...anyone here?

[tomoore]

Yo.

Anyone still here, lurking around? What's good?

[trbenedict]

Hi Tom!

[tomoore]

Hi Tom!

Hello!

Good to see this net a response.

Anyone interested in giving a quick rundown on how the season 'in the time of COVID' is going here in the Buckeye State? Any banter in general?

[trbenedict]

Here's a quick look around as I see it:

-As we can see, COVID has led to a general reduction of local events, and it's also led to a shrinking of field sizes and modified playoff formats as hosts try to keep online events from running late into the night (changes that I'm in favor of for online quiz bowl...it's a drag to play on a computer until 7 PM).

-The other factor is that many tournaments are now "national" tournaments, in the pure sense that fields include teams from all over as everyone tries to find a place to play as many question sets as possible. Some hosts have sought to restrict their fields geographically, while others have left them open...this might be an interesting topic for discussion if people are interested.

-As far as the HS picture at the top of the state, there are two Ohio teams in the top 10 of the most recent GrogerRanks: Solon A (#3) and Beavercreek A (#7). The two most recently faced off at Olentangy Berlin/St. Charles's SHATEYAHRONYA on Saturday, January 9, splitting their series 1-1. Beavercreek won the tournament with a 7-1 overall record, with that one loss coming from Solon.

-Other Ohio teams in the GrogerRanks Top 100 in the most recent rankings: Miami Valley (#43), Northmont A (#82), Solon B (#91).

-In MS, I think the top three teams are probably Northmont A, Ratner A, and Copley-Fairlawn A. All three were at the MVS Give Thanks for Matt's Buzzers VII in November (NAQT MS-35)...in the three-way series against each other, Northmont was 2-0, Ratner was 1-1, and Copley was 0-2.

[tomoore]

Here's a quick look around as I see it:

-As we can see, COVID has led to a general reduction of local events, and it's also led to a shrinking of field sizes and modified playoff formats as hosts try to keep online events from running late into the night (changes that I'm in favor of for online quiz bowl...it's a drag to play on a computer until 7 PM).

-The other factor is that many tournaments are now "national" tournaments, in the pure sense that fields include teams from all over as everyone tries to find a place to play as many question sets as possible. Some hosts have sought to restrict their fields geographically, while others have left them open...this might be an interesting topic for discussion if people are interested.

-As far as the HS picture at the top of the state, there are two Ohio teams in the top 10 of the most recent GrogerRanks: Solon A (#3) and Beavercreek A (#7). The two most recently faced off at Olentangy Berlin/St. Charles's SHATEYAHRONYA on Saturday, January 9, splitting their series 1-1. Beavercreek won the tournament with a 7-1 overall record, with that one loss coming from Solon.

-Other Ohio teams in the GrogerRanks Top 100 in the most recent rankings: Miami Valley (#43), Northmont A (#82), Solon B (#91).

-In MS, I think the top three teams are probably Northmont A, Ratner A, and Copley-Fairlawn A. All three were at the MVS Give Thanks for Matt's Buzzers VII in November (NAQT MS-35)...in the three-way series against each other, Northmont was 2-0, Ratner was 1-1, and Copley was 0-2.

That's a good wrap-up. Thanks, Tyler!

Congrats to Solon and Beavercreek on their top-10 rankings, in addition to MVS + NM + Solon B for their top 100 slots.

-The other factor is that many tournaments are now "national" tournaments, in the pure sense that fields include teams from all over as everyone tries to find a place to play as many question sets as possible. Some hosts have sought to restrict their fields geographically, while others have left them open...this might be an interesting topic for discussion if people are interested.

It's curious to me if online tournaments will become somewhat standardized in '21-22 and seasons going forward. Not that they would supplant traditional in-person events that comprise the circuit, but rather act as a complement to "high flyer" teams' schedules as events garner strong fields from multiple regions into one.

Are there any thoughts/opinions/takeaways from this season that folks think could help improve the experience of in-person events when it is safe to resume such? I don't want to make this question low-hanging fruit: I'm sure no one is totally enamored with playing online. But, I am curious if there are some aspects of what has worked for online that could be used to improve the in-person product. Are there any quirks or norms with in-person events, that are of course absent this season, that comes to anyone's mind? Things that could be done without going forward? I'm not making any value judgments; just curious, that's all.


Thinking into the future... anyone think that when the 18-month hiatus of in-person events is over (but for all we know, though, it could be longer than that: maybe not until January '22?) it will cause surge in teams wanting to play in-person? Whether they are "returning to" in-person or just have been clamoring strongly to just play at all?

[ThePocketProtector]

We are paid up for another year, so I hope that there are still people here that want to use this site.

[tomoore]

We are paid up for another year, so I hope that there are still people here that want to use this site.

Thanks for renewing the license, Josh.

If you have a Paypal, I'll be happy to throw some cash toward defraying the cost. Or, the next time I see you.