OQT 2015 Recap Letter

Moderators clearly impressed
by everyone's cool knowledge.

I'm sending a version of this letter to the clubs that played in the 2015 Ottawa Quizbowl Tournament.

Hello all --

I want to thank you and your teams for playing in the 11th OQT yesterday. The Ottawa Quizbowl Tournament is played every November at U of Ottawa, and I was very pleased with yesterday's edition. We played "elevator bowl" for nine rounds, and it all went quick and friendly thanks to the players and moderators.

Final stats are here. There were high-scoring teams from all four schools (Lisgar, Merivale, Colonel By, and Glebe). Lisgar A dominated with an 8-0 record and 47 powers. Lisgar B and Merivale both went 6-2, which qualifies them for a US Nationals in the spring, should either of those teams wish to buy flights to Dallas. (They might rather go to Provincials in Toronto.) Most players stayed for "mock finals," which was a tenth round of friendly scrimmages including both players and staff. Every school was given paper copies of the unplayed questions for "round 11 and 12."

Rodrigo Morante and I directed the tournament and wrote the Canada questions for the set. We had a full staff of 5 UOttawa students (Rodrigo, Shervin, Shelby, Dennis, and Ian), 3 ONQBA people (Ben, Patrick, and me), and a Lisgar coach (Ruth Crabtree). Staff said their highlights included a [Canadian TV question], an overtime game between two teams seeking their first win, and a request from players to read the questions in Chinese.

Players are encouraged to complete this feedback form for us. We're committed to growing our game, and we're still learning how to tinker with our events to make something that more people want to play.

I also want to advertise our next tournament, which is Stegosaurus Bowl on December 5 at Lisgar. This is planned as a ladder format tournament, so instead of a fixed round schedule, it will be "win and move up a room, lose and move down a room." It is in only two weeks, but I am excited for it -- I think the ladder structure will lead to more close matches and rivalries. You can find details on our forum announcement or our ONQBA blog announcement, and you can register teams with me or Ms. Crabtree.

Thanks again and congratulations to all participants in yesterday's Ottawa Quizbowl Tournament.

Brendan