SOLUTIONS 2023

Message from the Director

Outstanding AG

Looking ahead to 2024

Updates from Rod Beard about the 2023 AGLOA National Tournament. > p. 3

Highlights from our 2023 Outstanding Seniors and Outstanding Educators. > p. 10 & 16

Preview the 2024 AGLOA National Tournament that will be held in Atlanta, Georgia. > p. 26

S O LU T I O N S

THINKING KIDS

2023

www.agloa.org

Senior Division Sweepstakes Champions We Devour | Ann Arbor | MI Simon Shavit, Tony Varkey, Alfredo Meza, David Lee and Jennifer Tang

Junior Division Sweepstakes Champions One Jennifer Short | Ann Arbor | MI Andy Xu, Rogan Geyer, Jessica Wu, Lucas Long and Jayeun Lee

Middle Division Sweepstakes Champions Gouda Than You | Ann Arbor | MI Caleb Lee, Thomas Wang, Angela Chen, Tarun Iyer and Katherine Zhou

Elementary Division Sweepstakes Co-Champions MNCCS Bing Chilling Lovers | MNCCS | MI Amira Wu, Nathan Wen, Alaina Lee, Aiden Mou and Alice Wang

Elementary Division Sweepstakes Co-Champions Iconic | Ann Arbor | MI Kate Wang, Jaeyoung Lee, Vihaan Sharma, Siddharth Sivaramakrishnan and Priyam Chowdhury

Nat iona l C hamps SOLUTIONS 2023

Over the past 56 years, the national tournament has been held in 17 different cities and the most recent national tournament marked the 10th time Nationals returned to the Orlando area.

Rod Beard, Executive Director www.agloa.org

A Sunny Tourney This year’s tournament in Florida represents one of our biggest tournaments, with more than 1,300 players and parents, and dozens of volunteers and coaches who helped make it a success.

As we have seen at every national tournament, the level of competition for each game was intense, and the exchange of ideas and experiences that students shared is at the core of AGLOA’s values of character, integrity and excellence.

These lessons we take away from the national tournament come from both victory and defeat, from the interactions we have with each other in both the playing rooms and hallways, and from the people who make the AGLOA organization a success. Each player, coach, parent and volunteer is a critical element of a successful tournament and I hope everyone took away a renewed sense of resolve and commitment to excellence.

Each year, we hope to improve operations and the overall tournament experience. As we look forward to next year’s tournament we will continue to examine our internal processes in an effort to deliver a successful tournament.

Finally, I want to extend my sincere thanks to all of the coaches, teachers, administrators, parents and volunteers who work throughout the year to support Academic Games efforts across the country. Every hour, every action continues to build a national organization that develops our competitors into future leaders, thinkers and problemsolvers who are capable of great things. Congratulations to everyone who made this AGLOA National Tournament a rousing success!

3

Sweepstakes Elementary Individual Sweepstakes

Alice Wang

Middle Individual Sweepstakes

Angela Chen

Junior Individual Sweepstakes

Will Triplett

Senior Individual Sweepstakes

Tony Varkey SOLUTIONS 2023

The Sweepstakes title is a remarkable achievement at the Academic Games Leagues of America (AGLOA) National Tournament. These titles are awarded in each division’s to the Individuals and teams who finish with the best overall combined scores from at least four different games.

Winning this championship title demonstrates a breadth and knowledge across multiple subjects and is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the players who achieve this remarkable accomplishment. The Sweepstakes title carries a prestige and recognition that only a handful of players and teams are able to achieve.

In order to win this title, at least one game from each of the three subject areas—Mathematics, Language Arts, and Social Studies—must be used to determine Sweepstakes ranking. The fourth game used in the calculation may be from any game not previously used.

In each division’s, players compete in the Individuals Sweepstakes Competition to determine the best overall Academic Games player. Each player that meets the criteria is automatically entered into the competition. A player may compete in more than four games and take the best four scores that meet the guidelines.

