Calgary rolls in challenge bowl finals
by Dean Clark, Editor, The Leading Edge
10 November—The team of Maria Quijada and Jason McCrank, representing the University of Calgary, reeled off an impressive string of correct answers midway through the final head-to-head showdown with the team from Rice University en route to the championship of the Third SEG Challenge Bowl Monday, 10 November, during SEG’s Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, USA.
This year’s finals were truly the culmination of a worldwide competition—12 teams, twice as many as in previous years, compete in the finals as a result of winning a regional competition. Those preliminary events were held on almost every continent. Venues for the regional competitions included Russia, China, South America (where an enthusiastic audience, enlivened by an on-stage band, made this event quite unique), Italy, Canada, and several sites in the United States.
The explosion of interest in this event prompted a change in format since the available equipment could handle only six teams at a time. That caused the finalists to be divided by lot into two groups, each with six teams, for a pair of preliminary rounds. Three teams from each group advanced to the semifinals, from where Calgary and Rice earned their roles in the championship round.
Those teams were separated by only 10 points in the semifinals but Calgary took command quickly in the finals. The Canadian team built a 40-10 lead after the first round and then ended all suspense by collecting points on six of the first seven questions in the second round. They ended that round with what was, for all intents and purposes, an insurmountable 170-point lead, 220-50. That meant that it was virtually impossible for Geoffrey Chambers and Hobart Young of Rice to catch up. They would have had to get all 100 points available in the final round and hope that Calgary lost at least 80 points via incorrect answers. However, Canada flatlined the final round with one right answer and one wrong answer. Rice could pick up only 10 points for a final score of 220-60.
It should be noted that the victory was worth considerably more than prestige. The winning team divided US$1000 and the runners-up split $600. This caused quizmaster Peter Duncan to comment, “You will probably discover, before the day is out, that you have a lot more friends than you thought.”
Duncan, former SEG president and the driving force behind the creation of the Challenge Bowl, again emceed in his trademark white coat and kept the proceedings.
An all-but-overflow and very enthusiastic crowd attended the finals, hinting that next year’s event might require a larger venue. The exponential growth of the Challenge Bowl in just three years is an encouraging signal about the strength of SEG’s student membership. Those student sections planning to sponsor teams in regional challenge bowls next year are advised to begin preparations immediately as the field is expected to be much more difficult next year. Information about the 2009 Challenge Bowl can be obtained from SEG’s Student Affairs Department.
1 comment:
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