Beltway Bandits VI:

The Things That Pass for Knowledge, I Can't Understand

Sunday, February 24th at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., the fellatingest city in the United States

To sign up, contact trivia@gwu.edu.

ELIGIBILITY:
Beltway Bandits 6 is open to all players. We request that players under the age of 18 with no college affiliation get permission from their parents; Beltway 6 reserves the right to become R- or even NC-17-rated.

FEES:
Base fee: $80
Discounts:
    Bringing a working buzzer: -$10 per buzzer
    Bringing a dedicated, competent moderator: -$10 per moderator
    Entity attending its first ever trash tournament: -$10
    Steely Dan-themed team name: -$5

Packet deadlines:
    January 27th, 2002: -$20
    February 3rd, 2002: -$10
    February 10th, 2002: $0
    After February 10th, take the square of the number of days after February 11th you submit the packet -- that is your late fee in dollars.
    No-packet fee: $20, by arrangement with the tournament director by February 10th.

FORMAT: A very modified ACF-style with NAQT influences. Probably round-robin. One day only. Basic rules:

Category Number
Sports & Games 4
Audio Media 4
Television/General Video 3
Film 3
Geek 2
Floof 2
Weird 1
Literature 2
Games & Juvenalia 2
Other/Author's Choice 2
Total 25
(Film, TV, and Audio should sum to 10/10)

Category explanations:

*Special Stipulations*: See our " bans " page for things you shouldn't write questions about. Simple rule: write only questions which you are proud of and which you wouldn't mind having read to you. Also, keep the Harry Potter and Pokémon to a bare minimum, 'kay Cha Cha?

A note on "special" (nonstandard rules) boni: Go right ahead, but we will not provide boom boxes for audio questions; materials for gustatory or olfactory boni are your responsibility, and be aware of potential dietary restrictions or allergy issues.

Sports: This subject includes athletics: teams; coaches; stadiums; memorable moments; and similar wastes of time.

Audio Media: These are the sounds which define our lives. And also Blink Twenty or whatever. This category covers not only music but also spoken-word albums, radio talk shows, and that artificial-fart-under-the-arm sound.

Video Media: This category covers television, theater, and still arts such as "Gear" magazine and page 3 of that delightful British newspaper the Sun.

Film: This category includes movies of all genres and styles, as well as the people involved in them.

Geek: This category is hard to define -- but when you have it, you know it. Common areas include RPG's, science fiction & fantasy, computer interests, comic books, and Gothness. Questions written in this category do not count toward the other categories, although there is considerable overlap.

Weird: This topic includes the various sundry happenings that make life interesting, such as cannibalism, sex, and the J. Peterman catalog.

Literature: Trash literature includes authors which are primarily read on airplanes (John Grisham, Danielle Steel), by my mother (Jude Devereaux, Harold Robbins), or not at all (Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Naomi Campbell) as well as a considerable degree of overlap with sci-fi and fantasy.

Games & Juvenalia: Monopoly, slinkies, Play-Doh, all those things that made life interesting before you discovered quiz bowl.

Floof: In case you haven't noticed, the QB circuit is predominantly male. This category encourages knowledge of traditionally female ways: cooking, clothing, Barbie dolls, makeup, teddy bears, things that are unnecessarily or egregiously purple, and that "not-so-fresh" feeling.

Other/Author's Choice: Some things defy categorization. This category serves as a clearinghouse for questions you want to write but can't because a given category is full or because it fits into no category. Entrants are requested not to write more than one extra question per category.

Please do not copy this webpage without asking. All we want is that you ask.