In each division’s, in order to be eligible for the Team Sweepstakes Competition, a team must consist of the same five players for all games which they are counting towards their Sweepstakes score. All teams that meet the criteria are automatically entered into the Team Sweepstakes Competition. If some or all of the players on the team wish to play on other teams or Individualsly in the other games which they are not counting for Team Sweepstakes, they may do so.

s

Elementary Division Individuals 1. Alice Wang | MNCCS | MI 2. Vihaan Sharma | Ann Arbor | MI 3. Harman Ishar | Northville | MI Elementary Division Teams 1. Bing Chilling Lovers | MNCCS | MI 1. Iconic | Ann Arbor | MI 3. Nacho Average Team | Ann Arbor | MI Middle Division Individuals 1. Angela Chen | Ann Arbor | MI 2. Thomas Wang | Ann Arbor | MI 3. Tarun Iyer | Ann Arbor | MI Middle Division Teams 1. Gouda Than You | Ann Arbor | MI 2. MNCCS Milk Cartons | MNCCS | MI 3. MNCCS Froot Loops | MNCCS | MI Junior Division Individuals 1. Will Triplett | Jefferson Parish | LA 2. Amr Mohieldin | Jefferson Parish | LA 3. Huawei Ye | MNCCS | MI Junior Division Teams 1. One Jennifer Short | Ann Arbor | MI 2. DR. WAC | Jefferson Parish | LA 3. MNCCS Elliptical Clause | MNCCS | MI Senior Division Individuals 1. Tony Varkey | Ann Arbor | MI 2. Wade Rogers | NOAGL | LA 3. Ryan Chen | Ann Arbor | MI Senior Division Teams 1. We Devour | Ann Arbor | MI 2. Red (Thinkers Version) | Jefferson Parish | LA 3. We Stay Hungry | Ann Arbor | MI 5 5

E qu at i ons

Middle Division Equations Champion

Yitong Li

Junior Division Equations Champion

Akshita Sridhar

Senior Division Equations Champion

Simon Shavit

SOLUTIONS 2023

Equations competition encourages students to apply the mathematics they already know and to learn new math concepts sometimes years before they will learn these ideas in school. Complex problem solving is a key component to this game; mathematical knowledge and constantly evolving skills are the characteristics of teams that dominate this game.

In each of the cube games, competition consists of four rounds of play with players divided into 2or 3-player matches. Scores from each round of play are combined to form an individual’s and team’s total points. After the four regular rounds, undefeated players enter the individual playoffs and the section winners (plus possible wild card teams) enter the team playoffs.

Playoffs bring the fiercest competitors together to determine individual and team champions. In the Elementary Division, there are no individual cube game playoffs.

Elementary Equations Perfect Scorers Heidi He | Northville | MI Priyam Chowdhury | Ann Arbor | MI Vihaan Sharma | Ann Arbor | MI Jolena Zhou | MNCCS | MI Ella Xie | MNCCS | MI Jayden Wu | MNCCS | MI Sophie Tang | MNCCS | MI Justin Su | MNCCS | MI Breanna Zimmerman | Seneca Valley | PA Ashwath Rajesh | Palm Beach County | FL Arjun Iyer | Ann Arbor | MI Varick Chen | Ann Arbor | MI Harman Ishar | Northville | MI Alice Wang | MNCCS | MI Aiden Mou | MNCCS | MI

Elementary Division Teams 1. Nacho Average Team | Ann Arbor | MI 2. MNCCS Bing Chilling Lovers | MNCCS | MI 3. Iconic | Ann Arbor | MI

Elementary Division Equations Champions

Nacho Average Team

Middle Division Individuals 1. Yitong Li | MNCCS | MI 2. Lucas Ji | MNCCS | MI 3. Ryan Xie | MNCCS | MI

Middle Division Teams 1. MNCCS Milk Cartons | MNCCS | MI 2. Oh snap! It’s Northville! | Northville | MI 3. MNCCS Froot Loops | MNCCS | MI Middle Division Equations Champions

MNCCS Milk Cartons

Junior Division Equations Champions

Junior Division Individuals 1. Akshita Sridhar | NOAGL | LA 2. Ada Gong | MNCCS | MI 3. Musa Cheema | Jefferson Parish | LA

Junior Division Teams 1. MNCCS Elliptical Clause | MNCCS | MI 2. Negative Octuple Set | NOAGL | LA 3. Northville Bongos | Northville | MI

MNCCS Elliptical Clause Senior Division Individuals 1. Simon Shavit | Ann Arbor | MI 2. Joshua Grim | Lakeview | PA 3. Alfredo Meza | Ann Arbor | MI

