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in_the_know
985 Posts |
 Posted - 06/29/2012 : 08:22:40
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OK, far be it for me to be the grammar police, but I've seen this mistake made hundreds of times on this forum alone and it drives me nuts. Far beyond the typical typo that causes all of us to type "teh" when we mean "the", so I figure I'll get it off my chest once and for all.
If your team is offered a position in a tournament, your team has earned a "berth". They haven't been awarded a "birth". If you consider the definitions of each:
Birth:
a: The emergence of a baby or other young from the body of its mother; b: the start of life as a physically separate being.
Berth:
a: a billet on a ship
b: job, position, place <a starting berth on the team>
Feel free to beat me up about this all you like, but for the love of God, if your team gets offered a spot in a tournament, please understand it has nothing to do with a human infant emerging from it's mother's birth canal.  |
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baldy87
118 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2012 : 10:26:31
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I'm glad you started a thread like this. Here's the one that makes me laugh - calling an open tournament an "invitational." If you're just posting an announcement and allowing anyone who puts up the entry fee to participate, it's not an invitational. An invitational actually requires the event organizers to send invitations to specific teams. In other words, you usually have to earn a "birth" to an invitational. (I couldn't resist, sorry)
noun
2.
an event, as a sports competition or an art exhibit, restricted to those who have been invited to participate. |
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Jack-of-Diamonds
152 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2012 : 12:03:30
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I agree with the strict interpretation of an "Invitational".
In practice, though, it can be employed to mean that teams must pass scrutiny to be accepted, especially in a non-sanctioned tournament with no official classification system (or one of the sanctioning bodies with very loose classification systems).
In other words, teams are welcome to request a spot, but must be approved to enter... in essence receiving an invitation initiated by the team's interest in attending. |
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4bagger
131 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2012 : 17:57:51
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The absolute worst is "there" and "their".
It has happened no less than 1000 times on this site.
"People who take there kids to many tryouts". Really? It's THEIR, not THERE!
Go ahead and read any topic. It's in THERE (not THEIR).
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Peanutsr
171 Posts |
Posted - 06/30/2012 : 07:24:43
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They're going to the tournament with their team. So there!
There are really too many gramatical errors to pontificate on in this type of forum. |
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It's BERTH, not birth!!!!!
