Date : 17th September, 2003
Venue : Vidya Mandir, Birla High School, Kolkata
Event : ESPN School Quiz, Kolkata qualifying round
Experience : Absolutely Incredible
The BEST day of my life so far,period. The ESPN school quiz was an annual TV quiz which went on air for 5 seasons. This was season 4 and we, that is my friend Arjun and yours truly, were participating in the qualifying rounds for the first time. This was also the first time that our school, The Assembly of God Church School, Tollygunge, was being represented at the event. It was because of the efforts of Arjun that we got the chance in the first place. It was he who asked ESPN to send an application to our school so that we could participate. I agreed to be his team-mate when he asked me.
On reaching the venue, it was quite overwhelming. We had seen the show on TV, and were well aware of the format and the level of quizzing. Besides, there were busloads of students from some schools present to cheer on their school's participants. We had been allowed to take only 5!
The quiz got under way with the written qualifying rounds, with 12 teams being selected for 2 semi-finals, after which there would be a six team final. We made it through the first semi-final via a tie-breaker. The question which got us through was "Between which two teams is the Calcutta Cup of Rugby played?". The answer is "England and Scotland". The source where I had come across this answer is even more surprising. At that time I used to play Rugby 2003 demo from EA Sports a lot. On the exit screen, there were details of what one could play in the full version game. This answer was given there. A computer game helped us get through to the final. This remains is the most memorable answer I have ever given in any quiz.
The final was very tough emotionally. I have to say here that if Arjun had not been positive throughout the final, we would never have managed to achieve what we did. I had given up hope half-way through it. We were stuck at the back of the pack till the last round. Eventually, because of our better understanding of the rules, we managed to secure a third place finish and book our places in the National rounds to be held in Delhi. We were awarded a trophy which is kept in our school for all to see. Deservedly, Arjun got the 'Man of the Match' trophy for not losing hope when we were in dire straights.
Perhaps the most lasting impression of that day is the support that we received from The Assembly of God Church, Park Street cheering team. They had packed up about a quarter of the auditorium. Unfortunately, their team did not qualify for the final. That was when the magic happened. At one point, they were even chanting "AGCT(Assembly of God Church,Tollygunge) on the top!" That was an awesome gesture. There was this one guy who was acting as the leader, calling out the chants first and the others were backing him up. I didn't get a chance to meet him in person, but if you are reading this, you were fantastic that day. The selfless attitude displayed by those students made me fall in love with our parent school, and I ended up doing the last 2 years of my schooling from that school itself.
Venue : Vidya Mandir, Birla High School, Kolkata
Event : ESPN School Quiz, Kolkata qualifying round
Experience : Absolutely Incredible
The BEST day of my life so far,period. The ESPN school quiz was an annual TV quiz which went on air for 5 seasons. This was season 4 and we, that is my friend Arjun and yours truly, were participating in the qualifying rounds for the first time. This was also the first time that our school, The Assembly of God Church School, Tollygunge, was being represented at the event. It was because of the efforts of Arjun that we got the chance in the first place. It was he who asked ESPN to send an application to our school so that we could participate. I agreed to be his team-mate when he asked me.
On reaching the venue, it was quite overwhelming. We had seen the show on TV, and were well aware of the format and the level of quizzing. Besides, there were busloads of students from some schools present to cheer on their school's participants. We had been allowed to take only 5!
The quiz got under way with the written qualifying rounds, with 12 teams being selected for 2 semi-finals, after which there would be a six team final. We made it through the first semi-final via a tie-breaker. The question which got us through was "Between which two teams is the Calcutta Cup of Rugby played?". The answer is "England and Scotland". The source where I had come across this answer is even more surprising. At that time I used to play Rugby 2003 demo from EA Sports a lot. On the exit screen, there were details of what one could play in the full version game. This answer was given there. A computer game helped us get through to the final. This remains is the most memorable answer I have ever given in any quiz.
The final was very tough emotionally. I have to say here that if Arjun had not been positive throughout the final, we would never have managed to achieve what we did. I had given up hope half-way through it. We were stuck at the back of the pack till the last round. Eventually, because of our better understanding of the rules, we managed to secure a third place finish and book our places in the National rounds to be held in Delhi. We were awarded a trophy which is kept in our school for all to see. Deservedly, Arjun got the 'Man of the Match' trophy for not losing hope when we were in dire straights.
Perhaps the most lasting impression of that day is the support that we received from The Assembly of God Church, Park Street cheering team. They had packed up about a quarter of the auditorium. Unfortunately, their team did not qualify for the final. That was when the magic happened. At one point, they were even chanting "AGCT(Assembly of God Church,Tollygunge) on the top!" That was an awesome gesture. There was this one guy who was acting as the leader, calling out the chants first and the others were backing him up. I didn't get a chance to meet him in person, but if you are reading this, you were fantastic that day. The selfless attitude displayed by those students made me fall in love with our parent school, and I ended up doing the last 2 years of my schooling from that school itself.
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