Trade secrets

So when you finish Districts, if you're one of a handful of randomly select people, then you go on to sorting at-large bids.

Oy.

I feel a need to maintain some secrecy about this, although I wouldn't be surprised to find my selections, in order, on DOA. They probably knew my choices before JW. But, you might find the process interesting.

Every committee member seems to have knocked out an individual system for ranking the candidates. We are presented with a list of tournaments and results, plus some cumulative numbers expressing win/loss ratios in prelims and elims. This year, as an extra added attraction, there were comments on the reverse of some of the ballots.

My process is this. First, after assuring myself that there are no good bribe possibilities, I go through the pack, eyeballing them and separating into four piles. The first pile and the fourth pile are the smallest; they are the WOW pile and the YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING pile. The second and third piles are the look good and don't look so good piles.

Next, I carefully go through each pile, making sure each candidate belongs in that pile. I'm still at a gut-level assessment. There are usually lots of adjustments, and no guarantee that any ballot will stay in any pile. Now I have four piles that are pretty carefully determined.

Next, I REALLY evaluate, putting each pile in order. There is still a good chance to move from pile to pile. I literally look at every tournament attended, how well they did, comparing to others in the piles who went to the same tournaments. I make value judgments about the tournaments ("Pip could have broken at that one," for instance, or "I'm impressed, not even Pip could have broken at that one"), I assess how far people got, I look at the numbers. The result is four piles, in order, from best to worst.

Finally, there's the challenge round. Every ballot in order challenges the ballot ahead of it. If it wins the challenge, it challenges the next ballot. Very time consuming, and this is where I read the info on the back. There was an interesting variety in the comments people made, but not one person assured me that a deposit had been made into a Cayman Islands bank account in my name, so I was forced to take them at face value. I won't say what impressed me or didn't, because what impressed me might have made another committee member fall off the chair in gales of mocking laughter; feel free to write what you want, fellow.

Then, I fax back the results.

Curiously enough, recently JW has been revealing to us the results individually, that is, he shows us how we all voted. While inevitably we all have one kid way up who everyone else panned, and one kid way down who everyone else lauded, it is absolutely remarkable that we almost completely agree not only on the top picks, but very closely on the order. Which shows that either the committee mostly looks at the same things, either because those things are important or because the committee is a bunch of like-minded poops who think the exact same unimportant things are important. I prefer to think the former.

Anyhow, it's all done now. I can sit back and relax, knowing that debate is over, except for CFLS, NFLS, States, and (I hope) TOCs. Which I guess means, it really ain't over till it's over. I do see an open week in July, though. Thank God I have nothing to do with institutes. I mean, does debate really have to stretch over 64 weeks of the year?