Monday, November 12, 2012

Debate: Bump 2012

All happy tournaments are alike. Each unhappy tournament is unhappy in its own way.

Every year something doesn’t work out with Bump as I had planned, and the next year I think I’ve solved that problem and a new problem comes in to replace it. Overall, however, despite rain, sleep, snow, hail, dark of night and O’C wandering off permanently halfway through the tournament, things went off pretty well. Mostly.

For reasons I can’t fathom, we got off to a way late start in the varsity divisions, and that’s without MJP. Next year I’ll just do pairings in advance, and that way the tabbers can just make necessary corrections, if any. Given that everyone texts in changes before arrival, and there aren’t all that many, this should get us started more close to schedule.

Next, Rd 3A on Friday night, RD 3B on Sat morning. 5 rounds total, with a runoff, merging the runoff into the second flight of the octos (which is what JV and CP did this time; it’s a little complicated, but easy enough to pull off if you get TRPC to close its eyes for a minute). It will require a bit of a break to set up with MJP, but that time will have been made up elsewhere.

Next, no Novice PF. When we get the numbers back up from the schools that couldn’t make it, there will be no way to host a meaningful division of PF in the grammar school, plus Novice LD. I hate to lose it, but it was a noble experiment, and it’s not that it failed, but there’s just not enough space.

Only one award ceremony, for the novices, because they’re over and they're young and they aren’t going anywhere and it’s really hard to do awards in the bloody cafeteria and nobody really cares anyhow except for O’C. Team awards in rounds, speakers posted and available in the tab room for varsity. That’ll keep things moving and fill a much needed gap in award ceremonies. The froufrou of the traveling awards will be handled...somehow.

Way more limited housing next time, to schools that reciprocate or come from out of state. I just don’t have the team size to support all the requests otherwise.

Tales of great debate adventure, if any, Bump edition, next time.

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