Sunday, February 20, 2011

AIT's Gen. B.C.Joshi Quiz 2011 - Report

Date: 19 Feb, 2011
Venue: Army Institute of Technology, Pune
Set and conducted by: Meghashyam Shirodkar
Theme: General

Quiz Final Results
Format: 35 qns in the prelims; 45 questions (IR) + Cluenatic round


1st: Anand Sivashankar + Anannya Deb (F) - 90* (tiebreak: 2)
2nd: Suraj Menon + Yash Marathe (B) - 90 (tiebreak: 1.5)
3rd: Niranjan Pedanekar + J. Ramanand (C) - 78
4th: Vikram Joshi + Srinath (E) - 72
5th: Sumant Srivathsan + Vibhendu Tewari (A) - 67.5
6th: Sachin Ravi + George Mathew (D) - 35

Report
The "General B.C.Joshi" quiz is back. The quiz from AIT that had set high standards of organisation in the 'days of yore' began in 1998, stumbled a little in the early years of the last decade, and then ran out of steam after 2005. So, for those of us with fond memories of AIT's quizzing history, it was great to see the quiz being 'rebooted' (as the QM mentioned more than once).

For the record, with all the pedantry befitting a quiz, the B.C.Joshi quiz began in 1998, and not in 2000 as numerous speakers mentioned yesterday. I'd written about the BCJ quiz a long while ago - the post is here. Incidentally, it was fitting that Anand, part of the BVP team to have won the inaugural edition, was again the winner, in a close quiz and tight tie-break finish.

Here's brief, bulleted summary of facts and opinions:
* The time management was poor, with the quiz (esp. finals) beginning very late. This also meant we had to lose a round at the end; given the placings, it could have made a lot of difference to the top 5 positions. To their credit, the organisers did solicit feedback on this issue and have promised for better things last year.

* The entry fee, at 200/- for corporate teams at least, was very steep. Outside of the Brand Equity Quiz, this must be the most that I've paid to enter a quiz prelims! IMO, the entry fee only adds to another barrier to attending this quiz; the distance to the venue, and thus relative lack of transportation being the main problems.

* I did not like the prelims very much. Yes they were tough, but that's not the complaint. There were quite a few questions that were on very unattractive topics; even if the aim is to appeal to populist subjects, there are many topics that are both interesting and mainstream. In addition, the rolling visuals, the commentary in the middle, etc. was very distracting. It would have been better if the visuals had been bunched together in the prelims paper. I thoroughly disagree with the scheme of having more than 1 pt per question! Three points for simply identifying the people behind Intel was unfair, esp. if someone got just one point for much better answers. (I'll confess: perhaps the only reason my team qualified was because we managed to pick up some of these 2 or 3 pointers)

* The finals were a lot better in comparison. But there was a clear current affairs (2009-2011) bias. Multiple questions on topics such as the census, FaceBook etc. could have been avoided.

* Too many questions had too many partial points at stake; perhaps the questions could have been smaller/tighter, which would have avoided the problem. The addition of 3 qns in the end made a difference to the top 5 standings. Perhaps the QM could have just stopped at the end of the 2nd last round, having come to the end of the allotted time.

* Some of the questions in the finals were quite good. The teams on-stage were well-matched, and there were some fine answers. Almost everyone was in the hunt for most of the quiz, which made for good viewing.

* Thanks to the organisers for the bus transport, the fine food, and their hospitality.

AIT has promised to ensure future editions of the quiz continue to happen, so until next year.

Got something to say? Write it in the 'comments' section here.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Shyam Bhatt Memorial Quiz 2011 - Report

Date: 13 Feb, 2011
Venue: Armed Forces Medical College, Pune
Set and conducted by: Lt. Col. Nikhil Moorchung (Finals)
Theme: General

Quiz Final Results
Format: 30 qns in the prelims; 40 questions in IR with a round reversal halfway


1st: Meghashyam Shirodkar + Salil Bijur (A) - 110
2nd: Suraj Menon + Avaneendra Bhargav (B) - 80
Jt 3rd: Kshitij Jyoti + Saikat Sarkar (C) - 50
Jt 3rd: Gaurav Parab + Amneet Sodhi (E) - 50
5th: Yash Marathe + Aditya Chandorkar (D) - 40
6th: Salil Jena + Arjun Kurup (F) - 30

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Heritage India Quiz 2011 - Report

Date: 11 Feb, 2010
Venue: MES Auditorium, Bal Shikshan Mandir, Pune
Set by: Ramanand, Salil Bijur, Yash Marathe
Conducted by: Ramanand
Theme: Indian Heritage

Quiz Final Results
Format: 20 qns in the prelims; Finals: 27 questions (2 rounds of 9 each in IR; 2 written rounds on stamps (4 qns) and geographical indications (5 qns))


1st: Orchid School (Shantanu, Ameya, Gaurav) (D) - 90
2nd: Sevasadan (Omkar, Onkar, Anumit) (A) - 65
3rd: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Sulochana Natu Vidya Mandir (Prajwal, Harish, Shiva) (B)- 60
4th: Dr. Kalmadi Shamrao (Rugved, Vishnu, Janhavi) (C) - 55

Notes:

Brief comments:
* Quiz was organised by the makers of the Heritage India magazine; the participants were from Pune schools in the age-group of 5th to 7th standards
* About 20-25 teams from about 8-10 schools participated
* Though tight at the beginning, Orchid pulled away from the rest in the second IR round and maintained their lead throughout
* As is always the case with school children, lots of enthusiastic kids, some of them very-well informed, and already showing the ability to guess and work-out. Only a handful of questions went unanswered, and not one was 'pass'-ed.
* Sevasadan topped the prelims with 16 out of 30. The cut-off was 14.
* Prizes sponsored by Heritage India, a local publisher (Saraswati Publishers, I think), and BCQC sponsored the 4th prize (because there was none).

