
> all the logisitical stuff) for one team.  I wrote all the teams back,
> noted that we were going to stand pat, and said that if teams wanted
> to play at Brown rather than Cancel Bowl, that was fine.  I've got no
> problem letting teams vote with their buzzers, so to speak.

> So the idea that Cancel Bowl somehow cut off Brown's tournament at
> the knees - and thus presaged the fall of Western civilization,
> apparently - is a little off, I think.  Had Brown's tournament been
> the only thing happening last weekend, based on the responses I got
> all but one of the Cancel Bowl teams would have taken the weekend to
> catch up on other things.
>
> Bottom line, I think both tournaments could have run on the same day.
> They were drawing from different groups of people, and the one team
> with a choice was welcome to opt for whichever one they most prefered.

You fail to grasp the big picture.  You screwed up.  Your tournament
was on BUTT's date, and originally you did take teams that normally do
play academic tournaments from the list.  BU, Brandeis, and Amherst
had expressed interest in both tournaments before anyone realized that
there was a conflict, and three schools is a big deal considering the
field size to which BUTT was reduced.  On that note, a brief
discussion of the impact on teams that the rescheduling of BUTT had. 
I'm not sure if you know this, but there were two teams scheduled to
come to BUTT from way out of town: Texas A&M, who had to cancel their
plane and hotel reservations, and I, Eric Kwartler, who thankfully
managed to make it due to being in the area anyway.  Had it been moved
to another weekend entirely, both teams would have been screwed.  This
leaves the sunday alternative that you forced Jerry to take.  I'm not
sure if you're aware, but many quizbowlers are conscientious
Christians that regularly attend Church services on Sundays.  Sundays
are also much more inconvenient days for tournaments in general, as
people tend to gravitate toward the work they put off (honesty here,
come on).  You need to accept that your tournament didn't live in its
own little world.  You stepped on Jerry's tournament's toes and it was
unacceptable that you didn't immediately capitulate to his polite
request that you move your tournament.  To tournament directors in the
future: check every board before you post your tournament date.  If
you miss something, there is no excuse for ignoring that tournament's
existence, even if it seems like there is very little overlap.  I'm
not even going to make judgements here about the nature and quality of
cancel bowl, which I attended in the afternoon, because I think the
principle stands on its own.  Don't step on other people's toes.

Eric Kwartler