You can see all the questions asked in the League via Nick’s excellent site from the link on the right of this page.
The questions last Tuesday (Week 12) promoted quite a few comments from you on the score sheets.
One team awarded an entertainment mark of “minus 273” for the General Knowledge questions, which for the sake of mathematical integrity I took to mean zero (and a nod to question 3 in the Science round!)
The main gripe overall in respect of both sets was the number of “date related” and numerical questions which asked for specific years or numbers, often with very little or no leeway.
This is a general problem that has dogged many sets of questions over the years. Most of us could tell you with some precision the year of “big events” such as the first moon landing or the year of the current Queen’s Silver Jubilee, but I haven’t a clue in which year the elastic band was invented and if I ever wake up at night wondering about precisely when it was then I will arrange to have myself shot.
Our current (and in place for many years) guidelines for question setting say:-
“If the answer to a question is a year or number, always include some leeway unless it is reasonable to expect an exact answer, e.g. the year the Second World War ended.”
I am minded to change the guidelines for next season to a more definitive statement and we can discuss that at the AGM, but in the meantime, PLEASE consider very seriously whether you really need to ask a “date” question, and whether there isn’t a more interesting question to be asked about something that happened in a particular year – there always is!
A final point is on the subject of vetting.
Last week the General Knowledge questions were only shared with the other “vetting” teams right at the last minute, leaving no time for changes to be made. The schedule is fixed right from the start of the season as to who is setting questions etc (for League games anyway). People setting questions now and for the rest of the season have known since the end of last October exactly what is required of them and when.
Please ensure you get your questions done in good time so that other teams can see them and make comments / alterations etc. The best question setters make mistakes and miss things and so it is essential to get a second and even third opinion.
On that subject, at least two teams now this season have drawn my attention to the fact that they have made comments on questions only to find they were all completely ignored.
If comments are made on your questions, please do take them in the spirit in which they are offered and make changes if necessary. It may be that some of the comments are wrong as well, but that is where communication is crucial to this whole process!
Our whole League runs the way it does because of people’s goodwill, lets keep it that way and try and fulfil our responsibilities as best as we can.
And finally, please, no elastic band questions…
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