While the regular season for the UKAT typically ends in April, a number of tournaments are held during the summer at which various members of the team have played either as a complete squad or as part of a coalition team. While members of the UKAT have done this for a while (Kelly and Seth, for example, have appeared at several Chicago Opens), it was not until last year that we decided to keep track of the team's exploits on the web-page. In theory, only teams composed entirely of UKAT members were to be included, but things were complicated this summer, so instead of sorting things out and sticking to principles a couple of chimaerical teams thus appear in the special section devoted to our thrilling estival exploits, which may be found here, should anyone care to read about them. Anyway, on to the fall ...

On April 24th the UKAT molded itself into four teams (two per division) and betook itself to the lovely Chattanooga, where it concluded its regular season campaign at the sixth annual Moon Pie Classic. At the moment results and stats have not yet been released and thus the exact placement of all the squads is uncertain, but in Division II Chad (playing solo) won a playoff victory to take third place overall, while in Division I Seth (likewise playing solo) somehow managed to beat every team but Florida to take second place behind that team. Congratulations to the winners; statistics and a more detailed writeup will be posted soon.

Update: Despairing of ever seeing those officially released Statistics/Results, a truncated writeup of the tournament has been added here.

On April 11th the UKAT dispatched a team composed of Kelly, Robert, Gerald, and Seth to the University of Maryland to compete (if that's the word that can be used) in this year's Nationals, where the largely well-crafted set of questions served only to point out how weak and out of shape the team had let itself get. Surprisingly only defeated by Berkeley in round-robin bracket play, it fell again to Chicago and Texas A&M in the playoff bracket and took fourth place.

Statistics and a fuller writeup may be found here.

Having waited in vain for official statistics to be released from UTC for this year's Regionals, and anticipating this very contingency, a writeup for the tournament has been posted using the paper copy of the stats which Seth now regularly obtains from the tournament staff, and may be found here.

As far as other updates: look for additions to member and alumni profiles at the end of the semester, when presumably we'll know who will have moved on, who will be staying, and who the new officers will be.

For several years now, it has been my responsibility to post news, tournament announcements, statistics, writeups, etc. here on our website. However, as my participation with the UKAT comes to an end this year, it is time to pass control on to someone else. That person is none other than Seth, our once-and-again new webmaster.

It has been a valuable and enjoyable learning experience.

- Robert O.

On February 14, the UKAT fielded three teams for the ACF Southeast Regional held at UT-Chattanooga. Our "A" team consisted of Seth and Bobbi Jo; "B" was Kelly playing solo; "C" consisted of Robert O., Chad, Robert S., and Erin.

Kelly swept the field, garnering the tournament championship and MVP honor. "A" and "C" finished (if my memory serves me correctly) with 7-6 records, placing them somewhere around fourth to sixth place, presumably, with "C" ahead of "A" by virtue of a head-to-head victory, but most likely trailing in overall points. Seth earned the second place all-star award, while Robert O. earned fifth.

Statistics and a writeup will follow shortly, just as soon as they are released, as will more correct and specific team placing information.

As it is a matter of taste for the UKAT's senior members to not participate in NQT events, our younger members are left to their own devices to attend these events. However, low interest due to the eight hour drive to Athens, GA, resulted in our cancellation for that event. Then, the ever-resourceful Chad noticed that KCQRL, Kentucky's intrastate collegiate quizbowl league, was hosting an NAQT sectional just half an hour north of Lexington, at Georgetown College. At the eleventh hour, Chad and Gerald were able to register and attend this event. This came as a shocker to most of us, in that: 1) we had not participated in KCQRL for five years, 2) our KCQRL membership was in doubt, since we quit paying dues in 1999, and 3) we didn't know that the event was being held until Chad's discovery.

As this writer was not present at the event, check out Chad's write-up for a firsthand account of what transpired. It seems to have been an overwhelmingly positive experience for our duo: a respectable third place finish, a tournament MVP honor for Chad, and a good time spent among new faces.

Every year at this time, Penn Bowl attracts the interest of a large proportion of the college quizbowl circuit. For those teams not in attendance, or those with novice players not ready for Penn Bowl, UT-Chattanooga hosts Sword Bowl on the same day (but the Penn is mightier than the Sword, get it?). Thus, the UKAT fielded two teams for the seventh (?) annual Sword Bowl, on Saturday, January 24.

