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Re: Write It Do It B/C

Posted: March 25th, 2010, 12:41 pm
by Phenylethylamine
sewforlife wrote: hey, does anyone know what they've used in Nationals before? I really want to know what to expect, because for states and regionals we've had to use/write about legos. I think that we should start practicing with more random things.
The WIDI at Nationals has been made out of Googleplex for at least the last three years, and I believe even longer than that. It seems likely that they will continue to be used.

Googleplex, in case you're wondering, are a building toy that stopped being sold around 1999. The national supervisor for WIDI evidently has a stash of them somewhere lol- there are none for sale, not on eBay, not on Amazon, nowhere on the Internet (I guess somewhere there's probably a secondhand store or something that has some, but maybe not even that, since they were basically a "teachers' toy"). We've looked. Multiple times.
Googleplex consist of two kinds of pieces (and keep in mind this is my memory from two years ago, when I last saw them, so it's approximate lol): rods (thinner and shorter than K'nex rods) with a short little "branch" sticking out halfway down, and connectors with cylindrical slots for the rods (if I recall correctly, there were multiple types of connectors- straight ones with two slots pointing in opposite directions, and corner ones with two slots at a 90-degree angle. But I could be completely off on that).

Re: Write It Do It B/C

Posted: March 25th, 2010, 6:02 pm
by redreading249
Googleplex is icky haha.
I hope it won't be the material this year at nationals.
By the way, does B and C compete at the same time for events?
and.. would the structures be the same for both divisions?

Re: Write It Do It B/C

Posted: March 26th, 2010, 8:46 am
by kp9ssa
im o.k with the googleplex pieces, but they can be tricky at times

Re: Write It Do It B/C

Posted: March 28th, 2010, 9:12 am
by Suzumebachi
I've never used Googleplex before >.<

I got lost during States, and I missed Write-it/Do-it... so my idiot friend subbed for me and got, like, 18th place :P

Ah, well. I'm going to try this event next year, too.

Re: Write It Do It B/C

Posted: March 29th, 2010, 7:09 am
by Starapollo1
Hey I have a quick question. At state we were told you weren't allowed to use numbers like 2, for exmple "Set it 2 centimeters to the right" you had to say "Set it two centimeters to the right". When i asked if I could abreviate it at the top my paper, 2=two, they said no. I mean, it was my first ever time competing in write it do it so I don't really have the expieriance i would like, and wasn't upset about it or anything 10th out of 26 isn't bad, but what do you thinK? Should you be able to abreviate 2 for two?

Re: Write It Do It B/C

Posted: March 29th, 2010, 10:06 am
by jazzy009
Starapollo1 wrote:Hey I have a quick question. At state we were told you weren't allowed to use numbers like 2, for exmple "Set it 2 centimeters to the right" you had to say "Set it two centimeters to the right". When i asked if I could abreviate it at the top my paper, 2=two, they said no. I mean, it was my first ever time competing in write it do it so I don't really have the expieriance i would like, and wasn't upset about it or anything 10th out of 26 isn't bad, but what do you thinK? Should you be able to abreviate 2 for two?
Yes, you are allowed to do that. It's pretty clear in the rules too since numbers are on a typewriter/keyboard. If that's really what happened (at state, nonetheless) someone should've pulled out a rulebook.

Though technically it didn't matter for that competition as long as everyone was treated the same way...meh.

Re: Write It Do It B/C

Posted: March 29th, 2010, 10:46 am
by kingkittan
Hi, is this cheating? When I do WIDI, I use descriptions. For example, today I practiced using a wooden board with holes in it. K'nex were put in the holes at certain intervals. My description was like this:
Hole
K'nex
Hole
It's my first time doing the event so I'm not really sure if this is breaking the rules.

Re: Write It Do It B/C

Posted: March 29th, 2010, 5:57 pm
by jazzy009
kingkittan wrote:Hi, is this cheating? When I do WIDI, I use descriptions. For example, today I practiced using a wooden board with holes in it. K'nex were put in the holes at certain intervals. My description was like this:
Hole
K'nex
Hole
It's my first time doing the event so I'm not really sure if this is breaking the rules.
...I don't think that's illegal, however: if you wrote them so that the words appear as the items do on the board (that makes sense in my head...), that would be illegal. If it was just written "Hole, K'nex, Hole" and had no affiliation to the placement, that'd be fine. Not a great way to write it, but meh.

Re: Write It Do It B/C

Posted: March 29th, 2010, 8:01 pm
by jordannleigh
i love this event, but this year, my partner and i are just sucking it up. granted, we didnt practice as much this year, but last year we got 2nd, this year we got 8th at regionals. i know some of you are from bigger states so i'll put it in perspective. i come from ND. we dont have invatationals, we go straight to regionals. there were about 15-20 different schools competeing in division c, and about 5-10 didnt participate in widi. yeah, so for us to go from 2nd to 8th is a huge failure. :( has anyone had this happen? I think its my fault, im the writer, weve switched, but im just not connecting with my partner this year i guess. should i keep working on it for state? or just let someone else? ugh. stress before states :P

Re: Write It Do It B/C

Posted: March 29th, 2010, 8:13 pm
by Starapollo1
jordannleigh wrote:i love this event, but this year, my partner and i are just sucking it up. granted, we didnt practice as much this year, but last year we got 2nd, this year we got 8th at regionals. i know some of you are from bigger states so i'll put it in perspective. i come from ND. we dont have invatationals, we go straight to regionals. there were about 15-20 different schools competeing in division c, and about 5-10 didnt participate in widi. yeah, so for us to go from 2nd to 8th is a huge failure. :( has anyone had this happen? I think its my fault, im the writer, weve switched, but im just not connecting with my partner this year i guess. should i keep working on it for state? or just let someone else? ugh. stress before states :P
Hey I wouldn't be too concerned. I had to fill in for our writer at states, and I felt like how we did would be all my fault. But honestly just go and do your best. My partner and I did best after we'd talked to eachother, so just talk to your partner and practice and you'll do fine.