October Update

Some updates as we start our second month of AG:

1) We did well at our first Saturday tournament on the 28th.  We had 44 students at the tournament, averaged 14.66 points, good for second place in the tournament (first place was 15.04, third place was 13.65) and had a top five score (sum of our five highest score) of 93, good for first place in the tournament! (second place was 90).  Our next tournament will be October 19 at Pioneer High School.  This is a change in location from the original scheduled Huron High School (see updated schedule to the right)

2) The students are continuing to learn Equations variations and strategies, and we will be playing Equations at the next tournament.  We have uploaded Equations worksheets to the to the right.  There is a packet for Elementary players (6th graders) and one for Middle players (7th and 8th grade).  We will not be printing out copies, so it is up to each student to print them out on their own. Worksheets are due before Thanksgiving break.  

For every page completed, students will get one point added to their Friday tournament score, regardless of the number of problems they get correct. The idea is to reward effort. Students are encouraged to bring their worksheet packet with them to all practices, as we will often have times when they can work on them with other students.

6th and 7th grade students can get a maximum of 20 points from the worksheets, while returning 8th grade students can only get points for the worksheets that have not been in previous years' packets (Pages 7L, 7N, 7O, 7P, 7Q, 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D, & 8E)

3) The students have also begun learning a second game, Presidents.  We will be competing in Presidents amongst our team on every Friday, after our normal cube game round is over (Pres. Progression).  We have uploaded some Presidents study guides to the right.  Although students will not receive points for completing those worksheets as they do with Equations, they are very helpful in improving their Presidents scores.  Additionally, our 8th graders are putting together some Quizlets to help all the students study.

4) A quick reminder to turn in your registration sheet (Welcom letter linked to the right) if you have not already.

5) Finally  on October 29th, we will be holding a fundraiser at Panera on Washtenaw for all of Ann Arbor Academic Games.  A flier for that event is also linked to the right.

January Saturday Tournament

The January Saturday Tournament was held at Northville's Hillside Middle School on January 20.  Clague won in Team Average with 16.55 and in Top Five with an almost-perfect 99.

Top Clague players on the day -- those with an 18 or higher -- were Amy, Hassan, Yaseen, Ethan, Avani, Claire, Daniel H., David L., Ismael, Karinne, Nathan, Simon, Kevin, and Natalie.

13 Clague players have attended all five Saturday Tournaments so far this school year.   How many will make the trip to St. Lawrence in Utica to complete a perfect six-for-six season?  We will find out on February 10. 

December Saturday Tournament

The December Saturday Tournament was held on December 9 in Jackson with 180 players participating. 

Clague finished first both with an average score of 15.68 and a perfect Top Five score of 100.

Congratulations to the whole Clague team, including the following people who earned scores of 18 or higher:  Catherine X., Arav, Amy, Claire, Natalie, Aarnav, Alex V., Peter, Simon, and Karinne. 

This was the fourth tournament of the year.  15 Clague students have attended all four tournaments so far.  A total of 42 students have attended at least three tournaments already, which is part of the preparation Clague expects for those participating in the State Tournaments in March.  Another 13 have attended two tournaments.

The next Saturday Tournament is on January 20, at Northville Hillside Middle School. 

November Saturday Tournament

The November Saturday Tournament was held in Oxford.  28 Clague players playing Equations and On-Sets came in third in Average and Top Five.

Congratulations to Simon and Ethan for scoring 18 or higher out of a possible 20!

Clague expects those planning to participate in the State Tournament to be prepared, including by participating in at least three of the Saturday Tournaments.  Since this was the third Saturday Tournament of the year, it was the first chance for players to complete this qualification -- and 21 players have indeed competed in the first three tournaments.  

The December tournament is coming up soon -- December 9, at  Jackson Northeast Elementary

The Academic Games Year: Competitions

The year in Academic Games is a combination of learning and competing.   Particularly for new families and those considering joining, it might be useful to have an outline of how the year fits together.  Some of these details are specific to Clague. 