UKAT "A" consisted of Chad, Charlie, Dana, and Gerald, while UKAT "B" featured Nate, Robert S., Erin, and Bobbi Jo. UKAT "B," pitted against strong competition, struggled to an admirable 3-5 mark at the end of round robin, while Chad/Jeb propelled his team into the playoffs with a 7-1 record. In the playoffs, UKAT "A" lost in the semi-finals to UT-Knoxville on the final tossup, but came back to win the ensuing shootout, again on the last tossup, to enter the finals. In the finals, the team won a last tossup victory over Georgia Tech, but lost the subsequent shootout, to emerge with the second place trophy. Congratulations to them and the victors, Georgia Tech.

In the realm of individual awards, Chad/Jeb notched the MVP trophy for leading the tournament in scoring, at 83.75 PPG. Well done. Team stats and Chad's writeup are now available here.

The UKAT fielded one team, consisting of Kelly, Robert, Rose, and Chad (aka "Jeb" from now to perpetuity) for the annual University of Michigan MLK event on Saturday, January 17. This tournament always offers a mixed bag of expectations; one the one hand, it's run under the NQT format, so there's a heavy presence of trash and current events, a tendency to hamstring questions for temporal concerns, and the potential for moderators to essentially ruin games. Additionally, the upper midwest is simply abysmal in January and the weather is frequently terrible. On the plus side, Michigan's team has excellent staffing and moderating, and their tournaments are always very tightly run. Games are quick, delays are nil, and the competition is fierce. So, because the positives outweigh the negatives by a feather, the UKAT once again sojourned northward.

Those expectations were largely met and surpassed, with this incarnation being the most enjoyable UM MLK event of recent years, in this writer's eyes. It was indeed splendidly organized, edited, and managed. The field of 28 teams was strong and very much welcomed in contrast to the near single-digit tournament fields that have become all too frequent. And, yes, the weather was indeed terrible (14° F and 4" of snow during the afternoon), and the landscape was most certainly depressing, but what's new?

From a bracket of 14 teams, the UKAT finished second, with a 12-1 round-robin record, including narrow victories over Illinois and Chicago B, and a botched but inconsequential loss to a pared down Michigan house team. Inconsequential, you ask? Why yes, because instead of playing a semi-final game for the right to get crushed the Chicago A Yaphe-Maddipoti juggernaut in the finals, we got that result in the semi-finals instead. So, it's a third place tie for the UKAT and Michigan, second place for Rochester, and the big trophy for Chicago.

On the personal side, Kelly managed to score a 2nd place all-star, while Robert was left out in the cold at #11 by a fraction of a PPG (Thanks a lot, Jeb! Not that I'm bitter...).

Statistics and a Kelly or Robert writeup (Who will blink first?) should follow shortly.

3/20/04 Update: Kelly finally blinked and submitted this writeup.

The UKAT fielded three teams for Georgia Tech's (sic) MLK Jr. Memorial Tournament on January 10. Seth transparently and stupidly chose egalitarian team names, with the rosters as follows: Seth and Bobbi Jo as Kentucky A, Robert O., Gerald, Erin, and Christy as Kentucky 1 (otherwise known as "B"), and Chad, Manker, Rebecca, and freshman newcomer Robert Semones as Kentucky Alpha (otherwise known as "C"). Splitting up our best players precluded any chance of victory, but provided three quality teams and much needed balance to the field.

The tournament field was split into two divisions of six teams each, and then reorganized into top half and bottom half divisions of six teams each. From all of this, Kentucky A and Kentucky 1 emerged 6-4, with Kentucky 1 beating Kentucky A in the last round of the day. However, Kentucky A had an overall point differential in their favor, giving them 2nd place, leaving Kentucky 1 with 3rd. Kentucky Alpha followed in 4th place, at 4-6. The masters team of Raj Dhuwalia, Chris Borglum, et al. thoroughly trounced the field and emerged with an undefeated 10-0 record. However, as this team consisted of multiple schools, it played only as an exhibition team; South Carolina therefore got the tournament championship, with a 9-1 record (the sole loss coming from the Raj/Chris juggernaut).

