Trivial Pursuit from Tartarus

And what is Tartarus, you might ask? Besides one of the answers to the questions in the Quiz Bowl Tournament (which no one got), it is the lowest circle of the Greek underworld. I hope this will describe to you what it is like to participate in a Quiz Bowl tournament.

The questions are almost all impossibly difficult -- questions about physics, chemistry, paintings, literature, terrorist groups, Croatian history (no, we didn't get that one), ancient history, astronomy (I did get the one on Pluto's moon), current politics, and African geography, to name a few of the topics.

And we played ten separate rounds against ten teams from schools such as VMI, William and Mary, and Roanoke. Twenty questions per round, plus bonus questions for those teams who get the toss-up questions. So we had to try to answer hundreds of questions. This takes approximately all day -- I got here a little after 8:30 in the morning to set up and we finally finished around 5:00.

So, how did my team do? First of all, understand that SVU had two teams -- one made up of the veterans, the others of rookies -- it was our first tournament. I hope that I remember everything correctly, but if not -- it was a long day.

Our first game: we lost terribly. I don't even remember if I answered any questions. Our second game: lost again. Third game: closer than the other ones, but still a loss. That was where I got the question on Pluto's moon. And the Great Wall of China. And I got the bonus question on Uncle Tom's Cabin. Fourth game: we played the other SVU team, and I managed to answer the only toss-up our team got the entire game. (Berlin Wall.) But we lost terribly. Fifth game: I was so weary with listening to questions that I missed the question on Mt. St. Helens! I almost up and quit right then, I was so frustrated. This was not fun at all. Fortunately, it was time for lunch, and someone brought pizza. So we ate and we got ready to go at it again. I stuck around (but let me tell you it was a very close thing).

The next round was a loss. Seventh round: I believe that was William and Mary, one of the best teams here. (I think they came in second over all.) But we did score fairly well. Eighth round: I had to keep reminding the reader to hit the clear button. It was close, down to the final question, but we lost. Ninth round: no one was scoring very much, but I did get 30 points for knowing landmarks in the U.S. And we won! We actually one a round! Sure it was only by about 15 points, down to the last question, but we won! Tenth round: We drove the poor VMI players crazy by getting the bonus questions on military groups and helicopter crashes. But I did get a power (that means I hit the buzzer quickly and got five extra points) on the question about Yosemite (I know where Hetch-Hetchy is). And I got the question on Brigham Young.

Over all, our team tied for ninth out of the eleven teams that were playing. And of course, the other SVU team won.

Will I continue to play? We'll see. If this affects my grades (meaning if I get a B in performing arts or astronomy), I may have to quit. I also might ask them to mix the teams up a little more, put the rookies and the experienced players together. So I don't know.

And if I thought today was rough, what is the next week going to be like?