Vancouver Estival Trivia Open 2007 results

Ninth Annual
Vancouver Estival Trivia Open
June 30, 2007

The ninth annual Vancouver Estival Trivia Open (VETO) was held on Saturday, June 30, 2007. For the seventh year in a row, it was at the Harbour Centre Campus of Simon Fraser University in downtown Vancouver, B.C.

Most of the question packets are available for free download! (saved on the Stanford Packet Archive)

This was a guerrilla-style tournament, meaning that all questions were written by members of the participating teams, and there was no central editing. Question packets were shared with a mirror tournament (VETO's Eastern Trivia Open) being held the same day in Toronto. All staff were drawn from the participating teams during their bye rounds — or even during their playing rounds, as Andrea from SFU Junta read during FARSIDE's bye rounds.

Thanks to Tara for reserving the rooms, to the SFU Quiz Bowl Club for signing for them, and to players in Toronto for writing most of the packets we used.

We had five teams, with a total of 16 players. Teams were:

[Pseu] UBC Pseudo — Brendan, Daniel, Robert, Maggie
[SFUJ] SFU Junta — Hanson, Mike, Carlos, Andrea
[FRSD] FARSIDE — Peter
[JMPR] Jumper — Joanne, Mischa, Ross
[UBC.] University of British Columbia — Mike, Paul, Zarya, Becca

We had four players at their first VETO: Carlos brought Andrea, Zarya brought Becca, and Daniel brought both Maggie (coach of last year's provincial Reach for the Top champions) and Robert (who was among the Elite Eighteen of Jeopardy!'s Ultimate Tournament of Champions).

Trends in VETO participation

This year, we had the smallest number of teams and players at VETO in Vancouver since we started the all-guerrilla format in 2002. The following table shows, for each year at VETO since 2002, the number of players and teams, the number of packets (original to Vancouver players, swapped from Ontario players, and total), and the number of games played by every team before playoffs.

year	players	teams	packets			games
year	players	teams	original	from swap	total	games
2002	36	10	12	1	13	9
2003	30	8	9	5	14	7
2004	27	8	7½	4½	12	7
2005	23	7	6	7	13	6
2006	24	7	6	6	12	6
2007	16	5	3	7	10	8

More graphically, the table below incorporates two bar charts. The first column shows the number of teams, and the second column has a bar with the number of packets written by each of those teams in Vancouver (either 0, ½, 1, or 2). The third column shows the year. The fourth column has a bar with an "O" for each original Vancouver packet, and an "s" for each packet obtained in a swap from players in Ontario; a "C" indicates a combined packet from players at both sites. The next few columns show the number of packets (original, swapped from Ontario, and total), and the last column shows the number of games played by each team.

          teams year packets       orig + swapped  total  games
10   2211111111 2002 OOOOOOOOOOOOs   12 + 1      = 13       9
 8     21111111 2003 OOOOOOOOOsssss   9 + 5      = 14       7
 8     211111½0 2004 OOOOOOOCssss     7½+ 4½     = 12       7
 7      2111½½0 2005 OOOOOOsssssss    6 + 7      = 13       6
 7      2111100 2006 OOOOOOssssss     6 + 6      = 12       6
 5        21000 2007 OOOsssssss       3 + 7      = 10       8

Unfortunately we see an increasing number of 0's (teams with no packet) in the teams bar, and a decreasing number of O's (original packets) in the packets bar, but the latter are offset by an increasing or stable number of s's (packets received through swap).

Results

Daniel made up the following schedule for a double round-robin. It was designed so that for most team pairs, the two games were played during the byes of two different teams. The exceptions were the UBC.-SFUJ and FRSD-JMPR matchups, which were both run during Pseu's byes.

