Talk about dedication. Here I am, with less than a week away from my biggest competition of the year, and instead of getting in some much needed study time, I have prepared for you all a preview of what is quite possibly the fastest growing tournament, the Midseason Invitational. I’m not one for previews, as I prefer rather to remember things already past, than to predict things yet to come, but I have prepared a list of the 17 (and counting) teams scheduled to attend. Talk about dedication.
Pleasant View KY: PVKY is, in my opinion, the team to beat. The 2005-2006 year for PVKY has been a very dominant year (including, but not limited to, winning AACS, NYC, CI, and even this very tournament), and no doubt they wish to duplicate their success for this year. Additionally, with neither Aaron nor Autumn graduating, AND with Abby Carbonell from FBC-CF gone, we could see another dominating year for Pleasant View. However, the teams here have, in my opinion, gotten stronger, and could bring some solid competition. Definitely the favorite here, and any team to give even one loss to PVKY ranks very highly in my book.
New York: 2nd place AACS in 2005. 3rd place AACS in 2006. 1st place DC Invitational. 1st place NYC junior division. A very solid program to say the least that can most definitely hang with the best of them. A victory this Saturday could launch them to the top of our rankings here at Biblequizzer.net, but more importantly could give them the motivation they need to win a big tournament, like Athens. I’m a huge fan of New York and I can’t wait to see them there.
Calvary FL: The new thing from Florida. 5th place NYC last year. Word around these here parts is that Calvary may even be favored to represent Florida at AACS. Though they have yet to pick up a win here in the FQA this year, Calvary is combining their teams into a super team that really has everything to gain at this tournament. Winning here could solidify them as #1 in the state of Florida, and Calvary’s goal here is to get the momentum going so that they can charge full steam into 2007.
Parsippany: Representing New Jersey, the Parsippany team holds a special place in my heart, in that they, along with Old Paths, eliminated us (TMA) at 5th place at AACS in 2003. So despite me gunning for them in a blind revenge sort of way, I think they could go the distance here.The quizzing experience they gain here could be an advantage going into some of the later tournaments.
Neighborhood FL: Apparently that is our team, the team of Nathan, Heather and myself that manage to get 2nd place at almost every competition we attend. Having said that, in 2004 we were victorious at the Midseason, in the much more competitive “college” division. We should do okay; expect for Nathan and Heather to pick up the slack, as I am really behind on studying.
Wood County, Heritage VA, Temple: These three organizations are no strangers to competitive quizzing, especially at AACS. They will need to place well to make a name for themselves.
Final Outcome: With the most competitive list of teams yet, the Midseason Invitational is going to be a GREAT start for the new quiz cycle.
Hope to see some of you there!