by trbenedict » Sun Mar 05, 2017 8:47 pm
I don't mean to state a conclusion that's already in the background of these posts, but it seems to me that there is a difference between a conflict of interest and a statement of values. To me, it's perfectly acceptable for the OAC as a committee to declare what it believes to be "good quiz bowl," and attempt to persuade teams and leagues to adopt those values as part of its outreach efforts. Rather than saying "You should buy questions from (insert name here)," the committee would be saying "We don't have a say in where you get your questions, but we believe tossup questions should be pyramidal, and have a distribution, and here's what that means, etc. etc." Obviously that sort of outreach, education, and persuasion would take more than one email or post, but it would mean the OAC was clear about what sort of gameplay it seeks to reward at its regional and state championships. (I think this is what Tom is getting at in his post above). Right now, the OAC website doesn't mention much about quiz bowl format or philosophy, even though it seems most of the Ohio community has some general assumptions about what's good or what's not (by "Ohio community," I guess I mean "people who post here" or "people who play on Saturdays").
This may be a long-winded way of saying, Josh, that I think it is okay for the committee to say "We think you should do this," as long as "this" relates to game philosophy and general standards of quiz bowl. Also, to Tom's point about resources on the website, I also think the website is pretty nifty, but it doesn't necessarily steer first-time visitors to resources to improve (instead, you find those under "Links" all the way on the right side of the navigation bar). The emphasis of the website is on regionals and state tournaments, which is understandable, but I don't know if I'd find the link to, say, the housewrite packet archive if I was on there for the first time.
Has there ever been an attempt for a blog series or email newsletter from the OAC with a goal not just to get registrations for regionals, but to disseminate ideas about quiz bowl? If the website isn't a primary resource for info, this might not catch on as much, but it would give the home page some additional content that would be relatively new (the blog links could be off to the side, the way NAQT posts news updates, or part of the main page). Of course, someone would have to generate that content.
Tyler Benedict
Coach, Miami Valley School Quiz Bowl
OAC Committee Middle School Representative
OQBA NASAT and Matt's Buzzers Liaison
Miami Valley School '09