2024 Carper Award winners

[theMoMA]

ACF is pleased to announce that the 2024 Carper Award winners are John Lawrence, Raj Bhan, and Dave Hamilton!

John Lawrence received the award through the vote of the ACF membership. It's hard to imagine the last fifteen years of quizbowl history without John's contributions. As an editor, he brings creativity, exacting standards, a massive body of knowledge, an unrivaled work ethic, and a steady-handed managerial excellence to every project he works on (including every major college event and some of the most enjoyable side events ever written). As a theoretician, his immense contributions range from changing how we write prompt directives to reframing how we think about major categories such as music, literature, and thought. As a program leader, he has been both the manager of quizbowl's largest and most successful club (Chicago) and the reformer who propelled another major club (Yale) to prominence. As a player, he's won just about everything there is to win (multiple times). And as a pillar of the quizbowl community, he's been a mentor to younger writers, a constant and thoughtful presence in the discourse, and one of the most delightful people you'll ever meet. 

Starting a few years ago, ACF has empowered a committee of former Carper winners who are also ACF members to select a second winner each year. This year, in a tie vote, the committee recognizes Raj Bhan and Dave Hamilton, both key links between the early days of ACF and today. 

Raj Bhan was one of the most prolific ACF and circuit editors in a career that spanned the late 1990s through the early 2000s. After starting his career at Broward Community College, Raj moved to Washington University in St. Louis, where he edited and directed the first three instances of the St. Louis Open, one of the first ACF-style tournaments in the midwest. Raj served as the head editor of ACF Nationals in 2002 and 2003; in 2008, when Nationals needed category editors on short notice, Raj again answered the call. He was also a program builder, especially at WUSTL; a talented player who was a top-four scorer at the 2000 ACF Nationals and a member of the winning team at the Auspicious Incident, a difficult open tournament; and the author of one of the best guides to improving at quizbowl. 

Dave Hamilton is a key figure in the history of two of quizbowl's august institutions: ACF and the Maryland Academic Quiz Team. He was one of the three co-founders of the modern ACF in 1997 and served as the head editor of Nationals in 2000 and 2001 after leading Maryland to top-three finishes at Nationals from 1996-99. Dave's central role in ACF history cannot be understated: he co-founded the modern organization (and its website), edited both Regionals and Nationals, and was the original administrator and presenter of the Carper Award. Dave has occasionally remained active on the forums, and his stories have been an entertaining window into the bygone era of late-1990s and early-2000s quizbowl, including such exotic events as Khon Hoc, Harvest Bowl, the Colvin-Obstgarten grudge match, and the only ACF Nationals All-Star Game. 

Raj's and Dave's willingness to contribute their considerable editing skills to the cause helped ensure ACF's survival as an independent, player-run organization at a time when the future of college quizbowl was much less secure and depended on the efforts of a few dedicated people. It's a nice coincidence that we celebrate both of them this year.

John, Raj, and Dave helped make quizbowl what it is today. ACF is thrilled to be recognizing them for their distinguished careers! Please join me in congratulating them!

[Mike Bentley]

Congrats, everyone!

Never met Raj or Dave*, but as John's apparently most frequent open tournament teammate, glad to see he's getting recognition for all the work he's put into the college game over the years.

*Although it's possible we met at some Maryland practice or trash tournament and I've since forgotten.

[Cheynem]

John is an extremely well-deserving winner. I've worked with him on two sets I can think of, as a co-editor on Chicago Open and as a writer/consultant under his editorship at last year's UG Nationals. What I like best about John is his extreme organization and direction. You never worry about a project going off the rails if John is in charge, and every question he's in charge of has a structure that speaks to a lot of work and care. To use a sports analogy, if some quizbowl writers are volume people, who take and make a lot of shots; if some are big dunkers, who are not overly prolific but wow you; if some are the trick shot specialists who constantly try creative and fascinating things--John, who obviously has all of the aforementioned skills, to me is more of a master point guard, someone who always plays controlled and graceful as he leads the offense.

The one thing his resume lacks is, of course, writing and editing a trash tournament, as I am curious that his *extremely* successful production on my trash questions means the converse would also be true.

[Sima Guang Hater]

It is wonderful to finally see John Lawrence win. I met him when he first started playing at Yale, back when the team was not nearly as storied as it is now. It was clear he had a lot of passion for the game and a desire to get better, even when those around him did not. Then I had the pleasure of playing against him for umpteen years at Chicago, where he led a winning dynasty that consistently racked up impressive placements at nationals with his characteristically precise and careful playing style.

As Mike also said better than I can, you know that if you're working on a set with John, the set is going to be well-organized, consistent, and tightly proofread. He taught me a lot about being an editor with his approach, and the tournaments that he's headed are among my favorite to work on. If you get the opportunity to work with John, you should - you will not be disappointed.