I’ve decided to put HSQBRank on hiatus. I do not know if I will be resuming it at the start of the 2019-2020 season.
I’ve found myself enjoying the work of putting the rankings together less and less over the past couple of years. It’s turned from something fun and interesting to something of a chore. I’ve always kind of hated working on the rankings after I finished the pre-nationals set, but this year’s it’s worse than usual. Response to this as a fundraiser for PACE this year was nil, which has further decreased my interest in continuing with this work. I have other projects, in quiz bowl and out of, that I’d like to be devoting my time to, and as I get tired of HSQBRank, working on those looks like a more appealing use of my time.
Feedback I’ve received has also slowly crept towards the ad hominem side of things, culminating last year when I dared to not choose Clark Smith as the player of the year. This resulted in out of proportion reactions by actual adults.
The establishment of Groger Ranks has made me feel better about possibly permanently shelving this project. I think at least one set of national rankings for quiz bowl teams can play an important role in public relations for the teams that are ranked and the game at large, even if very few people in quiz bowl seem to grasp the value of work beyond writing questions and running tournaments.
I’ve spent the past 17 years working on various quiz bowl projects, usually on a volunteer basis, and for a game I haven’t played with anything approaching regularity since 2002. I stay involved because I love the game and want it to have the positive impact on the lives of others that it’s had on mine.
If this is the end of HSQBRank, thank you for all of your support over the years.
HSQBRank 