Clague practices twice a week in the school cafeteria.  Generally, Mondays are devoted to learning new things and Fridays are mostly about competition.  (Of course, competition is a good way to learn as well).  Our "Friday Tournaments" give players a chance to compete with their teammates.  When the rules are different for 6th graders, then the 6th graders compete against other 6th graders while the 7th and 8th graders have a separate competition.

We also compete once a month (September through February) on Saturday mornings with other schools in the area.  These "Saturday Tournaments" are hosted by schools around Southeast Michigan. 

The big event in Michigan Academic Games is the "Super Tournament", also known as "States", held in Grand Rapids in early March.  This is a three day tournament with a lot of great competition open to schools across Michigan.   Competition at States is in five-player teams, which means Clague generally has a number of teams at States.   At Clague, we expect any student who wants to go to States will prepare including by going to at least three of the six Saturday Tournaments.  There is a cost to going to States -- last year it was $365 -- which includes the bus, the hotel, the food, tournament registration.  We will need chaperones (parents) to join us on the trip.  Chaperones do not pay themselves (although they still pay for their children).  Making sure that students who work hard all year do not miss out on the tournaments for financial reasons is important to us so we do raise funds during the year to provide some scholarship aid to families in financial need. 

Families make the decision whether to go to States in January and coaches then put the players on teams. 

Those who do particularly well at the State Tournament may also be given the chance to compete at the Academic Games National Tournament in late April.  The location of this tournament varies but is generally somewhere in the eastern United States.  In 2018 it will be in Knoxville. 

Clague Academic Games is proud of our record including winning many State and National Championships and we are also proud of having so many players compete with integrity at the tournaments.  At the same time, we welcome players who do not wish to travel for the major tournaments but who are dedicated to working on the games to join us on Mondays and Fridays developing skills and enjoying the competition. 

First Saturday Tournament Results

Alright, time to catch up on some blog entries...

The first Saturday tournament of the 2017/18 year was held ... a while ago ... at Clague with over 200 students playing Equations in the warm-but-we're-thankful-for-the-ceiling-fan cafeteria. 

Clague posted a strong average score of 15.10 and our top five scores added to 98 out of a  possible 100 both of which were good for second place to Northville Hillside. 

Congratulations to all the Clague players -- players scoring 18 or higher (out of a possible 20) included Jackson, Amber, Nico, Peter, David, Jason, Alexandra, Evan, Alfredo, Brian, and Daniel H., Daniel L., and Daniel T.  

What has already happened at the October tournament?  Find out on a future blog post about the past. 

First AG tournament of the year, September 23 @ Clague

The first Saturday tournament is tomorrow at Clague. Students need to be at Clague no later than 8:30 am.  They will have about an hour to practice as we set up the tournament before they will be asked to leave the cafeteria so we can complete the setup.  Play will begin around 10 am and the students will play three rounds (35 minutes) of Equations against other students from Ann Arbor, Northville, Utica, Jackson, and Oxford.  The tournament will end and students will be dismissed between 12 and 12:15.

We encourage all students to attend the tournament, even if they are beginners.  We try to group students in their matches by experience level, so hopefully no student will be too out of their depth.  Students should bring pencil paper, and their AG notebook.

Good Luck to all!

February's Saturday Tournament

Clague finished up the year of Saturday tournaments with a successful trip to Fenton last Saturday in which a total of 159 students participated.

Clague led the way in team average and top five, and top Clague performers (scores of 18 or higher) included Kaan, Derek, Ismael, Darius, Alfredo, Alex, Kristian, Kaiwen, and Matthew.

There are six Saturday tournaments during the school year, running from September through February.  Six Clague players competed in all six tournaments: Natalie, Jerry L, Alfredo, Nana, Aarnav, and Derek.  Congratulations to all who competed in the AG spirit of friendly and fair competition.

Our next stop in competition is Grand Rapids, where the State Tournaments will occur in March.

January's Saturday Tournament

The penultimate Saturday tournament of the year was held on January 21 in Utica.  170 students from 16 schools took part.  Congratulations to all who competed. 

Clague had a successful competition.  Clague narrowly won in team average over Meads Mill (15.52 to 15.38), and Meads Mill returned the favor by winning Top Five 97 to 96. 

