TrashMasters 2006: schedule, fees, packet specs, etc.

(Apologies in advance for the inevitable cross-posting.)

As previously announced, UTC will host the fourteenth annual 
TrashMasters trash tournament on Sat., Dec. 2, 2006, in scenic 
Chattanooga, Tennessee. This is the nation's first and longest-
running trash tournament.  By popular demand, this year we are 
making TrashMasters a one-day trash tournament.

TIME & PLACE: Tournament HQ will be 129 Grote Hall on the UTC 
campus.  We'll open registration at 9:00 AM EST on Sat. 12/2/06.  At 
10 AM we will begin the day with the preliminary round of K-Tel Hell 
(see below) and start play as soon thereafter as possible, certainly 
by 10:30.  I can't really say how long the tournament will last till 
I know the size of the field, but I wouldn't expect to finish 
early.  With that in mind, we intend to take our lunch break later 
in the day than usual, somewhere around 2:00.  To make that more 
palatable, we will have milk, juice, and doughnuts on hand in the AM 
(while supplies last.)

For those accustomed to a full weekend's merriment, we will have 
some sort of event Sunday AM 12/3, most likely an all-audio 
competition.  This is still under development, but so you can set 
your travel plans, we will be sure it ends by 12:30 PM Sun. 12/3.  
For TrashMasters participants, at least, this event will be free of 
charge.

ELIGIBILITY: This tournament is open to anyone regardless of current 
or former academic affiliation, or lack thereof. assuming they 
fulfill three basic tasks (let me know you're coming, pay fees, and 
arrange for a packet as described below.) If you want to make 
yourself available as a free agent to join a team -- or if you have 
a partial team in need of free agent help -- let me know and I'll 
figure something out. 

PRE-REGISTRATION: You don't have to pay or submit a roster till you 
get there, but you MUST let me know by Thursday night 11/30/06 if 
you're attending as a team. After that time I can't guarantee that I 
can accept additional teams.

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!!! 
Again, getting me your clever team names in advance will also help. 

K-TEL HELL: As usual, we will have a musical interlude for your 
competitive pleasure.  We will begin the day with a preliminary 
round where all can compete, filling in an answer sheet.  Top 
scorers from the prelims will then face off via buzzer in the finals.

FEES: Fees assume packet submission and offer generous discounts for 
services rendered.  I recognize that packet specs are going out 
later than usual, mainly because I've been trying to move while 
editing two tournaments a mere three weeks apart.  With that in mind:

    Base fee: $100, and that assumes a usable packet of 25 tossups 
and 25 boni, blind to all other teams and meeting the guidelines 
below, is submitted electronically (preferably in MS Word) by 
midnight Sun., Nov. 19. 
    Minimum fee after discounts: $50
    Discounts: -$10 if you provide an experienced full-time official
            - $5 if you provide a buzzer
            - $25 if you submit your packet by 5 PM Fri., Nov. 10 
            - $5 if you make the packet 30/30 (to help fight the 
dreaded duplication disease)
     Penalties: + $20 for packet received after Nov. 19, but before 
midnight Sun., Nov. 26
            + $40 for no packet at all (please arrange with 
me in advance!) 
             Less experienced teams may request a partial 
packet option (13 tossups, 13 boni.) This must be requested in 
advance, with some indication of the experience level of the players 
in question.  If approved, you would pay no penalty if a partial 
packet is received by Fri. 11/10, or pay a $10 penalty if the 
partial packet is received by the Nov. 19 deadline.             

PACKETS: First, some format preferences: If at all possible, please 
send me packets in MS Word or RTF. 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 1/2" all around. 
        To allow for bonus laming and to simplify editing of the 
inevitable numerous duplicates, each packet submitted needs to 
contain at least 25 tossup and 25 boni; note the discount for 30/30 
listed above. Visual, tactile, and even gustatory boni will be 
accepted if possible; due to equipment issues, 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. 

         General distribution guidelines (in each case, we need 
that many tossups and that many boni): 
           3 - 4 Movies (+1 more for 30/30 rounds)
           3 - 4 TV  (+1 more for 30/30 rounds)
           3 - 4 Sports (+1 more for 30/30 rounds)
           3 - 4 Music (+1 more for 30/30 rounds)
[Note: for the four categories listed above, please make sure you 
have at least one pre-1990 and at least one post-2000 of each.]

      1-3 each: 
           Consumerama, including food/beverages 
           Trashy "literature" 
      0-2 each: 
           Videogames & computer games 
           Other games 
           Trashy current events 
           Other computer stuff 
           Comics 
           Gadgets 
           Theatre / radio / other media
           Road trip effluvium 
                Anything else you think of is fine as long as there 
are no more than two questions per as-yet-unnamed category.  
        
        Please, folks mix it up.  Don't make all your sports 
questions about the NFL, all your TV questions about reality shows, 
etc.

LODGINGS: We don't have a block reserved, but the Clarion (423-765-
5150) lets you have discounted rooms at $66/night when available if 
you mention you're with the UTC quizbowl tournament.

DIRECTIONS: 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 onto Palmetto 
St. Go two blocks and turn right onto Vine St. (just past the EMCS 
Building.) Just before the place where Vine St. is blocked off, the 
parking lot for Grote Hall is on the right. 

   * 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. 

TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR: Who else?  Charlie Steinhice (SteinhiceC at 
comcast dot net.) 

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