Saturday, February 05, 2011

Heritage India Quiz for Pune schools

Heritage India Magazine is organising a quiz for Pune schools (in partnership with the BCQC). The gist:

Date : 11th February 2011
Time : 11 am – 2 pm
Venue : MES Balshikshan Auditorium, Mayur Colony, Kothrud, Pune
Theme: India's culture and heritage
For: school children in 5th, 6th, and 7th standards
Teams: of up to 3 per team
Quiz to be set and conducted by: BCQC

Registration and all other details in this link (word document)

Quiz-O-Mania 2011 - report

Date: 2 Feb, 2010
Venue: Vishwakarma Institute of Technology (VIT), Pune
Set and conducted by: Salil Bijur
Theme: General

Quiz Final Results
Format: 31 qns in the prelims; 42 questions in IR with a round reversal halfway


1st: Niranjan Pedanekar + J. Ramanand (E) - 100
2nd: Meghashyam Shirodkar + Rohan Jain (C) - 70
Jt 3rd: Venkat Srinivasan + Suraj Menon (F) - 55
Jt 3rd: Dr. and Aditya Chandorkar (B) - 55
5th: Kshitij Jyoti + Saikat Sarkar of AFMC (A) - 20
6th: Kamesh Gupta + Mridul Janweja of AFMC (D) - 15

Notes:

Brief comments: * liked the elims v much - good mix of gettable and tough ones
* finals: were mostly good; occasional involved and 'nefarious' connect that could have been better, simplified or avoided
* simple format, length of quiz was good, quizmastering was good, audience prizes were adequate
* was nice to see two AFMC teams (all first years) on stage in an open quiz after a long while; a mini-revival is in store?

Friday, February 04, 2011

General B.C.Joshi Memorial Quiz 2011

Date: 19th February
Venue: Army Institute of Technology, Dighi Hills, Alandi Rd., Pune-411015
Open General Quiz; 2-member Teams
Cross-college/Cross-corporate Teams allowed
Attractive Cash Prizes: Rs. 10,000/-, Rs. 7,000/- & Rs. 5,000/-
Special Prizes worth Rs. 3,000/- for the Audience, Best Team Name, etc.
QuizMeister - Meghashyam Shirodkar | Research - QuizCorp

(Transport to-from venue available on prior request)
For more details: http://www.aitsolutions.in/p/bc-joshi-quiz_24.html

Thursday, February 03, 2011

Extentia Company Quiz XI

When: Friday, January 28, 2011
Where: Extentia ITT, Kalyani Nagar
QM: Bobby Moothedan. Quiz set by Yash Marathe/BCQC
Theme: General

Email Quiz:
As always an email quiz was sent to Extentians earlier in the week. Winners determined by # of correct answers and timestamp on email.

Answers and winner ( Farah N and Pankaj Sontakke ) announced ahead of the Fri afternoon's quiz.

Finals:
Medium turnout at the ITT office this time – about 15 in all. Teams from the Extentia houses
Most number of participants from Team Parikrama
Difficult questions for Extentians this time. However, some great pickup on clues by most teams.
The QM helmed the quiz really well for a first timer, and kept the momentum going.
Good to see several new participants again
Good to see no fights break out again

Winners - Royal Brigade (Surbhi, Rahul D, Gaurav C, Vcat)
Runners Up - Constant Variables (Farah, Pankaj S, Eva, Pankaj S)

Shyam Bhatt Memorial and other AFMC quizzes

The Shyam Bhatt Trophy
Date: 13 Feb Sunday
Flavour: Open General
Team size: 2 member teams, cross teams allowed
Time: Reporting time: 1430hrs; Elims begin at: 1445hrs
Prizes: Cash prizes worth Rs. 10,000
Venue:New Lecture Hall Complex of AFMC(known as NLH)
Reg. fee: Rs.150

Quiz-Friends and How I Met Your Mother
Date- 14 Feb
Reg. Fee: Rs.100
Time, Venue same as above

Sports Quiz
Date:16 Feb
Reg. Fee: Rs.100
Time, Venue same as above

Bollywood Quiz
Date-17 Feb
Reg. Fee:Rs.100
Time,Venue same as above
NOTE: Finals for the Bollywood Quiz is an Antakshari

:: Krishna, AFMC (9545046062)

COEP's Quiztronomy 2011 - Announcement

The CoEP AstroClub is hosting a one-of-a-kind event on the quizzing calendar. Quiztronomy is an astronomy themed quiz- the trivia being workable everyone and not aimed specifically at astronomy enthusiasts. The quiz will consist of written prelims, followed by a six team final.

All finalists will receive prizes and certificates; Winners will also receive a trophy each The school/college contingent with the best performance will receive a "Best Contingent" trophy. This year, we will be awarding prizes worth a total of Rs.15,000/- (inclusive of vouchers)

Date: 5th February, 2011 (Saturday)
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (reporting time: 9:30 a.m.)
Venue: Main Auditorium, College of Engineering, Pune – 5
Flavour: Astronomy- for everyone
Team: Two members per team; Teammates can be from different classes and cross school/ college. There is no registration fee. All participants must carry valid institute I-Cards.
Email: quiztronomy@gmail.com

Other Activities:
Telescope familiarization session will immediately follow the quiz. We also conduct workshops in introductory Sky Observations and Astronomy.

::Mohit from The Quiztronomy Team