Quiz Reports: BCQC College Quizzes of the Year

Every year the Boat Club Quiz Club conducts the BCQC College Quizzes of the Year. Divided in two segments, the Best College Quizzer of the Year and the Best College Quizzing Team of the Year, the quizzes see the finest of Pune's college quizzers fight it out for the coveted title. The 2017 edition took place on the 6th of August, Sunday, at the College of Engineering, Pune.

Date: 6-08-2017

Quiz: Ekta Tiger, the BCQC College Quizzer of the Year 2017

Venue: COEP

Organized by/Fest: BCQC

QM: UNESCO certified Best QM Suraj Menon

Results:

1. College Quizzer of the Year: Divij Ghose, COEP, 195

2. 1st Runner Up: Arnabh Sengupta, AFMC, 170

3. 2nd Runner Up: Shayak Chatterjee, Asoka University, 158

Other Finalists

Karan Kamath, SLS, 120

Anirudh Anilkumar, AFMC, 118

Rohan S, AFMC, 110

Pavan Kumar, AFMC, 110

Hrithvik Jha, AFMC, 30

The quiz was scheduled at 9:30 and started at less-than-standard delay at 10:00. The quizmaster was  UNESCO certified Best QM Suraj Menon and without further ado, the quiz was started. It was a long prelims with 35 questions. This was good as it enabled quizzers to come in late (not-good, that part). With a fair balance of topics, it was quite interesting and fun. Every prime numbered question had two parts, thus going to a total of 46 points. AV was also included to break the monotony, thus preventing such a long prelim from inducing fatigue.

Out of a total 46, the highest was 25 and the cut-off was 12. The top 8 were widely dispersed in between. Personally, I thought the quiz seemed a little on the tougher-side. Would have definitely preferred it to have been a team-quiz. A total of 23 participants showed up.

After a 10 minute break, the finals began. The Finals consisted of 52 questions. 40 in IR (divided in four rounds of clockwise+anti) and 4 X 4 written sandwiched in between. Once again, the set was attuned to a difficulty level of a general Open-level session, if not an Open competitive quiz. However, plenty of oral hints managed to make it college-friendly. Basically a difficulty level worthy of someone aspiring to be the College Quizzer of the Year. Its balance was so noticeable that you could tick-off the number of questions dedicated to each topic/subject.

The written rounds were whimsical themes: Graphic Artistception, Portmanteaux, Sports Cartoons, and 404 pages.

There was not much up-and-down in the quiz with the rankings staying the same throughout the quiz. The usual warhorses of Pune college quizzing maintained their charge throughout the fight. Some brilliant answers, some crafty slimes and a very non-answernazi QM resulted in a generous dispensation of points. Hence, all the excitement was derived from the quiz itself, wherein it did not fail.

Overall, a fine Sunday pre-lunch morning.

Date: 6-08-2017

Quiz: The BCQC College Quizzing Team of the Year 2017

Venue: COEP

Organized by/Fest: BCQC

QM: Punyache Jawai, Shri. Abhinav Dasguptaji

Results:

1. College Quizzing Team of the Year: Divij Ghose + Dhanajay Jagtap, COEP, 120

2. 1st Runner Up: Arnabh Sengupta + Anirudh Anilkumar, AFMC, 110

3. 2nd Runner Up: Nikhil Joseph Zacharias + V G Shreeram, SLS, 87.5

Other Finalists

Karan Kamath + Ameya Pillay, SLS+SCo, 77.5

Vishal S + Anirudh B, 50

Rohan S + Saraswat, AFMC, 47.5

Hrithvik Jha + Siddhant R, AFMC, 37.5
Omkar Joshi + Rohan T, COEP 37.5

Due to the late ending of the previous quiz, and thanks to the collective quick lunch at Modern Cafe which was temporarily converted into a BCQC khanaval, the next quiz started only about an hour late.

The prelims were a much more standard one, with 30 Qs and every 5th star-marked. Every star-marked was also a tribute to UNESCO certified Best QM Suraj Menon, as it was a question on UNESCO WHS. The prelims were well-balanced and accessible with plenty of Pune fundae. There was a narrower band this time with the highest being 16 and the cut-off at 11. 13 teams showed up.

The Finals again consisted of two IRs divided in four rounds (two clockwise, two anti-). This was interspersed with four written round giving it the flavour of ADG's exquisite craftsmanship we have all come to expect. There were dedicated to Pune quizzers: BDFL JR (questions on dictators doing benevolent stuff), Ardeshir Jussavala (people with multiple personas), yours truly (questions on the Left, which is always right) and Pranav 'Floyd' Joshi (people who share names).

At first the quiz was slow to pick up, with very few points earned. However, after the first IR, it began to catch steam and questions were answered with plenty of pounces and intelligent attempts by all. There was AV and a few Pune questions too, well-distributed. The quiz was slightly on the tougher side, I believe even for college team quizzers. Chestnuts which are obvious to Open quizzers were not necessarily so for the finalists. There was a bias away from pop-culture (which was fresh, but not so welcoming when it came to points for the finalists). Though that is nothing to complain too much about as it is never too late to learn.

Heartiest congratulations to the love story that is D(G+J) for defending their title successfully. They had won last year too.

What is striking and is to be noted is the similarity in the winners and finalists in both the quizzes. This can be taken in two ways: admiration for the consistency of the quizzers and perhaps to a degree, also a bit of worry regarding the lack of strong and diverse competition. However, the latter is not an affliction and like every other competitive sport, as the wheel of time moves on, fresh blood will water the roots of Pune quizzing. There is always next year when the established become open quizzers and sunlight can reach the growing stalks.

Overall, a fine Sunday afternoon.

Of course, one can't thank thee COEP Quiz Club and the College itself enough for kindly providing and rarely refusing a venue to conduct the quizzes.

Report by: Omkar Dhakephalkar