Last time I was just a host, this time I decided to compete too. I chose the Carry On Films as my specialist subject, as I've been watching these since I was a kid.
The contest started on Friday, with Traian, who’d chosen the film The Breakfast Club as her specialist subject. She stormed through her questions, scoring 10/10 on her specialist round, and ended up witha grand total of 19/20. We were all ready to admit defeat there and then, but of course we didn’t.
I was first up on Saturday, and as my event followed Thorntons regular Saturday trivia, there were plenty of people there to watch me. I was extremely nervous to say the least, and on the very first question my brain froze! The first question asked ‘what was Jim Dales character in Carry on Cowboy?’ Now I knew he had a diploma from Chipping Sodbury technical college as a Drainage and Sanitation Engineer (first Class). I knew he couldn’t wear his gun belt too tight because it pinched his tummy, and I knew he shot 2 Indians with one bullet on the stagecoach to Stodge City. But could I remember the name! Well, naturally I did as soon as I’d passed on it. I managed to pull myself together for a pleasing 9/10. General knowledge was always going to be my weakest round, as my knowledge is just that – general. And of course, anything vaguely geographical and I didn’t stand a chance. I was determined, however, not to google any of the questions, and see just how well I did on my own. You only get a time limit of 5 minutes for all 10 questions anyway, so googling an answer could seriously eat in to your time. I actually scored 5, but I missed another one because my brain gave me the answer too late. This gave me an overall score of 14, which was good enough for 2nd place last time, so I was extremely happy.
Mael was next with his subject of the Gerry Anderson TV Series’. He scored an impressive 9/10 and followed up with 5 on his general knowledge, putting him equal with me.
Pomegranate Sorbet came next, and impressed everyone with his knowledge of the Boy Scouts of America, and after a good general knowledge round too, he ended up tied with Traian on 19 points. 4 contestants down and a tie for 1st and a tie for 3rd!
Last up for Saturday night was Thornton with the huge subject of World War II. I think everyone’s heart went out to him when he went through his Specialist round, and it just proves it’s not necessarily what you know – it’s what happens on the day. After a rallying himself in the general knowledge round he ended up with 9 points.
Sunday we were off again with WavingMarcel, who chose UK pop music 1960-1985. After yet another impressive specialist round, he amassed a total of 15/20.
Lotus was next, with the impressive topic of the Byzantine Empire. After a good general knowledge round, she ended up with 14, putting her equal with me and Mael.
Lette was up next, with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. After 2 good rounds, she ended up with 15
Then we had the best dressed duck on the trivia circuit, with Chad up with his topic of NASCAR. Again, he proved its not what you know, its what happens on the day, and ended up with a total of 13.
Last up was Sinnamon, with the subject of American Football. She needed a full house of 20/20 to win, or at least 19 to be in the tie break. After a slow start, she scored an impressive score of 9 out of 10, and ended up with a total of 18, which put her in 3rd place.
The tie break between Trai and Pom won't be held until next week, and I know we'll be there to cheer them both on.
The weekend seemed to go very fast, and I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. I can’t vouch for any others but I felt my questions were pitched just right, and this is especially hard to do if you’re not an expert on a subject and you have limited time to set them. I know Chad commented that his questions were good, and I hope others felt the same.
I did not expect to win. I wanted to prove to myself that I can compete and that I do have a brain, and to come joint with Mael and Lotus, has proved that to myself. I am even more pleased, as I did not google. For me, the challenge was about what I knew or didn’t, and not about how quickly I can google the capital of Belarus (which I now now is Minsk). With only 5 minutes for 10 questions, and a bad case of nerves, googling just wasn't an option anyway.
I would like to commend anyone who had the guts to have a go. I know I was nervous, and Chad also commented he’d eaten a few too many butterflies for breakfast, but I thoroughly enjoyed he challenge, and I’ll definitely be competing in the next one. I hope a few others will also take part, now that they’ve seen how the competition works.
As a final word - thanks also go to Humm and the hosts for organising the weekend, and for keeping it running smoothly. I know I'm biased, but the hosts did a great job over the weekend. Not only did they give their time to ask the questions, and help organise the event, but they were all there supporting the contestants as well, RL commitments permitting.
I'm thoroughly looking forward to the next one, now I have my initial nerves out of the way. I hope a few others will also join in next time too. This is the only contest I know of where we get individual questions, and we don't directly compete with others to speed type the answer. It's also a good test of what we do and don't know, as opposed to who can google the fastest.
Smartastermind 3 - can't wait!
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