Ottawa
| Ottawa | |
| |
|---|---|
| Location: Ottawa, ON | |
| Current President or Coach | Ben Smith |
| National championships | none |
| NAQT Page | link |
The University of Ottawa is a bilingual university in Ottawa, Ontario. Ben Smith has run the "Trivia Club" since he founded it in the 2003-04 season. The club sometimes links with Carleton University, also in Ottawa.
Early History
There are tournament results showing a team from Ottawa participating in several quizbowl tournaments in Canada in the late 1990s and early 2000s. However, no remaining students or club status from that time were apparent upon the establishment of the official club.
Modern History
The current club was established in 2003 amidst several other programs starting up around Canada in the same year. Ben Smith, Michelle Bishop, Jeff Gordon, and Philippe Marchand were the original members. Gordon was president in the early years due to a quirky (and now unenforced) rule stating that U of O clubs and their presidents must be bilingual, although French quizbowl has never been played at Ottawa. The team's debut at the 2004 NAQT Canadian SCT would have been disastrous if not for the last-minute arrival of Tamara Vardomskaya; even then, only fifth place could be mustered. Ottawa has participated in the 2005 ICT and 2006 ICT, finishing in the bottom bracket both times. Smith ran most of the club, though he has not served as president because of language issues.
Current Club
Almost all of the original members had graduated by 2008, leaving a void to be filled by a new generation of freshmen. Under new president Britney Castleman, membership ballooned to 30 players in 2009-10, and Ottawa participated in 9 tournaments that season. After winning sectionals held at McMaster University, a team of Aaron Kozak, Brendan McKendy, Pamela Wu and Edward Roue culminated a 12th place finish at the DII ICT 2010 held in Chicago.
Hosted Tournaments
Two annual tournaments are under the banner of Ottawa: the Ottawa Hybrid Tournament, and the Ottawa Quizbowl Tournament.
The OHT is a packet-submission hybrid tournament originally conceived in 2005 as a cash grab to fund a trip to the ICT. Due to popularity, the tournament continued, although with more packet discounts and less intention of profit. While the tournament will remain open to all teams, there were foul cries in 2007 when a "professional player" walked over a high school team.
The OQT, first run in 2005, is the first quizbowl-format tournament for high schools in Canada. It uses NAQT questions. Lisgar won from 2005 to 2007 and 2009, while Merivale won in 2008.
Current (2009-10) Members
- Zeeshan Ahmed
- Kathy Andrews (publicity 2009-2010, treasurer 2010-2011)
- Natalie Ashton
- Kelsey Bathurst
- Akhil Bhalla
- Britney Castleman (president 2009-2010, 2010-2011)
- Vincent Clavette (publicity 2010-2011)
- Chris Jones
- Karolinka Kaminska
- Chris Kim
- Aaron Kozak (captain 2009-2010, 2010-2011)
- Melinda Mah
- Brendan McKendy
- Russell Neesom
- Katie Packman (vice-president/ secretary 2010-2011)
- Kevin Perry
- Jeff Quan
- Edward Roue
- Ben Smith (quizmaster and founder)
- Stephanie Smith (secretary 2009-2010)
- Thea Temple
- Tina Vander Wielen
- Jonathan Weber
- Pamela Wu
- Kiril Yankelevich
Alumni
- Dan Barber
- Michelle Bishop
- Jeff Gordon
- Ian Harten
- Philippe Marchand
- Shauna McNally
- Tamara Vardomskaya