Senior Division Equations Champions

Northville vs Everyone

Senior Division Teams 1. We Devour | Ann Arbor | MI 2. Drawing the Line | St. Bernard | LA 3. Red (Thinkers Version) | Jefferson Parish | LA 7

Senior Division Individuals 1. Tony Varkey | Ann Arbor | MI 2. Jennifer Tang | Ann Arbor | MI 3. David Chen | Ann Arbor | MI 3. William Xi | NOAGL | LA 3. Andrew Woods | Blackhawk | PA Senior Division Teams 1. Formal Oversimplification | Palm Beach County | FL 2. BCAGL Passing the Dubious | Beaver County | PA 3. Challenge? Vetoed. | NOAGL | LA Junior Division Individuals 1. Kai Gao | Palm Beach County | FL 2. Huawei Ye | MNCCS | MI 3. Jessica Wu | Ann Arbor | MI 3. Christopher Shaw | Grove City | PA 3. Ezra Terk | NOAGL | LA Junior Division Teams 1. We Will Propably Place | IU4 | PA 2. One Jennifer Short | Ann Arbor | MI 3. Think It Off | Jefferson Parish | LA .. .Middle Division Individuals 1. Connor Dewey | St. Bernard | LA 2. Cole Kudiak | Lakeview | PA 2. Ethan Chacon | Montour | PA 2. Julia Shaw | Grove City | PA Middle Division Teams 1. Appeal to Victory | IU4 | PA 2. Steelers Sophistical Formulas | WPAGL | PA 3. Wishful Thinkers | St. Bernard | LA

Senior Division Propaganda Champions

Formal Oversimplification

Junior Division Propaganda Champions

We Will Propably Place

Middle Division Propaganda Champions

Appeal to Victory

Elementary Division Individuals 1. Lucy Sparacello | NOAGL | LA 2. Vedant Ramesh | Jefferson Parish | LA 3. Ian Sibal | St. Bernard | LA 3. Neil Sundar | Char-Meck | NC Elementary Division Teams 1. Piece of Pi | St. Bernard | LA 2. Northville Legends | Northville | MI 3. PA Lollipops | IU4 | PA SOLUTIONS 2023

Elementary Division Propaganda Champions

Piece of Pi

Propaganda Propaganda has been used throughout history to influence public opinion and shape political and social movements. In today’s media environment, studying techniques of persuasion can help us become more media literate and develop an understanding of how propaganda can be used to influence people’s beliefs, attitudes and behaviors.

As a game at the AGLOA National Tournament, it is an opportunity for players to show their expertise in techniques of persuasion. In the game, players are presented with a variety of techniques, such as emotional appeals, name-calling, and bandwagon appeal, and they are challenged to identify which technique is being used.

Scores for a single example are based on a player’s correctness and their confidence in their answer selection. A player’s total score for a round is the sum of their scores from each example for that round. After all rounds have been played, the player’s final score is the sum from the four individual rounds played.

By playing Propaganda, participants learn how to recognize and analyze the various techniques of persuasion that are commonly used in advertising, politics and other areas of public life. By studying these techniques of persuasion, we can learn to recognize and analyze the messages that are being presented to us, better evaluate the credibility of sources, and make informed decisions.

Senior Propaganda Champion

Tony Varkey

Junior Propaganda Champion

Kai Gao

Middle Propaganda Champion

Connor Dewey

Elementary Propaganda Champion

Lucy Sparacello 9

2023 O u t s t a n d i n AGLOA’s Outstanding Senior Award is one of the most prestigious honors awarded at the national tournament.

The award recognizes not only a student’s academic accomplishments, but most importantly, their leadership skills, sportsmanship and community involvement.

Winning the Outstanding Senior Award is a significant achievement. It is bestowed upon graduating seniors who, throughout their Academic Games careers, have demonstrated and promoted the values AGLOA holds in the highest regard: hard work, respect for others, teamwork, integrity, fairness, and leadership.

These players not only have enviable competitive records but have given of themselves to promote the spirit of Academic Games in their own schools and leagues. These 2023 inductees represent four leagues from across the country and join an elite group of Academic Games competitors.

