Wanting to start a team at U of Alberta

This forum is for anyone seeking advice on starting a collegiate team, branching out into new types of tournaments, or other "how-to" aspects of collegiate quizbowl.
Post Reply
nairrishi
Kimahri
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Sep 05, 2011 12:35 am

Wanting to start a team at U of Alberta

Post by nairrishi »

Hello there!
I am the former captain of my high-school REACH team that got 5th in Canada, from OSA. I would absolutely love to start this in the University, which I am quite sure does not have one, however, seeing that I am only entering my first year, I am in need of some sort of guidance, especially if we are moving forward. Thanks in advance.
User avatar
Mike Bentley
Sin
Posts: 6461
Joined: Fri Mar 31, 2006 11:03 pm
Location: Bellevue, WA
Contact:

Re: Wanting to start a team at U of Alberta

Post by Mike Bentley »

I think the nearest active quizbowl circuit to you guys is the Seattle area, which unfortunately is not very close by. It's apparently a 13 hour drive and a border crossing to Seattle from Edmonton. However, if you guys are willing to make the trip, we'd certainly be glad to have you attend one of our tournaments.
Mike Bentley
Treasurer, Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence
Adviser, Quizbowl Team at University of Washington
University of Maryland, Class of 2008
User avatar
Masked Canadian History Bandit
Rikku
Posts: 443
Joined: Tue Nov 10, 2009 11:43 pm

Re: Wanting to start a team at U of Alberta

Post by Masked Canadian History Bandit »

If you start a quizbowl team, be sure to contact Sinan Ulusoy, who's studying medicine at the University of Alberta. He used to play for Toronto, and led them to a 6th place finish at 2010 ICT. He's probably someone you want to have for a team, and has tons of experience which can help in getting a club started. I've notified him of this thread.

Also, hi Rishi! I'm Patrick Liao, the former Lisgar captain, who got 3rd at that event (where I'm sure we must've mentioned quizbowl to several of the teams).
Patrick Liao
Lisgar Collegiate Institute 2011, University of Pennsylvania 2015, University of Toronto Faculty of Law 2019
User avatar
Mike Bentley
Sin
Posts: 6461
Joined: Fri Mar 31, 2006 11:03 pm
Location: Bellevue, WA
Contact:

Re: Wanting to start a team at U of Alberta

Post by Mike Bentley »

Also, if you're looking for a faculty sponsor, you should get in contact with Adam Kemezis. Here's some quizbowl information about him: http://www.qbwiki.com/wiki/Adam_Kemezis. And here's his faculty page: http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/history/AdamKemezis.cfm.
Mike Bentley
Treasurer, Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence
Adviser, Quizbowl Team at University of Washington
University of Maryland, Class of 2008
User avatar
bsmith
Tidus
Posts: 586
Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2004 10:33 am
Location: Ottawa, ON

Re: Wanting to start a team at U of Alberta

Post by bsmith »

I don't know how far you've been investigating this, but your first step should be with U of A's student group administration. Becoming a club isn't mandatory, but it does come with perks like access to money and room reservations. It looks like club formation at Alberta only needs 10 signatures and a constitution; that's much easier than some schools…

If you know any graduating players that will go to Calgary or Saskatchewan, convince them to play against you in a rivalry match. Both sides may just see it as a friendly game, but university newspapers love stories of an upstart student-run team beating their cross-town/province rival. The year Carleton started, they beat Ottawa at a tournament; getting in the news may have helped double their membership the following year when Reach alumni noticed: "Carleton has a quiz team? Where do I sign up?"

In the meantime, you will probably have to save up for a trip to Seattle (or, if you can't cross the border, a flight to Ontario) for your first real tournament. U of A may have financial support for club activities like this, and there may be some charitable members of the Edmonton community who were around when the city hosted Reach nationals, but you will have to bear some heavy out-of-pocket expenses for the first few trips. The good news is that there are a lot of active high school teams around Edmonton; once your club gets comfortable with quizbowl, you can start running high school tournaments for fundraising.

Finally, trust any advice Mike Bentley gives. If anyone knows how to start a team hundreds of miles away from an established circuit, it's him.
Ben Smith
Ottawa '08 & '10
Windows ME
Wakka
Posts: 177
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2008 9:06 am

Re: Wanting to start a team at U of Alberta

Post by Windows ME »

Hey send me a PM or e-mail [mylastnamewhichwasmentinoedabove -AT- ualberta -DOT- ca], I'd like to help you get this thing off the ground.

Between Ben and Mike alone, there is a LOT of experience and wisdom in this thread -- so it'll be a good place to continually refer to for advice.

Do you know of others that would be interested [I'm guessing old teammates/cross-town rivals, etc.] in getting this up and running as well?
Sinan U.
U of Toronto 2010
U of Alberta 2015
User avatar
Matt Weiner
Sin
Posts: 8145
Joined: Fri Apr 11, 2003 8:34 pm
Location: Richmond, VA

Re: Wanting to start a team at U of Alberta

Post by Matt Weiner »

Former Michigan superstar Adam Kemezis is a classics professor at Alberta. I have no idea if he has any desire to be involved in quizbowl again, but if he does he would be a great ally to you from the faculty and could provide invaluable advice.
Matt Weiner
Advisor to Quizbowl at Virginia Commonwealth University / Founder of hsquizbowl.org
Post Reply