First round-robin:

    Room 1500     Room 1520     Bye    Packet
    ---------     ---------     ----   ------
 1. UBC.-JMPR     Pseu-SFUJ     FRSD   FARSIDE 1
 2. FRSD-Pseu     JMPR-SFUJ     UBC.   UBC
 3. UBC.-SFUJ     FRSD-JMPR     Pseu   B2B in Toronto
 4. FRSD-SFUJ     UBC.-Pseu     JMPR   UT 1 (Eric) in Toronto
 5. Pseu-JMPR     FRSD-UBC.     SFUJ   Ben in Toronto

Second round-robin:

    Room 1500     Room 1520     Bye    Packet
    ---------     ---------     ----   ------
 6. UBC.-Pseu     JMPR-SFUJ     FRSD   FARSIDE 2
 7. FRSD-SFUJ     Pseu-JMPR     UBC.   UWO in Toronto
 8. FRSD-JMPR     UBC.-SFUJ     Pseu   UT 3 (Bobby) in Toronto
 9. Pseu-SFUJ     FRSD-UBC.     JMPR   UT 2 (Rico) in Toronto
10. UBC.-JMPR     FRSD-Pseu     SFUJ   Jordan in Toronto

There were no playoffs because we didn't have any additional packets. We had decided that with ten packets, a double round-robin would be the most enjoyable schedule. Ties between teams with the same win-loss record were broken first by head-to-head record and second by average total points per game. Here are the results:

Rank Team W L T Pct PPG PAPG Mrg 10 -5 TUH PPTH P/N BHrd BPts P/B

1 UBC Pseudo 7 1 0 0.875 240.0 85.0 155.0 81 10 163 11.78 0.00 80 1160 14.50

2 UBC 4 4 0 0.500 168.1 186.2 -18.1 62 12 163 8.25 0.00 60 785 13.08

3 FARSIDE 4 4 0 0.500 163.1 170.6 -7.5 59 13 160 8.16 0.00 59 780 13.22

4 SFU Junta 3 5 0 0.375 124.4 157.5 -33.1 51 13 160 6.22 0.00 51 550 10.78

5 Jumper 2 6 0 0.250 101.2 197.5 -96.2 44 12 160 5.06 0.00 44 430 9.77

See the SQBS page for scores and detailed stats.

Congratulations to UBC Pseudo for keeping its title and winning the ninth Vancouver Estival Trivia Open!

UBC Pseudo went on to play in the Trans-Canada Championship Match against the winning team in Toronto.

Individual Statistics

The last eight columns indicate in which of the eight previous VETOs the person had played (Y if yes, or M if in the mirror in Ontario).

Rank Player Team GP 10 -5 TUH P/TU Pts PPG '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06

1 Peter FARSIDE 8.0 59 13 160 3.28 525 65.62 Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

2 Robert UBC Pseudo 8.0 41 1 163 2.48 405 50.62 - - - - - - - -

3 Carlos SFU Junta 8.0 31 5 160 1.78 285 35.62 - - M Y Y - - Y

4 Brendan UBC Pseudo 8.0 30 4 163 1.72 280 35.00 - - - - - - Y Y

5 Ross Jumper 8.0 30 5 160 1.72 275 34.38 - - - Y Y M Y Y

6 Zarya UBC 8.0 31 8 163 1.66 270 33.75 - - - - - - Y M

7 Mike UBC 8.0 24 3 163 1.38 225 28.12 - - - - Y Y Y Y

8 Hanson SFU Junta 8.0 10 4 160 0.50 80 10.00 - - Y Y Y Y Y Y

Mike SFU Junta 6.0 7 2 120 0.50 60 10.00 - - - Y - - Y Y

10 Daniel UBC Pseudo 8.0 9 3 163 0.46 75 9.38 - - - - - Y Y Y

11 Mischa Jumper 8.0 9 4 160 0.44 70 8.75 - - - Y Y Y Y Y

12 Paul UBC 8.0 6 0 163 0.37 60 7.50 - - - - - - - Y

13 Joanne Jumper 8.0 5 3 160 0.22 35 4.38 - - - - Y Y Y Y

14 Andrea SFU Junta 6.0 3 2 120 0.17 20 3.33 - - - - - - - -

15 Becca UBC 8.0 1 1 163 0.03 5 0.62 - - - - - - - -

16 Maggie UBC Pseudo 8.0 1 2 163 0.00 0 0.00 - - - - - - - -

For leading in the individual stats, Peter retains the title of West Coast Dominatrix of Relevant Knowledge.

