2015 Benjamin Cooper Awards: Winners Announced

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Blackboard Monitor Vimes
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2015 Benjamin Cooper Awards: Winners Announced

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The Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence is pleased to announce that it is accepting nominations for the 2015 Benjamin Cooper Academic Ambassador Awards. The awards, which recognize those who contribute to the “spirit and honor of quizbowl competition,” will be presented at the 2015 PACE National Scholastic Championship in Reston, Virginia, on June 6-7. The Benjamin Cooper Academic Ambassador Award will be given to a coach, advisor, administrator, tournament organizer, or other person who has made significant contributions to high school quizbowl. A second award, the Young Ambassador Award, will be given to someone affiliated with a college or high school program who, despite his or her young age, has already made valuable contributions to the high school academic competition community. Nominations will be accepted until April 1, 2015. For more information on the award and the nomination process, please see below.

The Benjamin Cooper Awards:

The Benjamin Cooper Academic Ambassador Award and the Young Ambassador Award recognize those who have made substantial contributions to the “spirit and honor of quizbowl competition.” Benjamin Cooper, for whom the award is named, was a model student at the Georgetown Day School in Washington, DC, who was well-liked among his colleagues and the faculty. He participated in many activities in school and in service to the community. Because of his enthusiasm and encouragement to promote academic competition among his team members, he was selected as the captain of the varsity team for the 1997-1998 school year. On August 12, 1997, Ben was tragically killed in an automobile accident while returning from his summer job.

The first Cooper Award was presented by PACE to Georgetown Day School team advisor Sue Ikenberry in honor of Ben at the 1998 NSC. Subsequent awards have been presented every year, and a complete list of winners is available on the PACE website. The Young Ambassador Award was first presented at the 2004 NSC.

How to Nominate:

Any member of the quizbowl community is eligible for the Cooper Award. Eligibility for the Young Ambassador Award is restricted to those currently affiliated with high school or college programs. Because there are always many deserving candidates, PACE welcomes re-nomination of those nominated last year who have continued to contribute to the quizbowl community.

To submit a nomination, please compose a statement of no more than 1,000 words detailing your nominee’s contributions to the quizbowl community. This statement should include a summary of positions held by the nominee as well as a specific explanation of why, in your opinion, he or she has contributed to the “spirit and honor of quizbowl competition.”

Please email your nomination statement to this year’s Cooper Award coordinator, Sarah Angelo, at [email protected] no later than April 1, 2015. To make sure they're easily found, please put "Cooper Nomination" in the subject line of the email. Sarah will confirm receipt of your nomination within 48 hours of the time you submit it. In your email, please include your contact information in case the PACE Cooper Award Committee wishes to contact you for additional information about the nominee. All nomination statements are strictly confidential and will be seen only by the PACE members involved in the selection process.

Announcement of Winners:

Members of the PACE Cooper Award Committee will deliberate throughout the month of April. The winners will be announced on the hsquizbowl.org message board and on the PACE website during the first week of May. The awards will be formally presented to the winners on the first day of the 2015 NSC.

If you have any questions about this year’s Cooper Award or to submit a nomination, please contact Sarah Angelo at [email protected].
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Re: 2015 Benjamin Cooper Awards: Now Accepting Nominations

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Just a reminder that there's one month left to get your nominations in! So far I've only received one for each award, and we would love to have more.
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Re: 2015 Benjamin Cooper Awards: Now Accepting Nominations

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We are accepting nominations for two more weeks.
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Re: 2015 Benjamin Cooper Awards: Now Accepting Nominations

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One more week for nominations! I've replied to each one that I've received, so if you tried to send one in but haven't heard from me, it did not reach me.
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Re: 2015 Benjamin Cooper Awards: Nominations Closed

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PACE is pleased to announce that the winner of the 2015 Benjamin Cooper Academic Ambassador Award is Coach Joshua Rutsky of Hoover High School in Alabama. Coach Rutsky is being recognized for his efforts in spreading pyramidal quizbowl in Alabama, including spearheading the transition of the ASCA state championship to a pyramidal format, as well as his enduring willingness to help out new teams and coaches in need of advice.

The winner of the 2015 Young Ambassador Award is Nicholas Karas of Berkeley, who is being recognized for his outreach efforts in Northern California, where the high school circuit has vastly expanded in recent years in large part due to his tireless emailing, phone calls, and mailers to schools, as well as his willingness to direct quality tournaments with teams from over 40 schools.

Congratulations, Coach Rutsky and Nicholas, and thank you for your work!
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Re: 2015 Benjamin Cooper Awards: Winners Announced

Post by Joshua Rutsky »

To all the folks at PACE and in quiz bowl nationwide:

I wanted to apologize for being unable to attend the PACE tourney this year, especially in light of the very great honor PACE bestowed upon me. It was a big surprise (I found out about the award from Nick Clusserath, who texted me something on the order of "Way to go, stud!" at some early hour of the morning, leaving me and my wife with many awkward questions until I discovered what was going on), and I appreciate those who nominated me and spoke on my behalf, such as Lee Henry and Chris Chiego, among others.

The only thing I wanted to say about what this award means to me is that it should stand as a message to all of you players and coaches who are in states that have quiz bowl organizations or regulatory groups that are out-of-touch, reluctant to change, or inflexible. That message is to NEVER STOP PUSHING FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN. Alabama has come a tremendous distance since I started coaching, but it wasn't the work of one person. It was the constant insistence of the players and coaches that I worked with that we could do better for our state and for our players. Our board changed directions, but it took years of serving and repeating the same things over and over to make that change happen. Patience and vision will always outlast stubborn foolishness. Now we are a growing organization that is sending more teams than ever to out of state and national events, including our first few teams to the MSNCT in the last two years, some high finishers at Small School NCT, and a raft of teams trying to make their way at HSNCT. We have teams LOOKING at going to PACE each year, even if it has been a couple years since we had attendees. Our statewide :chip: representation has dropped, and we have multiple events in state each year that draw teams from around the region. Someday, we will be able to match up with some of the top teams nationally. Perhaps, someday, a team from Alabama will win a national title, and undoubtedly, the apocalypse will be upon us.

Thank you all, all of you in the quizbowl community who stop in the hall as we pass and say hi to me, who have come to the Hoover Invitational, who have been at ACE Camp where I worked, who have posted on this forum, and who play this sport that we love. Thank you for making quizbowl worth working for.

With appreciation,

Josh Rutsky
Joshua Rutsky
VP for Curriculum and Camp Operations, Qwiz
ASCA Board Member
Hoover High School Coach (Retired)
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