Re: Quizbowl

• From: Durham_Devil
• Date: Tue, 03 Apr 2001 16:18:55 -0700
• Message-ID: <000TCKMIV.000RHS8TB.12170551-quizbowl_at_...>

Eric, I sincerely believe that camps such as
quizbowl and computer (and, heaven help us, MATH -- folks,
the fact that I and half of Princeton B are all math
camp graduates is NOT a coincidence) cannot fully be
described to an outsider. It's one of those "you really
really REALLY have to be there" routines. Allow me, for
example, to describe what quizbowl camp would be like if
it was anything like math camp. Of course, it
probably isn't, but have fun with me here.

*
Special guest lectures by distinguished quizbowlers past,
including:
- Matt Colvin ("How to Succeed on Science Questions
Without Really Knowing Anything")
- Al Whited ("The
Darker Side of Mythology")
- Seth Kendall ("Important
Facts and Figures of More than 2500 Years Ago")
-
Eric Hillemann ("Common Answers to Common Questions: A
Look at Frequent Tossups Topics")
- James Dinan
("The Perfect Team Name for Popular Culture
Tournaments")
- Nathan Freeburg ("Confessions of a Hosebeast:
Aggressiveness in the Game")

* Those are the morning
sessions. Then, in the afternoon, players are broken into
two or three sections, depending on their experience
and ability in play. Here, specialized topics are
discussed in the upper echelons, such as:

- how to
force a circle of death
- correct distribution
balance
- how to improve captaining skills
- the art of
the 30-20-10
- how to improve speed for timed
moderating

* Meanwhile, the lesser levels would be drilled on
the basics, such as:

- waiting to be
recognized
- when to sit and when not to
- how to stall
without stalling
- cliche clues
- good writing
style

* In the evening, there would be time for games,
such as soccer and tennis (no kiddin, we had a tennis
tournament at math camp), and of course, impromptu practices
will bust out. Scrabble would abound. In theory, there
would be a curfew, but often the counselors themselves
are ignoring it.

* On weekends, field trips!
If you're lucky, a Masters tournament may be in town
that weekend -- watch America's best in
action!

* And when it's all over, be sure to get your
commemorative Quiz Bowl Camp T-shirt, complete with "-5" on the
front and the roster on the back, with everyone's name
Romanized by the staff.

There, isn't that fun?
:)

Andy

P.S. -- No, David Isaacson did NOT go to math camp. As
far as I know, he's always been like that.