Top Clague results (18 or higher) included Natalie, Nana, Jason, Yaseen, Caleb, Simon, and Raayan. 

Seven Clague players have attended all five tournaments so far this year.   How many will complete the set by attending all six Saturday tournaments?   Find out next week as the last Saturday tournament of the 2016/17 season is played at Fenton High School on February 11. 

December Tournament in Jackson

35 Clague students participated in the Region B Saturday tournament in Jackson on December 10.  Clague won both Top 5 (with a perfect score of 100) and Team Average (15.83).

Congratulations to everyone who participated -- top scores (18 and above) from Clague were earned by Matthew, Karinne, Aarnav, Jason, Henry, Alex Z, Alex V., Evan, Catherine B.L., Marisa, Kaiwen, and Zihao.  

The tournament also included a practice round of Propaganda while the cube games were being set up in the next room.  Congratulations to Natalie and Aarnav who each got a perfect score of 28 from the 7 questions in the practice round.  

As you can see from the blog post below, we are looking forward to the State Tournaments in March in Grand Rapids.  57 team members have now participated in at least three Saturday tournaments, which is the Clague expectation towards preparing for States.  Another 11 have competed in two tournaments, and can get their third tournament on January 21, at 8:30AM, at St. Lawrence in Utica. 

November Tournament in Northville

Our November Saturday Tournament was held at Hillside Middle School in Northville.  Clague had a strong tournament, with a 15.41 average just barely ahead of Northville Meads Mill, and both Clague and Meads Mill having Top 5 scores of 95. 

Top scoring Clague players (18 and above) included Sophie, Simon, Claire, Matthew, Derek, Nana, Karim, Kaan, Nico, and Daniel W.

The State Tournaments are held in Grand Rapids in March.  Clague expects players going to States to prepare by going to at least three of the six Saturday Tournaments.  Since this was the third Saturday Tournament of the year, it is the first one at which players can have met that standard.  37 Clague players have competed in all three Saturday tournaments so far.  For a little slightly-outdated information about the State tournaments, check out this blog entry from last year. 

The next Saturday Tournament is on December 10 at Jackson Northeast Elementary School starting at 8:30AM. 

October Tournament at Pioneer

It's been a while now, but there was a Saturday Tournament in October at Pioneer High School. We enjoyed competing against teams from around Region B, including the new team at Ann Arbor Pattengill.

Clague's 63 players had a great tournament, with a tournament-leading average score of 15.48 and a perfect Top 5 score of 100.

Excellent individual scores (18 and above) were earned by 18 (!) Clague players including Claire, Simon, Derek, three Daniels (Daniel H., Daniel L., and Daniel W.), Karinne, Matthew, Angie, Rumei, Anthony V., Kevin Z., Natalie M., Aleko, Gerald, Kaan, Jonathan, and Scott.

October Tournament tomorrow, 10/15

Quick reminder that our October Tournament is tomorrow at Pioneer High School, not Huron High School as was listed on the original schedule sent out.  All students should be there no later than 8:30am, and plan on being done by around 12 or 12:15pm.

Another reminder that if you haven't already done so, please fill out a registration form for this year at http://www.a2ag.org/registration-form/ Having all Ann Arbor AG students registered with up to date contact information is crucial for us as we begin to plan for the State and National tournaments at the end of the year.

Next Monday we begin On-Sets!  Equations Worksheets will be posted next week as well.

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 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. 

Last Saturday Tournament of 2015/16 Held In Northville

19 Clague students participated in the final Saturday tournament of the 2015/16 year.  The tournament was held at Amerman Elementary in Northville.

Clague's 93 was good for the best Top Five score.  Congratulations both to that impressive new team from Fenton who took the Team Average title, and hosts Amerman who won Total Points and Most Competitors.  

Top Clague scores (18 or higher) included Jasmine X., Zach N., Aarnav U., Jerry L., and John C.

Clague was missing a number of our multi-talented players participating in the Solo & Ensemble festival in Ann Arbor that day, so the Cube Ripken award for participating in all six tournaments this year is not only unreal, but also unclaimed.  Clague did have 18 students attend five of the six tournaments this year, so congratulations to those winners of the Five-Sided Cube Award.

