Well, Eric Hillemann wanted personal replies, but I think the questions he asks are general enough for me to reply here. Besides, it isn't like I'm clogging your inbox... > For this I want returns from current collegiate >players only. Please begin by telling me who you >are, what school you play for, and whether you >did or did not play in at least one of the NAQT >collegiate events (CCT, SCT, ICT) during >1999/2000. I'm Rob Knobel, Penn State, and played Div I at all of these (Mid-Atlantic). > QUESTION 1: Would you prefer that NAQT continue >to use timed play for its standard collegiate > events, or switch to untimed play, with a set >number of tossups in each match? A. strongly prefer timed - I really prefer the added tactical element that timed matches give, plus the extra boost of adrenaline. Besides, most invitationals and ACF are untimed, so the variety in format is appreciated. > Issue 2: Tossup answerability and the issue of >giveaways unrelated to the rest of the question. Snipping the choices for brevity, my answer falls somewhere between these. At a national tournament or a masters-level tournament, it is acceptable for a few more questions to be unanswered by the masses, as long as it can be answered by a reasonable number of teams (say 30%). Easy giveaways become jarring when the lead-in clues are very hard. As an inveterate negger, I hate it when the other teams get a completely free question after my neg (ie. a tossup that no one could possibly miss). Maybe I should just neg less... :-( On the other hand, I love multi-disciplinary questions, so switching categories doesn't bother me, but perhaps it could be done throughout the question instead of just at the end (eg. give parallel clues about the two Gomers thoughout). At less hard-core tourneys, there should be fewer questions unanswered. If you need a giveaway from out of left field, so be it. >QUESTION 3: Which would you prefer regarding the >percentage of so-called "non-academic" subject >category questions in NAQT sets? I like it approximately where it is, perhaps reducing a little bit. I think the pop culture questions are at the right level, but perhaps there is too much current events. As my opponents know, that is a tough admission, since PSU's Matt Hofer is next to unbeatable at current event questions... The first and last question are personal preference, and should be treated as such. The second question is more important, relating to gameplay and the nature of the pyramidal style of tossup. I think respondents should think carefully about that one. Rob
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