A Conversation for Forming a Good Quiz Bowl Team
Sounds complicated...
Blatherskite the Mugwump - Bandwidth Bandit Started conversation Sep 21, 2000
I participated in a quiz bowl in my 9th grade year, which was, incidentally, the first time they tried it in my area. Our team selection was painfully simple. The teacher who coached already knew the entire 9th grade class, and she simply asked the people she knew were qualified if they'd like to play. And since all of us nerds knew each other and were good friends, the practice sessions were spirited and fun.
We ended up with two teams of five, and we balanced them with talent to give each a chance to win. The tournament was double-elimination, so you had to lose twice to be forced out. When the top bracket got down to only 3 teams who hadn't yet lost a match, both of our teams had to square off. Competitive spirits ran high, and when my team won, we felt terrible for doing that to our friends, and they in turn were angry and betrayed. We took a break at that point, and we got together and discussed it, and felt stupid at how serious we had taken the whole thing. It was the turning point of the whole thing.
My team got beaten in the next match, so we ended up winnowing our way through the lower bracket, wiping people out once and for all, until only two teams remained... and guess which ones. We had a lot of fun with it that time, calling out encouragement and jeers to the other side with equal relish, and it seemed at that time that the quizmaster, the other teams, and the rest of the assembled audience didn't exist, and we were just having another good-natured practice session. My team won again, and we were faced with the task of beating the team that had knocked us down twice to win it all. We were much more relaxed this time, and our beaten comrades became our private cheering section, but although we kept it close, they knocked us down again. So our teams won 2nd and 3rd. If we had loaded the one team with our best people, we would have taken them, but it was a whole lot more fun this way.
Dumb little anecdote, I know, but where else can I share it? 
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Sounds complicated...
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