Overall, this was a very good tournament and a strong bounceback from the debacle of Heinrich Böll back in October. The tournament ran swiftly, with minimal repeats (maybe two tossups that had the same answers as earlier bonuses). However, the tournament site was freezing cold!

Congratulations to the winners and hosts for an enjoyable experience! Seth's write-up and statistics can be found here.

The UKAT's fall competition schedule is now finished, but more tournaments will follow in January. Expect a full schedule soon.

In the meantime, for the benefit of first and second-year players, it is worth mentioning that UTC will be hosting their sixth annual Sword Bowl in late January. This "junior bird" event is open only to first and second year players. Read about it here and please inform Seth if you are interested in attending.

The UKAT fielded one team, consisting of Kelly, Seth, Robert & Chad, for the UIUC's Illinois Open 2003: Transfigured Spite on November 15. Overall, this was a pretty good tournament, though the question difficulty was significantly higher than what was expected. The team was not particularly prepared, nor was our performance particularly inspiring. The team snagged a third place finish and a victory over eventual winner Chicago A; Michigan finished second.

01/13/04 Update: Statistics and Seth's write-up are available here.

The UKAT fielded four teams for UT-Knoxville's ACF Fall Tournament, on November 1. As most people know, Tennessee's football game more or less dictated that the tournament be located off campus, as the traffic, parking, and motel situation would be miserable. Luckily for everyone involved, Pellissippi State (also located in Knoxville) offered their facilities to UT-K's team, allowing the tournament to proceed with no visible problems. Everyone thanks them for their assistance.

Our very own Kelly McKenzie once again edited and wrote questions, this his third year at the helm, and consequently did not play (lest he would have done really well, we imagine). Kentucky A consisted of Seth and Robert; Kentucky B consisted of Richardson, Gerald and Bobbi Jo; Kentucky C consisted of Will, Manker, Todd and Christy; Kentucky D consisted of Chad, Nate, Charlie and Erin. 'A' was cruising along nicely, hit some midday bumps, and finished strong, to win the tournament championship among the three teams of 2 losses each. 'B' struggled to a 2-10 finish; 'C' finished 4-8; 'D' finished 6-6, including a victory over DII winner Georgia Tech that was simply amazing to witness (and congratulations to GT, who bounced back very well from that awful mess).

The tournament as a whole was very enjoyable; thanks to everyone assisted the TD, the legendary Carol Guthrie, who did another fine job. Thanks also to Kelly for putting himself out yet again for another excellent set of questions, of which all young quizbowlers should receive a copy ($20 for 16 rounds, why not email him to purchase?).

Statistics and Seth's write-up can be found here.

The UKAT fielded two teams for UT-Chattanooga's annual Center of the Known Universe Open, on October 18, this being its sixth year. Once again, the trip was fun, with a different cast of maladroits along for the ride this time. A few freshmen swapped out this time, but the most glaring change of cast was Kelly, who astoundingly held fast to his months-long promise to avoid this tournament with extreme prejudice (consequently, Seth owes Nate five shekels). Anyway, those of us foolish enough to go faced the usual material and scenarios and the afflictions which result from the prior (Robert was already pounding his forehead and muttering obscenities to himself halfway though the morning meeting).

Anyway, Seth, Robert, Richardson, and Will, who latched on to the team in Knoxville while away from his Oak Ridge co-op, competed as Kentucky A in Division I. Once again unable to get a handle on the relatively easy and trash-laden "packets," the team struggled to a third place finish and was overwhelmingly relieved that playoffs were disposed of for the sake of time. Seth and Robert earned 4th and 6th place all-star awards for individual scoring.

Meanwhile, Kentucky B, consisting of Chad, Nate, Charlie, Dana, and Bobbi Jo, played in Division II, with the always awkward situation of rotating players in and out of rounds (five players + four seats = not ideal), a situation tried only once before by the UKAT, at the 1998 Georgia Tech MLK event. Chad's mad skills and seniority afforded him an advantage in this situation, as he only sat out once. The team performed quite well, beating eventual champion Georgia Tech A in their round robin bracket, but dropping the finals to them, to finish second. Chad earned a 2nd place all-star award for his work.

Statistics and Seth's write-up can be found here.