The table above suggests that Peter is the only person who has played in every VETO, but the B2B team of Brock, Bruce, and Zhan played in the Toronto mirror this year, so those three players also retain their perfect attendance records.

Prizes

Some players received prizes, but there were not as many prizes as usual. Unless otherwise indicated, honourees were selected by the sponsor of each prize.

Honour honouree reason prize sponsor
West Coast Dominatrix of Relevant Knowledge Peter scoring 65.62 points per game handcuffs Peter
Worst repeat UBC team UWO tossup on Aristotle that said he wrote a book about syllogisms, in the round after FARSIDE tossup on syllogisms that said Aristotle introduced them a broken record Peter
Best music question (withheld) there was no question that Hanson thought merited a prize not announced Hanson
Best question on food from non-animal sources Joanne bonus with Gobstoppers and chopsticks: the only question that used actual food a gluten-free, fat-free, GMO-free, vegan ReBAR 100% organic energy bar Peter

Peter with the handcuffs he keeps as West Coast Dominatrix of Relevant Knowledge. Mike of UBC with a broken record his team was awarded for the worst repeat that they forgot to remove from the packet they brought. Joanne with the ReBAR she was awarded for having written the best food question.

General observations and lessons learned

As noted above, we had the fewest teams and players and packets since we started the all-guerrilla format in 2002. Possible reasons for the low turnout include:
- a date that was a couple of weeks earlier than usual;
- having the tournament on Canada Day weekend;
- the absence of the B2B team, which played in Toronto this time;
- the lower level of quiz bowl activity at the two local universities, which had only one team each at this year's NAQT sectional in Vancouver.
We had announced that first priority would be given to teams that applied by June 16, and that teams that hadn't won VETO in a previous year would have to send two old quiz bowl packets that they'd written, to be reviewed by the VETO Invitation Committee. But nobody sent in an application with old packets. Only the UBC team committed to a packet before June 16, and as a previous VETO champion, this team didn't have to send in any old packets for review.
Only two teams wrote packets, but fortunately we had enough packets from Toronto to have a full tournament. Some of the packets didn't arrive until early Saturday morning, but everybody did get them in time: nobody needed to go to Harbour Centre's computer lab to print them out.
There was still some confusion about where to e-mail packets in the swap. If we do this in the future, it would be better to have a website where people could upload and download packets, and the administrator of the website would ensure that the right people would have access to the right packets.
The nice thing about having only five teams was that we needed only two game rooms, two buzzer systems, and two copies of each packet.
Buzzers from UBC and SFU worked fine. Daniel borrowed the Templeton buzzers, but we didn't need them. For the FARSIDE rounds, Daniel brought two tape players, which also both worked.
The 9:00 start time was agreed to be better than the 8:00 start time of previous years.
There were hardly any repeats that had to be removed. Even the one that won the prize for "worst repeat" that slipped through wasn't too bad a repeat.
Only one game went into overtime: the first game between UBC and UBC Pseudo, played on the Toronto 1 packet in round 4. Packets were supposed to have 24 tossups, but this one had only 22. Following NAQT rules, the first tie-breaker was three tossups. The game was still tied after two tossups were read, and a third tie-breaker tossup was needed. Where to get this from? The most obvious solution would have been to take one of the unused tossups from the back of the FARSIDE 1 packet, which was the only previous packet that neither team had seen in its entirety. But the teams didn't want to do that, because the FARSIDE 1 packet was a theme packet, and they didn't want to break their tie on a "theme" tossup. But they agreed to break their tie on tossup 21 of the FARSIDE 2 packet, before their rematch in round 6. Zarya answered this tossup correctly for UBC, so no more tiebreaking tossups were needed.
We hope to host the tenth VETO at Harbour Centre next year.

