Nationals 2014 Preview
It’s hard to believe it’s been almost a year since we all gathered in Chicago, IL to watch 40 teams compete for the national championship, but the 52nd National Finals begin one week from today.
News
Nationals 2014 Participants
Pastor Bernie Elliot, the National A/G Bible Quiz Coordinator, just posted the “Final 40” teams participating at National Finals in Ft. Lauderdale on the TBQ Peoples Facebook group. You can see the list below.
Welcome to the new BibleQuiz.com
Prepare to enjoy a new experience from BibleQuiz.com.
A New Brand
Section titled “A New Brand”The BibleQuiz.com logo has been simplified to a modest “BQ” and is now consistent across all of BibleQuiz.com’s social media accounts (more on that in a moment.)
Wednesday Preview
The purpose of this post is to let people know the possible outcomes on Wednesday morning and what it means for the Final Four. At this point, any team with more than 7 losses is mathematically eliminated from contention. Right now the only scenario in which a team with seven losses can make the top bracket would be if they win all the games, James River and Spring lose all four games tomorrow and the second Bothell loses at least two of their games. That creates a tie with seven losses.
When You Were Young
In my years of coaching, I’ve been blessed to work with some remarkable young people. In Bible Quiz, typically the rules limit the lower end of this scale to 11-or 12-year olds. On rare occasions, an opportunity arises to work with a younger quizzer. This year I have been blessed to work with the best young quizzer I have ever seen.
Monday Wrap-up
This is just a quick wrap-up of nationals through Monday night. Results can be found here. Of particular note, is that the two teams I mentioned as “shoe-ins” for the Final Four each have one loss. Right now, James River and Bellevue remain the only undefeated teams.
I saw Bothell’s top team several times in the prelims and they looked quite good. James River had a very good game in my room against Central. Unfortunately, I will not see either Owasso or the top Bothell team in the regular rounds.
Abby leads the top scorer field again, but not by an insurmountable lead.
We tested out streaming for a few matches in my room and it worked just fine, so I can pretty confidently say that we will be streaming the final activities on Wednesday and Thursday. If at all possible, we will stream BOTH semi-final matches, the third and first place games, plus the finals of the individual tournament and the quoting bee as well as parts of the banquet.
A Prayer from the Official Question Writer
Lord, I pray for BQ Nationals 2013.
I pray for traveling mercies on all those coming to Chicago, whether by auto, bus, train, airplane, bicycle, tricycle, or by the least reliable form of transportation – the church van that was used last weekend by the Royal Rangers and not cleaned afterwards. Keep all the drivers sane, and may they all be able to find a suitable Country Music station.
Nationals Thoughts
Well, it appears that with Karl and James unable to make it, I am the main link to the world outside the Hyatt Regency this year. I, myself, am getting there at the last minute, flying out early Sunday morning the day after my brother’s wedding.
Congratulations to the Podcast
Tim McDaniel has accomplished a remarkable feat. Yesterday he recorded his 200th edition of the Bible Quiz Podcast. Keeping a free resource like that regularly available is no easy task, so he deserves a lot of respect. I’d encourage everyone to check out the podcast, listen to the 200th show, and take some time to check out the archives.
There are a lot of great shows, and there are some that include me, but don’t hold that against Tim. The podcast is a labor of love, and Tim has done an amazing job and I am glad to have had a front row seat for the ride.
Individual Tournament Quizzing
I don’t recall ever posting about this subject, primarily because it doesn’t really matter very much. It’s much like the Master Memorization Award, in that it appears impressive, but it doesn’t necessarily translate into effective team quizzing. However, it is a part of quizzing, and there are a few ways coaches can help their quizzers do well.