September Tournament at Clague

On Saturday the Clague AG team played in their first regional tournament of the year.  59 Clague team members participated in Equations against students from other schools in Ann Arbor, Northville, Jackson, Utica, Fenton, Plymouth and Columbia.  Clague finished with an average of 14.90 points (perfect score is 20), which was good for third place (first place was 15.89 points) and a perfect Top Five score of 100, best in the tournament (second place was 95).

Top scores for Clague (18 points or higher) included:
Amber Y.
Amy X.
Avani H.-S.
Caleb J. L.
David L.
Jason K.
Jerry L.
Marisa R.
Nick G.
Raayan B.
Varshini K.

Congrats to the entire team for a great start to the year.  Our next tournament is on October 15 at Pioneer High School (this is a change from the original schedule).

What is the Game of Presidents?

So far, our attention in practice has been on the game of Equations. Soon, we will be adding the game of Presidents.

Presidents is a game about U.S. History in which a series of clues are given about a President and the goal is to identify him. Presidents are identified by their number (Washington is #1, Obama is #44).

The players are each given a sheet (which we call a “gazetteer”) giving the number of the President, his name, his years in office, his political party, and the year and state of his birth and death.

The players are given a “range” within which the answer will fall. For example, the range might be 35-44.

First, a "six-point clue" is read about the President (in the first person). This is usually the most difficult clue. For example, 

“Soon after my birth, my parents separated.  I went with my mother to live in a different state.  After she remarried, I was renamed after her second husband. “

Based on this, players choose whether to write down an answer or wait for more clues.  If the answer turns out to be right, they will get six points, but a wrong answer gets no points in Presidents.
Next, a "four-point clue" is read about the same President.  For example,

“I played football for my college team and served as a representative from the same state for many years, eventually serving as leader of my party in the House of Representatives.  I served on the Warren Commission investigating a Presidential assassination.  I left my position in the House of Representatives to become Vice President.”

Players who haven't answered the six-point clue choose whether to answer or not -- this time getting four points if they are correct – and zero if they are wrong.  Then, a "two-point clue" is read.  This clue is usually easier than the others. 

“I became Vice President when my predecessor resigned, and similarly became President when my predecessor resigned.  As such, I am the only President never elected to national office”.

Players who haven't answered yet answer now since it is the last chance for points.  Finally, the President (#38 - Ford) is identified, scores are recorded, and the game moves on to the next question.  

For tips on studying for Presidents, have a look at an earlier blog post.

At the elementary and middle levels, Academic Games covers half of the Presidents each year.  This year (2016-17) we cover #25-44 (McKinley through Obama).  

First Month Notes

Great to see so many new and returning players at our first few practices.  We have been working on Equations, although we fit in a few Presidents questions too, because it's fun.

Note that Clague ends earlier this year than last year so practices on Fridays end at 5:00, not 5:30 as they did last year.  Mondays are still 7:00 to 9:00. 

Our first Saturday tournament is this coming Saturday at Clague, at 8:30AM.   To participate, you must get your registration form returned this week in practice if you have not done so already. 

You can also follow us on twitter @clagueag and on Facebook. But keep checking here too, because there's more detail here on the old blog.  

And finally, the team has chosen its 2016-17 captains.  At Clague, being a captain is both an honor and extra work, so congratulations and thanks are in order to Angie, Bhaavna, Derek, Marisa, and Matthew. 

What is a Saturday Tournament?

A Saturday Tournament is a chance for Clague to play teams from other schools.  In Michigan, there is one Saturday Tournament each month from September through February – for a total of six each year.

Each player will play three rounds in each Saturday tournament.  The games are arranged so that games are between players near the same skill level.  In the September tournament, it is likely we will all play Equations.  As the year goes on, other games will be mixed in, starting with On-Sets and moving on to Linguishtik and perhaps WFF.  We will sometimes play practice rounds of Presidents as well.  

This week in practice we will talk a bit more about how Saturday tournaments work.  

The Saturday tournaments also serve as preparation for the State Tournaments in Grand Rapids in March.  To qualify for the State Tournament, we expect players to participate in at least three of the Saturday Tournaments. 

The location for the Saturday Tournaments varies, but this year the first two are right here in Ann Arbor – September 24 at Clague and October 15 at Pioneer. 

Students should show up at the tournament by 8:30AM, find the Clague team, and put their name on the sign-up sheet.  The tournament ends around noon. 

Almost Time For Academic Games Again

Now that most Clague students have received their schedules, don't forget to add Academic Games as well.

With the Clague bell schedule shifting a bit, we will start out with practice on Friday after school until 5:00, and as per usual, from 7:00-9:00 on Mondays.  We will once again be practicing in the Clague cafeteria.

The first practice for players returning from last year's Clague team will be Friday, September 9, after school.  

On Monday, September 12, we will have a full practice for everyone -- returning Clague players, players who played AG last year and are at Clague now, and Clague students who have never played Academic Games before but are thinking about joining.  Parents are welcome too.   Hope to see you there!

Practices now on Mondays only

With a great year of practice Friday tournaments, Saturday Tournaments, Super Tournaments, and a National Tournament behind us, we will not be practicing as a team on Fridays for the rest of the school year, but we are still meeting Mondays at 7 as usual, because as President Taft would say, "It's time to start studying me again". 

Clague Practices During State Tournament Season

As you're reading this blog, you probably know the State Tournaments are almost here.  Clague sixth graders (the "elementary" teams) will be competing in Grand Rapids March 2-4 and the seventh and eighth graders (the "middle" teams) will be competing in the same place March 9-11.  This is a great time of year for Academic Games but means that our practice schedule is of course changed: 

• The remaining February practices (Friday the 26th and Monday the 29th) proceed at their normal times. 
• Due to the state tournaments, there will be no practices Friday March 4 or Friday March 11.  
• Monday March 7 is a practice for the middle teams only -- 6th graders do not have practice that night.
• The whole team will be back together and back to our usual schedule starting on Monday, March 14.  

We will be posting results as they happen (well, not too long after they happen) from the state tournament on our twitter account @clagueag .   Depending on your browser, you might see that twitter feed to the right of this blog post.