"Vancouver, Vancouver, this is it!" — famous last words

Back to CAQL tournament results page.

Webmaster e-mail: caql -at- caql -dot- org

Rank	Team	W	L	T	Pct	PPG	PAPG	Mrg	10	-5	TUH	PPTH	P/N	BHrd	BPts	P/B
1	UBC Pseudo	7	1	0	0.875	240.0	85.0	155.0	81	10	163	11.78	0.00	80	1160	14.50
2	UBC	4	4	0	0.500	168.1	186.2	-18.1	62	12	163	8.25	0.00	60	785	13.08
3	FARSIDE	4	4	0	0.500	163.1	170.6	-7.5	59	13	160	8.16	0.00	59	780	13.22
4	SFU Junta	3	5	0	0.375	124.4	157.5	-33.1	51	13	160	6.22	0.00	51	550	10.78
5	Jumper	2	6	0	0.250	101.2	197.5	-96.2	44	12	160	5.06	0.00	44	430	9.77

Rank	Player	Team	GP	10	-5	TUH	P/TU	Pts	PPG	'99	'00	'01	'02	'03	'04	'05	'06
1	Peter	FARSIDE	8.0	59	13	160	3.28	525	65.62	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
2	Robert	UBC Pseudo	8.0	41	1	163	2.48	405	50.62	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3	Carlos	SFU Junta	8.0	31	5	160	1.78	285	35.62	-	-	M	Y	Y	-	-	Y
4	Brendan	UBC Pseudo	8.0	30	4	163	1.72	280	35.00	-	-	-	-	-	-	Y	Y
5	Ross	Jumper	8.0	30	5	160	1.72	275	34.38	-	-	-	Y	Y	M	Y	Y
6	Zarya	UBC	8.0	31	8	163	1.66	270	33.75	-	-	-	-	-	-	Y	M
7	Mike	UBC	8.0	24	3	163	1.38	225	28.12	-	-	-	-	Y	Y	Y	Y
8	Hanson	SFU Junta	8.0	10	4	160	0.50	80	10.00	-	-	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
8	Mike	SFU Junta	6.0	7	2	120	0.50	60	10.00	-	-	-	Y	-	-	Y	Y
10	Daniel	UBC Pseudo	8.0	9	3	163	0.46	75	9.38	-	-	-	-	-	Y	Y	Y
11	Mischa	Jumper	8.0	9	4	160	0.44	70	8.75	-	-	-	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
12	Paul	UBC	8.0	6	0	163	0.37	60	7.50	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	Y
13	Joanne	Jumper	8.0	5	3	160	0.22	35	4.38	-	-	-	-	Y	Y	Y	Y
14	Andrea	SFU Junta	6.0	3	2	120	0.17	20	3.33	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
15	Becca	UBC	8.0	1	1	163	0.03	5	0.62	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
16	Maggie	UBC Pseudo	8.0	1	2	163	0.00	0	0.00	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Honour	honouree	reason	prize	sponsor
West Coast Dominatrix of Relevant Knowledge	Peter	scoring 65.62 points per game	handcuffs	Peter
Worst repeat	UBC team	UWO tossup on Aristotle that said he wrote a book about syllogisms, in the round after FARSIDE tossup on syllogisms that said Aristotle introduced them	a broken record	Peter
Best music question	(withheld)	there was no question that Hanson thought merited a prize	not announced	Hanson
Best question on food from non-animal sources	Joanne	bonus with Gobstoppers and chopsticks: the only question that used actual food	a gluten-free, fat-free, GMO-free, vegan ReBAR 100% organic energy bar	Peter