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by John Nolan

Well that was a lot of fun

March 4, 2013 in Grand Prix, IQO, Quizzes

dublin-trophy-smThe first Dublin Quiz Open (indeed the first event of its kind in Ireland) took place on Saturday last in Glasnevin. I’m delighted to say that the day exceeded all expectations – both for myself and, I dare say, the organisers.

In total 38 quizzers turned up to The Addison Lodge, the day’s venue and there they got to take part in three different quizzes, spread over six hours. The organisers had done a terrific job of covering all the bases: the stage featured a projector and amplifier, there were trophies to be won and there were several tins of assorted biscuits (aka ‘brain food’) being passed around. It was all pretty sweet!

First up was the International Hot-100, the entry period for this month being open until tonight, if anyone who didn’t make it on Saturday still wants to take part. Anyway, for reasons outlined in the previous sentence, I won’t make any comment on the questions asked etc. Until tomorrow comes, it simply wouldn’t be fair.

The team quiz was the second event of the day. If numbers had been low, the plan was to run this as a pairs event. Thankfully, there was no need for that. What was needed though was a random draw to allocate teams for the many people who came without one (myself being one of these people). The draw put me in a three-man team, with two Dublin quizzers, Michael Connolly and Gary Stephens. Stuck for a team name (what’s new?), we plumped for the two items which had been left on our table in the interval following the Hot-100: Bic Biros and Biscuits.

Throughout the opening rounds we were a model of consistency, never scoring less than 7, never scoring more than 8. When the quiz paused after round #3 for lunch, we were in third place, 3 points off the lead.
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by John Nolan

Dublin Quiz Open 2013

February 26, 2013 in Grand Prix, IQO

spire-questionReminder: The inaugural Dublin Quiz Open takes place on Saturday in The Addison Lodge, Glasnevin, Dublin 9.

This is the first of the Irish Quiz Organisation‘s quarterly quiz opens, which will take place in various venues throughout the country, and will feed in to selection for the Irish team for the European Quizzing Championships next November in Liverpool.  The event is, as hopefully the name indicates, open to all and costs just €5 to enter.  The day will feature a morning of inidividual quizzing (including the international Hot-100!) and an afternoon of team quizzing.

Don’t feel as if you need to bring a team with you for the afternoon’s event, by the way.  Teams can (and no doubt will) be created on the day!

The event kicks off at 11am and will go until around 5pm. If you’d like to find out more, please visit the event’s Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/418380344916922/

I’m going myself.  Hopefully, I’ll see some of you there too.

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by John Nolan

World Quiz day timetable

May 5, 2012 in IQO

As announced on Facebook last evening, the Irish heat of the World Quizzing Championship now has a home. It will take place in The Bounty, which is the clubhouse at Buccaneers Rugby Club, Ahtlone, Co. Westmeath, on Saturday, June 2nd.

This is a solo quizzing event and is run along the lines of a day during the Junior or Leaving Certificates. Albeit, a short day at the Leaving Cert, as the two papers are only one hour long each.

Here’s the timetable for the day’s events:

  • 11am: Paper 1
  • 12 noon: Correction of paper 1
  • 12.30pm: Lunch
  • 1.30pm: Paper 2
  • 2.30pm: Correction of paper 2
  • 3pm: Results and presentation of local awards*
  • 3.30pm: Innaugural meeting of the Irish Quiz Organisation

For more information on how the event is run, please read my report on last year’s event or visit the International Quizzing Association’s site www.worldquizzing.com.

It costs €5 per person to enter and all are welcome.  Please book your place in advance though as we have to print out a copy of the two papers for each competitor.  You can do so via email at wqc@tablequiz.net.

Footnote:

* We will have small awards for the best result in the venue in the various categories.  For more info, check out the worldquizzing site.

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by John Nolan

The Irish Quiz Organisation

April 30, 2012 in IQO

Allow me to introduce the Irish Quiz Organisation, a body I’m endevouring to set up between now and the end of June.

In the short-term, it will take care of the organisation of the Irish heat of the World Quizzing Championships and the selection of a team for the European Quizzing Championships.

In the longer-term, hopefully it will eventually oversee competitive quizzing in Ireland.  I can forsee events such as resurrection of the (formerly Rehab) All-Ireland table quiz, helping third-level students restart Challenging Times and maybe even the creation of a Belgian-style individual quiz rankings ladder.

That’s all in the far future though.  Right now, it’s me on my lonesome.

The WQC takes place on June 2 and the afore-mentioned Irish heat will take place.  I’ve yet to nail down a venue but hope to have that done by the end of the week.  At that event, we will then convene the inaugural meeting of the IQO and, all going well, elect a committee for the coming year.

That’s all I can tell you for now.  If you’d like some more info, please visit the IQO page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/IrishQuiz.

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