After the success of the Summer Quiz League in 2010 and 2011, it was missed last year; as a result we are looking to resurrect it this summer, given enough interest.
We propose to have a season that runs on Monday evenings from June 10th to August 19th. The preference of people who played in the two previous seasons of the Summer League was for the head-to-head format, rather than the “Grand Prix” format, although we intend to begin the season with a “Grand Prix” on June 10th, which will give everyone a chance to socialise together and enable us to collect subscriptions, distribute questions and the like.
The format we propose is for seventy questions, asked to teams of up to six people. The team to whom the question is addressed are given twenty seconds to confer before answering, for one point. If they answer incorrectly or fail to answer, the opposition are given a further 5 seconds to answer for a bonus point. The questions are directed to a team until they answer one correctly, at which point play switches and the questions are directed to the opposite team; when they answer one correctly, play switches again.
Several teams within LQL found the Summer League very useful for recruiting new players for the following season, and it is a great opportunity to introduce people to League quizzing without the pressure of individual questions. We are keen that the Summer League be fun and relaxed; however, from experience, it is felt that teams of more than six were too big for ease of conferring and also had the potential to create an unfair advantage over smaller teams. This is why we are imposing a maximum of six players to a team for each game. With that in mind, many Summer League teams were formed from a combination of LQL teams (which can help to ensure sufficient numbers through the holiday period) and often had more than six players. It is for this reason that we are planning to have seventy questions rather than the eighty of previous seasons, so that there will be time afterwards for a friendly quiz (according to whichever rules suit, or questions people have available) in which any players who’ve come along and not yet had a game can participate. Owing to uneven team sizes, and also because there probably won’t be even numbers of home and away fixtures, we think the practice of providing sandwiches and buying drinks for the opposition doesn’t work within the Summer League format. We trust the fixtures will be no less friendly and hospitable for their absence!
Teams will be expected to send results by text or email on the night of the game, and results and tables will be posted online as soon as possible after they’re all in.
While we anticipate that the Summer League will be made up of teams primarily from the LQL area, we are inviting teams from other MQL areas as well, so teams signing up must be aware that there may be some travel involved.
If anybody receiving this email is not interested in the Summer League, but thinks other members of their team might be, please forward the information. Also, please remember teams do not have to be formed from a single LQL team, feel free to join forces with other teams, and of course to bring new quizzers along!
We ask that all Summer League teams who wish to participate respond indicating their involvement by Friday, May 24th, by emailing doyleah@hotmail.com; at the same time providing details of their venue and nominating a Secretary for receipt of questions. Subscriptions, to cover the cost of buying question sets, photocopying, postage etc, will be kept to a minimum and collected at the initial Grand Prix on June 10th, at Aigburth People's Hall 8pm.
Please be aware that, in the event of oversubscription, places in the League will be allotted on a first-come-first-served basis.