Report Card on 2006 Quizzing

Two days ago was my second Wednesday without practice. On Sunday will be my second Sunday without official quizmatchces. I am sooo booorrreeeddd. This is when the post quizzing depression begins to set in. You can only run so much on past memories. So to help relive those past memories, I'm gonna keep them alive by rating how we did during the quiz year. I will evaluate both my individual and the team's performance, then give it a grade.

Individual Performance

8 Week Season
Every year I have shown improvement. This year was no exception. This so far was my best year. The only really "bad" thing was not being perfect quizzer for a while or my "incident" (still not calling it by the real name!). In 18 matches, I had quizzed out 15 times. In the 3 matches I didn't quiz, I got 20 points. There were no matches where I scored 0 points or 10 points; either 35 or 20 points. All together, I scored 585 points. This is 75 points higher than the 510 scored last year, making this my recorded high score. I also performed this great feat: I quizzed out on question 3, all on buzzes. It was my first match of the year, too. There were 3 other incidents where I was close to doing it again, but I couldn't get in on question 3. I also was able to quiz out against 2 Mosses this year: Becky and Jake. I also like doing that. 3rd Moss I quizzed out before. You're next Tim...

Every year I set a goal to aim for personally. Sometimes the goal is broken down into parts. Last year's goal was 5 parts. This year's goal was 3 parts. They were:

• Be on the Top 50 Quizzers List every week
• Be a perfect quizzer for at least the first 3 weeks
• Beat my personal quizout record of 12 quizouts

I was able to stay on the Top 50 Quizzers List every week this year. The lowest ever was after week 1 at 34th place, ironically the place I finished in 2005. Every week I got higher. The highest was after week 6 when I reached 5th place with 5 other quizzers! After some turbulance at Hopewell Elverson, I dropped slightly. I finished with an average 32.5 point average, and placing in 12th place. I was unable to be a perfect quizzer for 3 weeks. Heck, I couldn't be a perfect quizzer for 1 week! Stupid "downfall." To break my quiz out record, I would need to get at least 13 quizouts. I quizzed out 15 times! I broke my record. Of the three parts of the goal, I completed the first and third, only the second I was unable. So according to the two-thirds rule, I completed my goal for the year.

I also was able to do something else. I was less worriful of how I would perform. It allowed me to relax more, both before and during matches. I was able to socialize more often in free time. I was able to eat and drink, something I couldn't do before. I conquered my fear of doing and poorly, and through that was able to performed better.

Grade on Season: A

ACC Tournament
We had six matches during the Tournament. I quizzed out 5 of the 6 matches. The only match I did not quiz out was against Byerland, one of the hardest teams. I was only able to score ten points, the lowest all year. But my quiz outs were good quiz outs. My answers were clear and precise. I errored little. I also tried to help encourage my team as best I could. At least one of my right questions was a buzz in, making it possible for our team to get team bonus. I tried my hardest to carry the team single handedly.

Grade on ACC Tournament: A

Invitational at Central Christian in Kidron, OH
I was able to quiz out every match. On that last match, I couldn't quiz out until question 13, a little later than I hoped. But they were a tough team. The correct questions were mostly buzz in with a few bonuses here and there. I did cause errors, but not too many to hinder us. I think I did good, and would have liked to see how I would have done if I had a few more matches.

Grade on Invitational: A

2006 INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANC GRADE: A

Team Performance

8 Week Season
We had a team of 5 quizzers. 2 of the 5 were rookies. 1 of them had quizzed for 7 years, but every year had scored no more than 40 points. I think coach Dave used the best phrase to describe how the team looked before the year start: "building year." They were no Brandon or Aubrey. To expect what we saw the previous year (6th place season, ACC Tournament Champs) would be expecting a lot. Just as the phrase "building year" suggests, we had to start over with our team and build up a good quiz team. We taught them the rules of quizzing and helped them study as we went along. We just hoped for the best. I told Christine and Mike that they had to both step up their game. Their role was now important because they had to lead the team. I had to take a slight step up to reach Brandon's level of performance, but Mike had to take a big step up to match my last year's performance, and Christine a HUGE step up. I set my mind to just accept whatever I got, which I had already planted in my mind to be very little.

So can you imagine how much of a surprise the first half of our season was. After our first 4 matches in 2 weeks, 3 of them we got team bonus and both Mike & I quizzed out. We won those 3 matches, scoring over 100 points: two matches 120 and one match 13o, the most we scored in any match, both season and tournaments. Our point average shot up to 100 point per match. That average moved Spring City up to 4th place, the highest I had ever been on a team. The next week stunned me even more. The next week continued to amaze me. We won the next 3 matches. The best one was our first. We won against Reading 2 105 to 25. We had 3 quizouts in one match: me, Mike and Jai! Jai continued to perform well as she quizzed out her second match ever in the same day! Pretty good for a rookie. Despite winning all 3 that week, our average dropped to 95 points per match. Still we remained in 4th place. We continued to win the next two matches. Halfway through the matches, we had an average of 94.4 with a win-loss record of 8-1. Magnificient for a "building team" to only have lost 1 of 9 matches.

