Difference between revisions of "Cambridge"

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The '''University of Cambridge''' in England has a quiz bowl team known as the Cambridge Quiz Society.
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{{Pic|Cambridge_University_Quiz_Society_2023.jpg|Some members of CUQS after Varsity 2023}}
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The '''University of Cambridge''' in England has a quizbowl team known as the Cambridge University Quiz Society (CUQS).
  
 
==History==
 
==History==
UK University quizzing sprang up, or at least gently emerged from its cave, in the mid-1990s when the return of BBC quiz show University Challenge in 1994 began to reanimate those competitive instincts among the new generation of trivia-hungry students. In 1998 Chris Harrison, one of the Imperial team who had won the 1996 TV series, organised the first British Student Quiz Championships, and several Cambridge colleges sent teams. A year later Oxford plucked up the courage to challenge Cambridge to the first Varsity quiz match, and though the result was eventually decided by a scoring error it at least started an august annual tradition of hard-fought rivalry. It was clearly time to back up the brave teams with a proper university society and so in June 1999 Sean Blanchflower and Robin Bhattacharyya of Trinity's 1995 winning University Challenge team founded the Cambridge University Quiz Society.
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In June 1999, Sean Blanchflower and Robin Bhattacharyya of Trinity's 1995 winning University Challenge team founded the Cambridge University Quiz Society. Cambridge has had a long-running rivalry with [[Oxford]], playing an annual [[Varsity Match]] against them; in 2014, University Challenge winner Alex Guttenplan inspired Cambridge to its first ever Varsity victory. Cambridge emerged as a very strong contender on the UK student quizbowl circuit, placing in the top three at the British Student Quiz Championships ([[BSQC]]) every year since 2015, and winning in 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2024.
 
 
Although Oxford has largely had a stranglehold over the British Quizbowl scene, Cambridge has emerged as a strong challenger over the past few years. In 2014, University Challenge winner Alex Guttenplan inspired Cambridge to its first ever victory in the Varsity match, a feat which was repeated in 2016 with a strong performance from Samuel Cook.
 
  
 
==Performances==
 
==Performances==
A strong core of novice players contributed to success at the 2016 VCU Novice tournament in London.
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Cambridge has secured four wins at the British Student Quiz Championships ([[BSQC]]), most recently winning in 2024 where a Cambridge A team consisting of [[Harrison Whitaker]], [[Sam Foo]], [[Agnijo Banerjee]] and [[Oscar Despard]] defeated Imperial A in a one-game final by 270-265.
 
 
Cambridge teams additionally performed very well at MUT with all 4 Cambridge teams handily defeating a strong Oxford A and an upset with Cambridge B defeating Cambridge A.
 
 
 
At 2016 ACF Fall's UK site, Cambridge A cleared the field taking a win against both Oxford A and Oxford B by healthy margins.
 
 
 
==Hosted Tournaments==
 
*Cambridge Open 2015
 
 
 
*Penn Bowl 2016
 
 
 
*MUT 2016
 
 
 
*Cambridge Open 2017
 
 
 
==Notable Players==
 
*Ewan MacAulay, a strong physics and chemistry player whose skills were sharpened by playing at Oxford as an undergraduate, and dulled by playing at Cambridge as a PhD student.
 
 
 
*Sam Cook, a geography specialist
 
 
 
*Oliver Sweetenham, a top tier literature and history player specializing in the works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning
 
 
 
*Elysia Warner, a strong linguist specializing in creoles and the musical Hamilton.
 
 
 
*Matthew Nixon, a musical and mathematical savant
 
 
 
*Daniel Chiverton, a specialist in mathematics, religion, and Westerosi politics
 
 
 
*Ephraim Jacob Jacobus Levinson, a feisty competitor who studies the works of Steven Wallace
 
 
 
*Tom Hill, a disciple of the famous quizzer Bobby Seagull, who has a lockdown on Sicilian religious persecution from 1120-1129
 
 
 
*Bobby Seagull, whose twitter can be found [https://twitter.com/Bobby_Seagull here]
 
 
 
*Theo Howe, a trash and East Asia specialist
 
  
*Vitalijs Brejevs, a musical scholar studying the works of Stravinsky
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Cambridge teams have been successful in ACF tournaments in recent years. A Cambridge A team consisting of [[Oscar Despard]], [[Rachel Bentham]], [[Krishnan Mulholland]] and [[Rhys Lewis]] won [[ACF Fall]] 2022 after a half-packet final against Birmingham A, winning 160-105. At the online mirror of [[ACF Winter]] 2022, a team of [[Harrison Whitaker]], [[Liam Hughes]], [[Abigail Tan]] and [[Krishnan Mulholland]] defeated Oxford B 330-280 in the last game to win the tournament. Cambridge A and B placed joint 2nd and joint 5th respectively at [[ACF Regionals]] 2023.
  
