Launch of IHBB India

[Great Bustard]

From June 25 to July 9, IHBB will be doing its first recruiting trip in India. This has been a long time coming - we have strategically held off on launching in India for various logistical reasons until now, but now we will be launching systematically so as to establish a permanent presence in India. IHBB's advance India scouting party will consist of Nolwenn Madden, Raynell Cooper, Niki Peters, Shravan Balaji and me. We intend on visiting with at least several dozen schools during these two weeks. The first week will be spent in the greater Delhi region, while the second week will be spent in Chennai, where Shravan has family and friends who can help put us in touch with additional schools. Shravan will then return to India after the Olympiad concludes and recruit in Mumbai and Bangalore as well. Thus we anticipate four IHBB tournaments will run in India - most likely all of these will take place in the fall, though it's possible that the Mumbai and Bangalore tournaments would be in early 2017. Ultimately, through the International Academic Bowl, we'd like to launch all-subject pyramidal quiz bowl tournaments in India as well, though that won't happen until the 2017-18 cycle at the earliest.

For now, given that there are thousands of US quizbowlers of Indian heritage, if anyone has contacts / cousins / friends / other family in India who would potentially be interested in competing in our IHBB India tournaments, or at least having us visit them or their school to share with them a bit more about IHBB and quiz bowl in general, please let me know. Either send me a PM through the forums or email me at [email protected] Even if they don't live in one of our four target metro areas for this coming school year (note - the Indian calendar runs on a different schedule - we'll make allowances for that wherever we need to), it would be great to reach out to them with an eye towards future development. Nolwenn and I may well have a week in the fall too when we'll be back in India running tournaments on the weekends which would give us a chance to visit another region/metro area or two in advance of 2017-18. Beyond that, any general advice / comments about traveling in India is welcome as well, as would contacts in any of the 25-30 countries in Asia, Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand where we're already active, since we continue to plan on making personal school visits all over the world in 2016-17 and beyond. In particular, we'll be recruiting in Australia from June 15-June 24 as well after our Asian Championships conclude, and before we head to Delhi. Thanks for any help in advance, and we're looking forward to a great visit to India in just over a month!

[bluejay123]

Here are some travel tips based on personal experience.
1) Be aware that it is India, so the noise and constant swarm of people will be unavoidable.
2) Dress really conservatively in Southern India-- I think the north tends to be a little more relaxed. Meaning, long pants and long sleeves (at least for women). Yeah, this can be kind of cumbersome due to India's heat, but just see what the locals are wearing.
Also, women should always tie their hair back either in a braid or ponytail; it's just kind of an unspoken rule... (uhhh, where to start on this one; I've had too many bad experiences with this custom).
3) Don't expect things to be on time; India is huge, with people and traffic left and right (remember that animals are sacred, so make time for unexpected events like cows crossing roads...)
4) Don't carry a load of rupees or cash on you; stealing and pick-pocketing isn't uncommon. Keep your purses and wallets on your person.
5) Be aware of the bathrooms, if you can call them that (eh, private holes in the ground; not to get too graphic here). Always go for the "western" toilets, if possible.
6) Use bottled water, it's your safest bet. Don't go for the open fruit stands, simply because fly swarms are pretty common in the heat.
7) Always be with someone that knows the native language (Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, etc), as westerners don't happen to uh blend in that well.

[i never see pigeons in wheeling]

Definitely bring iodine tablets, anti-malarials, and other portable medicines. Update shots. Also, since it's summer, there's a high risk of sunburn and mosquito bites (seriously, so many mosquitoes), so bring sunscreen and sleep under nets/use repellent.