Then we began to decline. It may have been the year getting harder as it progressed. It may have been being comfortable with previous wins, creating a feeling of invincibility. Maybe it was the lessen in practice (mainly self-practice). Maybe emotions effect quizzing. Whatever it was, our performance was as high as the first half of the year. We only got team bonus once. Only one time did we score over 100 points. In that match, it was three quiz outs: me, Mike and Christine (her first quizout!). Our average dropped and dropped. In the second half of the year, our win-loss record was 3-6. Not up to our first-half standards.

The year finished with a total of 18 matches. In those matches, we scored a total of 1520 points, finishing with an average of 84.4 points. Our final record was 11-7. We finished in 8th place in League A, 16th place of all quiz teams. Christine got the first quiz out of her career, and Jai got two quizouts in her rookie year. Sometimes we forgot that Jai was a rookie. Bekah did a good job for a rookie her age and picked up 2 bonuses, 20 points. Mike finished within the Top 60 Quizzers, and that was the first time the Top 60 were honored. For a building team, we built well and fast.

Team Grade on Season: B+

ACC Tournament
We started off with two losses. I still believe we shouldn't have lost to those two teams. They were the easiest teams we had all day. One of the teams only had three people as well! After two losses, we knew that we needed to win our next matches. We did, winning our next two. The next was against Byerland, and they blew us away. We won our last match of the day, making us 3-3. There were a lot of facotrs that could have changed our standing. Twice Goods 2 should have been fouled for talking during judge's decisions. Then we would've never gone into overtime and won the match. If we won, and everything else would've been the same, there would've been a three-way tie with Spring City, Goods 2, and Byerland for first place in our group with a 4-2 record.

But let's not consider the possible fouls, and look at it from controlling our own destiny. We still could have won. First we were down a quizzer who we really needed, but wasn't there because she believed she "wasn't a part of the team." Bull. She was a good encouragement, raised team spirits, and was there when we needed her. Team morale was down during the ACC tournament. And to get team bonus, everyone the team needs to get a correct buzz in. 2 of our 5 quizzers were not there for week 8 material, and when questions got to them, they were clueless, and there were a lot of week 8 questions. We only had 22 errors, and Mike caused half of them. He errored out twice. Jai was too caught up in her cell phone and Brad (ugh) to concentrate on quizzing. Too many questions heard and studied during practice and previous matches were still not known, learned or understood, and ended up being marked wrong. That should never happen. If we would have practiced a bit more, and learned from our mistakes, and possibly slowed down our buzzing, the playoffs would've been in reach. This is what led me to deter the grade on our team's performance for this tournament.

Team Grade on ACC Tournamnet: B-

Invitational at Central Christian in Kidron, OH
Compared to the local tournament, we did better. But it still wasn't up to par to what we performed in the season. But in a sense, the progression of the tournament was just like the season. We started out great, but every match after, the performance detered. Our first match we won 155-0. We scored in the triple digits, allowing zero points for the other team. We got 3 quiz outs, and Christine was one away from getting a fourth quiz out. That was the most we scored all year, plus the biggest point margin ever, too. Our next match was good, but not as good. I quizzed out and we got team bouns. That was the last time we got team bonus in Ohio. Just like the season, in the first half, team bonus was regular. The second half, we came close to team bonus, but no cigar. We won our next match, but only because after I quizzed out and Petra 2's best quizzer quizzed out, the match slowed down, Petra 2 errored too many times and lost points. We didn't pick up too many of those bonuses, but them losing points helped us. That was our last win. We lost against Neffsville by 5 points (something anyone could have gotten in on) despite Jai and I quizzing out. Then we lost again to a hard team, New Hope. Number 1 in their league, they were fast. They got team bonus quickly and we needed the same to win. Excuse for repeating myself, but no team bonus, no win. We were out. There were slight mistakes that could have been corrected, but most from last week were. Bekah was a great encouragement. Mike errored less and never errored out. The studying paid off and we did the best we could. Not as good as the season, but better than the PA tournament.

Team Grade on Invitational: B

2006 TEAM PERFORMANCE GRADE: B

Good job Spring City for another good year! Not only did we do what we could, but we had fun doing it. I hope we can do this again next year, and maybe perform even better!