Sanity returns

So last night I sorted out everything that needed to be sorted out about Mini-Bump. What a mess. People registering for the wrong tournament, coming, not coming, yadda yadda to the yaddith degree. In the final analysis, it looks like we have just enough room, although we still will use a couple of spaces in the library. We're down to two PF schools with 3 teams each, plus maybe the Elderfroshen. A little RR, so to speak. Plenty of policy; in fact, policy is Katie bar the door. LD is a good novice pool and an elite open pool. This morning I imagined what everyone on the team ought to do who has signed up for work and put that info on the db. All that's left is communicating with the parent volunteers.

Mega-Bump, on the other hand, continues apace. With Policy shut down, I'm looking at LD starting to fill up. I haven't done a count recently, but I know we're not at the edge yet. Sunday I'll sort that out. This is the earliest we've ever shut down any division; I don't know if I mentioned it, but next year I'm setting a 5-team policy limit. I would prefer more schools to larger numbers of fewer schools. Some people with big teams may not like this, but it seems to make sense to me. Anyhow, I'm hoping the school frees up a couple more rooms than last year so I can reopen and take a few scragglers. I can dream, can't I?

Saturday was the rather thin-on-the-ground Monti MHL. Way too many of the usual suspects were not in attendance. I wonder how people are expecting to have varsity next year if they don't have novices this year. Maybe it's a Star Trek thing. "Computer: coffee. Black. With two sugars." You'll order up a couple of replicant debaters. "Computer: policians. Indian. With 5 tubs." Next MHL is on the holodeck!

(Actually, the next MHL won't happen. The 12/3 one, that is. Most policians are heading up to Weston. And without a venue anyhow, we're at sea. We'll survive, though. At least HH will. After all, we've had Monti, Mini and Little Lex, plus the CFL. That's plenty of debatin' for those of the newbie persuasion. I'll send out a notice shortly. And I realized yesterday that Jeff is now States-qual'd. Not that we're going to States, but that means he'll move up next opportunity, which might be this weekend, depending on the size of the Open field.)

I met this morning with the bus folk (not to be confused with the busfolk, a race Tolkien had originally envisioned in the place of the hobbits, until he came to his senses one cold, English morning while waiting for the M10 to arrive). We need to cut back. So I did. I'll put through an announcement of what and how to the entire team, but a handful of tournaments will not have bus transportation. This should not be a terrible tragedy, and it will protect our budget for when we DO need buses. Cars will be the vehicles of choice. (If I'm driving, be prepared for Coachean entertainment of the first order).

Meanwhile, O'C claims he is going to get his blog going again. Much like, I would guess, the South will rise again. He wishes to write a diary of debate coach life. Who would want to read something like that?

Last night we had the most sparsely attended meeting since the year I imagined that high school people were too old to participate in Halloween. Yeah, right. Plugged-In is my middle name. Last night I guess everyone was doing last minute campaigning. Too bad. We had a pretty neat cut into the concept of JA, and also into the idea that you actually have to do research and know what you're talking about if you have any intentions of winning your rounds. It all started with the Cacahuete case; we are a strange group, no doubt about it. Next week is the Bump meeting with entertainment from Harrison and Charlie. But I need to get at the novices again.

I'll think of something.