The UKAT fielded four teams for Georgia Tech's resurrected Heinrich Böll tournament on Octber 11. The trip was rather fun, as it was the team's first competition of the year and our large contingent was able to spend an extended amount of time together, watching the NLCS, etc. Sadly, the competition itself was a tremendous disappointment, due to some egregious oversights and organizational errors. From the field of 11 teams, the UKAT walked away placing 1-2-3-4. Our "A" team, consisting solely of Kelly, was undefeated and victorious. Our "B" team, consisting of Seth and freshmen Bobbi Jo and Dana, finished second, losing only to "A." Our "C" team, consisting of Robert, Richardson and freshmen Erin and D. J., finished third, losing only to "A" and "B." Our "D" team, consisting of Chad, Nate, Todd, and freshman Gerald, finished fourth.

(N.B. Team names are corrected in the above paragraph. A naming error caused "C" and "D" to be switched on our tournament entry. The tournament director was informed of the error and the schedule was constructed with the knowledge that "D" should, in fact, be considered as "C" and vice versa.)

Statistics and Seth's write-up can be found here.

This info is not set in stone yet, but it appears that we will be leaving for the Georgia Tech tournament on Friday at 3 PM, from the Blazer Hall parking lot (specifically the corner nearest to the Student Center). Seth should provide more solid details via email.

Although the paperwork has not been submitted yet, new officers have been chosen to replace Nathan and Will, who are currently on co-op work assignments. The new line-up is as follows:

President - Chad
Vice-President - Todd
Treasurer - Nate
Secretary - Christy

Of course, we know who will be doing all the work, don't we...

Also, Seth took a break from his usual nocturnal forays through the streets stealing old ladies' purses in order to provide updated member profiles, which have been dutifully posted. We were a year behind in getting Chad and Nate the recognition that they deserve (begin laughter...), so they are no doubt tipping a few back in celebration.

Perhaps this year's new members will be included in a more timely fashion.

Ordinarily it has not been the habit of the team to report what various members do over the summer, though often Kelly and/or Seth have been active in master's tournaments during the break with varying degress of success. Kelly, for example, has won singles tournaments at the last three Chicago Opens and won a solo victory at UTC last summer, while Seth has put in his usual less-than-inspired performances at the Presidential Open and was pummleled at the Chicago Open last year. The reasons for this have been that typically UKAT members combine with players from other schools for their activities, and thus what they do is not really with the team. Thus, while Seth and Kelly were on the team that won this year's Chicago Open with the inimitable Raj Dhuwalia and Chris Borglum (no easy feat; the second place team was a combination of Zeke Berdichevsky, Paul Litvak, Ben Heller, and Andrew Yaphe, while third was Hilleman, Hentzel, and Tom Waters; yes, that's the Tom Waters), the victory was not really won by the "team." However, this summer has been slightly different, in that teams consisting wholly of UKAT members have won two summer tournaments, so an exception will be made for this veritable aestas mirablis.

So, an additional Summer 2003 results page has been created.

Practices this semester will be held on every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at 6 PM in or near Room 117 of the Student Center. Mondays and Tuesdays will be geared towards less experienced players. Wednesdays will cater to more experienced players, though everyone is welcome to attend. Practices are an open affair; show up as much as you like. We understand that you have classwork and other events to attend. However, the more you put in, the more you get out.

As for our competition schedule, five tournaments are currently scheduled this semester. They are:

09/20/03 - Casimir Funk Tournament of Nutrition at the University of Michigan (Postponed to spring)
10/11/03 - Heinrich Böll at Georgia Tech
10/18/03 - Center of the Known Universe VI at UT-Chattanooga
11/01/03 - ACF Fall Tournament Midsouth at UT-Knoxville
11/15/03 - Illinois Open 2003 at the University of Illinois

All practices and tournaments are listed under the "Schedule" link on the left of your screen.

All incoming freshmen and returning students interested in joining the UK Academic Team are encouraged to attend our new members meeting on Wednesday, September 3, at 6:00 PM in Room 117 of the Student Center. Team leaders will be present to introduce our organization & our style of competition, and to answer questions. We might even be able to play a couple of games.

All UK students are eligible to participate.

In order to keep our news page to a reasonable size, all news from the Fall 2002 to Spring 2003 season has been moved here.