Happening new year

SEQC began its second year with a bit of a quantum leap. Some things hadn't changed -- Rajiv D'Silva, who was QuizMaster for the very first SEQC quiz, in June last year, was QM again for this year's inaugural on June 14. But most other things were very different.


As champion of SEQC year 1, Rajiv gets his trophy from Ashray Adappa, the youngest member of the group on the day

For the first time, an SEQC Quiz was held at a public venue -- in this case, the Fundacao Oriente in Fontainhas, Panjim. For the first time, an elimination round was considered -- Rajiv had come armed with a set of prelims questions, which eventually became the first round of the quiz. For the first time, individual challenge rounds were held, woven in amongst the team challenge rounds with the intention of allowing everyone, irrespective of level of quizzing capability, to have a shot at some answers. And the biggest change of all -- the burgeoning of the SEQC population. More than 30 people attended an SEQC quiz for the first time, making the decision to move to a public venue a well-calculated one.


Rajiv explains the nitty-gritties of the day's quiz

The quiz itself was quite a see-saw affair. Rajiv's questions were high on the wow factor, but increased team sizes seemed to have made them easier to crack. Few questions went unanswered, and the race was close throughout. Eventually, Luis and Anjali made the critical difference to their team, and inched ahead of the others in the end rounds. Sachin's last-gasp answer to a question on Cat Stevens saw his team pip Annie's to the second post, a fitting revenge to a similar occurrence in the previous SEQC quiz, where Annie's team had nosed ahead of Sachin's with the last answer of the quiz.

Much else is being planned for the year ahead. This blog should be a busy place from here on.