*Julian Sutcliffe, a fan of Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill
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Cambridge saw additional success in the 2022-23 season by winning the 2023 [[Varsity Match]] against Oxford for the first time since 2019, with an A team of [[Abigail Tan]], [[Harrison Whitaker]], [[Liam Hughes]] and [[Oscar Despard]] defeating Oxford A 310-280 to decide the Varsity outcome for that year. In addition, a B team of [[Sam Foo]], [[Agnijo Banerjee]], [[Linus Luu]] and [[Oliver Church]] also won their 2023 Varsity match, winning 270-190 against Oxford B.
  
*Salman Iftikhar, expert in Beethoven and ethical bowls
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==Former Players==
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{{Columns-list|colwidth=200px|
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* [[Ewan MacAulay]]
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* [[Sam Cook]]
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* [[Oliver Sweetenham]]
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* [[Elysia Warner]]
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* [[Matthew Nixon]]
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* [[Daniel Chiverton]]
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* [[Evan Lynch]]
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* [[Ephraim Jacob Jacobus Levinson]]
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* [[Tom Hill]]
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* [[Bobby Seagull]]
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* [[Theo Howe]]
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* [[Vitalijs Brejevs]]
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* [[Julian Sutcliffe]]
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* [[Salman Iftikhar]]
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* [[Florence Chen]]
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* [[Tomas Kesek]]
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* [[Sarah Binney]]
  
==Notable Former Players==
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}}
  
*Florence Chen, since graduated, a harvard undergraduate who played while getting a master's degree. Played at VCU Novice despite not being a novice.
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==2022-23 Players==
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{{Columns-list|colwidth=200px|
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* [[Abigail Tan]]
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* [[Harrison Whitaker]]
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* [[Liam Hughes]]
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* [[Oscar Despard]]
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* [[Agnijo Banerjee]]
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* [[Sam Foo]]
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* [[Montagu James]]
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* [[Oliver Church]]
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* [[Linus Luu]]
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* [[Sarah Henderson]]
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* [[Rachel Bentham]]
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* [[Krishnan Mulholland]]
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* [[Rhys Lewis]]
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* [[Benjamin Richards]]
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* [[Thomas Banbury]]
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* [[Jeremi Jaksina]]
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* [[Jon White]]
  
*Tomas Kesek, since graduated, a strong player who despite being a physician by training failed to get biology questions
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}}
  
*Sarah Binney, a physicist turned philosopher and one of the pub quiz managers
 
  
 
[[category: British quizbowl]][[category:college clubs]]
 
[[category: British quizbowl]][[category:college clubs]]

Latest revision as of 11:40, 3 March 2024

Cambridge University Quiz Society 2023.jpg
Above:
Some members of CUQS after Varsity 2023

The University of Cambridge in England has a quizbowl team known as the Cambridge University Quiz Society (CUQS).

History

In June 1999, Sean Blanchflower and Robin Bhattacharyya of Trinity's 1995 winning University Challenge team founded the Cambridge University Quiz Society. Cambridge has had a long-running rivalry with Oxford, playing an annual Varsity Match against them; in 2014, University Challenge winner Alex Guttenplan inspired Cambridge to its first ever Varsity victory. Cambridge emerged as a very strong contender on the UK student quizbowl circuit, placing in the top three at the British Student Quiz Championships (BSQC) every year since 2015, and winning in 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2024.

Performances

Cambridge has secured four wins at the British Student Quiz Championships (BSQC), most recently winning in 2024 where a Cambridge A team consisting of Harrison Whitaker, Sam Foo, Agnijo Banerjee and Oscar Despard defeated Imperial A in a one-game final by 270-265.

Cambridge teams have been successful in ACF tournaments in recent years. A Cambridge A team consisting of Oscar Despard, Rachel Bentham, Krishnan Mulholland and Rhys Lewis won ACF Fall 2022 after a half-packet final against Birmingham A, winning 160-105. At the online mirror of ACF Winter 2022, a team of Harrison Whitaker, Liam Hughes, Abigail Tan and Krishnan Mulholland defeated Oxford B 330-280 in the last game to win the tournament. Cambridge A and B placed joint 2nd and joint 5th respectively at ACF Regionals 2023.

Cambridge saw additional success in the 2022-23 season by winning the 2023 Varsity Match against Oxford for the first time since 2019, with an A team of Abigail Tan, Harrison Whitaker, Liam Hughes and Oscar Despard defeating Oxford A 310-280 to decide the Varsity outcome for that year. In addition, a B team of Sam Foo, Agnijo Banerjee, Linus Luu and Oliver Church also won their 2023 Varsity match, winning 270-190 against Oxford B.

Former Players

2022-23 Players