Those 18 players are part of the 66 Clague players who attended at least three tournaments this year and have prepared for the State Super Tournaments in Grand Rapids coming up in early March. 

January Tournament in Ypsilanti

54 Clague players were amongst competitors from 17 schools at the fifth Saturday Tournament this weekend at Ypsilanti Community Middle School.  Clague led the way in team average, total points, top five, and number of competitors.

Clague players with top scores (18 or higher) included Elizabeth L., Matthew R., Gerald K., Rhea C., Candace J., Phoebe Y., Rafid F., Avani G., Benjamin R., James X., Raayan B., Derek Z., Daniel M., Alexandra V., Bhaavna Y., and Jonathan K.

The award is fictional, but the achievement is real.

59 Clague students have now attended at least 3 Saturday Tournaments to prepare for the State Tournaments in March.

Eleven Clague students have attended all 5 Saturday Tournaments so far this year.  How many will attend all six tournaments for the year and therefore qualify for the Cube Ripken award?  Find out on February 6, when the last tournament of the 2015/16 year is held at Amerman Elementary school in Northville.

December Saturday Tournament at Jackson Northeast

This Saturday 45 members of the Clague team were part of over 200 players at the Saturday Tournament in Jackson.  Clague once again led the way in Top Five and Total Points but came in second in Team Average to that impressive new team down the road at Thurston.  Congratulations to all who participated with Clague and with other teams, and thanks to our Jackson hosts for telling us where to find the good donut shop after the competition.

Top Clague scores (18 or higher) include James X., Ben Z., Derek H., Elizabeth L, Daniel H., Kristian P., Eli S., Zihao W., Jin L., Amy X., Daniel M., Avani H., Candace J., and Darius A.

This was the 4th Saturday Tournament of the 6 held during the school year.  A special salute to the 17 Clague team members who have competed in all four.  We expect players to participate in at least three of the Saturday Tournaments if they intend to compete at the State Tournaments in March in Grand Rapids. 

The fifth Saturday Tournament is at Ypsilanti Community Middle School on January 9.

Saturday Tournament at Gompers: Halfway to States

42 Clague students were part of about 200 students competing last Saturday at Detroit’s Gompers Elementary-Middle School.   Clague led the way with a 16.71 average.  A salute to the new team down the road from Clague – Thurston Elementary’s new Academic Games team placed third in team average!  Congratulations to all who competed.

Top Clague scores (18 or higher) include Matthew R., Dan W., Scott B., Gerald K., Eli S., Angie Z., Derek Z., Young Seo L., Max M., Elizabeth L., Darius A., Brian W., Joey O., Jerry L., Jerry C., Kristian P., Zach N., Karinne T., and Eric Z.  

This is the third of the six monthly Saturday Tournaments which lead up to “States” – the Super Tournaments in March.  Clague expects those who want to compete at States to prepare by competing in at least three Saturday tournaments.   24 Clague students have competed in all three Saturday tournaments so far.  

The next Saturday tournament is at Jackson Northeast on December 12.

October Tournament Results

55 students from the Clague team competed in Saturday's tournament against students from other schools in Ann Arbor, Jackson, Northville, Detroit, and Fenton.  Overall Clague finished with an average of 15.98 (low is 8, max is 20), good for first place in the tournament, and with a top 5 score of 100 (out of 100), also good for first place!

Top Scorers (18 or higher) included:
Aarnav U.
Anirudh C.
Avani G.
Ben Z.
Bhaavna Y.
Brian W.
Daniel H.
Daniel W.
Derek H..
Eric H.
James X.
Jin L.
Kaiwen Y.
Marisa R.
Matthew R.
Max M.
Mimi G.
Prathik G.
Raayan B.
Rafid F.
Young Seo L.
Zihao W.

Online team results for Region B (and all other regions) can be found at mlagonline.com

Congrats to all the Clague players who attended the first tournament of the year.  The next tournament is November 21 at Detroit Gompers.