Departments
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Week of 29 October 1999 |
Vol. III, No. 12 |
Feature Article
BU's College Bowl
Nimble minds have not-so-trivial pursuit
By Hope Green
Quick, for 10 points, name the scientific term for a stream of helium nuclei. Stumped? How about this one: what 18th-century war preceded the renaming of Acadia as Nova Scotia?
Or try this: who was the first musical guest on Late Night with David Letterman? (Answers below.)
Firing back answers to such a hodgepodge of questions could one day earn a pack of Terrier trivia hounds a glittering prize -- or at least a shiny new wastepaper basket. Things are indeed looking up for Boston University's College Bowl club, which competes in a half-dozen intercollegiate, Jeopardy-style tournaments every year. Now in its ninth season, the team has yet to register a win, but a fresh wave of recruits and some important second-place finishes have started to put the Terriers on the map.
Recognizing the team's rising stature, the National Academic Quiz Tournament has selected BU to host its April 2000 tournament. "That's the biggest event we have ever undertaken," says Mike Hoey-Lukakis (COM'00), the group's vice president. "Hosting this event is a major coup for the club, and it sort of legitimizes us in a national sense. Usually we just compete in the eastern states, but this will be drawing teams from out west and even from Europe."
College Bowl started as a radio and television game show in the 1950s. Later a company that sponsored a broadcast version of the game switched to a live format and established regular tournaments on college and university campuses. Now there are four official national leagues, several informal regional divisions, and 300 participating institutions.
Tournaments focus on either popular culture or academic subject areas, or may combine the two. Rules of play vary, but typically there are 20 toss-up questions worth 10 points each. The first team to buzz in with a correct answer gets a shot at a series of 30-point bonus questions. In other formats, teams write questions for their opponents.
The action can get colorful. Contestants have been known to fling their buzzers to the floor if a book title, mountain range, or famous architect escapes their recall at a crucial moment. Legend has it that a BU School of Law contestant was once so frustrated with his memory lapse that he attempted to break a window with his head.
Generally, though, the Terriers pride themselves on maintaining a sense of humor. "We keep things really loose," says Jon Couture (COM'02), club president. "A tournament is as much a place to have fun and meet people as it is a place to represent our school and do well. We try to do well, but we keep it in the right perspective."
Part of the fun is figuring out what to award the victorious team, a task often assigned to the host school. In a New England event known as the Puppy Chow, winners have taken home dog bowls and canine plush toys. When BU hosted last year's Testing Recall About Strange Happenings (TRASH) regional tourney, the Terriers presented the champions with a tower made of two-liter soda bottles. Another year, the prize was a trash pail.
Real trophies are reserved for more serious matches. At times the events look like serious business indeed, especially when players attempt to warm up on the sidelines by reading almanacs, literary anthologies, and encyclopedias of art. But the Terriers tend to avoid such last-minute cramming.
Instead, when experienced players coach rookies at their Tuesday nig