SOLUTIONS 2023

Madylin Galbreath IU4 | PA

David

Ann Arb

ng Seniors

d Lee

bor | MI

Erin Powell New Orleans | LA

Tony Varkey Ann Arbor | MI

11

Elementary Division Teams 1. Nacho Average Team | Ann Arbor | MI 2. Iconic | Ann Arbor | MI 2. MNCCS Bing Chilling Lovers | MNCCS | MI Middle Division Individuals 1. Xunchen Meng | MNCCS | MI 2. Tarun Iyer | Ann Arbor | MI 3. Anvesh Pochhareddy | Northville | MI 3. Angela Chen | Ann Arbor | MI 3. Iris Cao | MNCCS | MI Middle Division Teams 1. MNCCS Froot Loops 2. Gouda Than You | Ann Arbor | MI 2. MNCCS Milk Cartons

Middle On-Sets Champion

Xunchen Meng

Junior Division Individuals 1. Will Triplett | Jefferson Parish | LA 2. Jessica Wu | Ann Arbor | MI 3. Huawei Ye | MNCCS | MI Junior On-Sets Champion

Junior Division Teams 1. One Jennifer Short | Ann Arbor | MI 2. DR. WAC | Jefferson Parish | LA 3. Kim’s Cabinet | St. Bernard | LA

Senior Division Individuals 1. Max Bartlett | NOAGL | LA 2. Jack West | Jefferson Parish | LA 3. Ryan Chen | Ann Arbor | MI

Will Triplett

Senior On-Sets Champion

Max Bartlett Senior Division Teams 1. Red (Thinkers Version) | Jefferson Parish | LA 2. We Devour | Ann Arbor | MI 3. Nancy Reagan’s Fan Club | NOAGL | LA SOLUTIONS 2023

On-Sets Elementary Division On-Sets Champions

Nacho Average Team On-Sets teaches players about spatial relationships and principles of set theory. As a fundamental branch of mathematics, set theory deals with collections of objects and the relationships between them and has wide-ranging applications in fields like computer science, statistics and physics. On-Sets is an ideal way to introduce these concepts in a challenging and engaging way while also promoting critical thinking skills and problem-solving abilities.

On-Sets challenges players to think logically and systematically as they work to identify patterns and relationships with the set of cards dealt in each match.

Each division’s level of competition introduces increasingly more difficult mathematical concepts for the players to use by adding age appropriate variations to the basic game.

In each of the cube games, competition consists of four rounds of play with players divided into 2- or 3-player matches. Scores from each round of play are combined to form an Individuals’s and team’s total points. After the four regular rounds, undefeated players enter the individual playoffs and the section winners (plus possible wild card teams) enter the team playoffs.

Playoffs bring the fiercest competitors together to determine champions for both individuals and teams. In the Elementary Division, there are no individual cube game playoffs.

Middle Division On-Sets Champions

MNCCS Milk Cartons

Junior Division On-Sets Champions

One Jennifer Short

Elementary On-Sets Perfect Scorers Jolena Zhou | MNCCS | MI Arjun Iyer | Ann Arbor | MI Alice Wang | MNCCS | MI Amira Wu | MNCCS | MI Senior Division On-Sets Champions

Red (Thinkers Version) 13

Presidents Senior Presidents Champion

Aditya Narayanan

Presidents is a social studies game that challenges players to demonstrate their knowledge of American history and political science. The game has a central reader who reads clues about United States Presidents and players must use their knowledge of presidential history to outwit their opponents to win the game.

Presidents is a great way to make learning about American history and politics engaging for students. It promotes critical thinking while also fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of U.S. history and government. Moreover, it helps to develop and hone important research and study skills as players must learn and remember a large amount of information about the presidents and their accomplishments.

Elementary Division (grade 6 and below) and Middle Division (grades 7-8) questions are composed with easier language than for the Junior and Senior Divisions (grades 9-12). The historical and political events are more demanding, plus the players are expected to know how other major U.S. Leaders may have played a part in the events of an administration.

SOLUTIONS 2023

Junior Presidents

Mark McKinney

Middle Presidents Co-Champions

Arsalan Siddiqui & Thomas Wang (not pictured)

Senior Division Individuals 1. Aditya Narayanan | Palm Beach County | FL 2. Andrew Woods | Blackhawk | PA 3. Piero Morales | Palm Beach County | FL Senior Division Teams 1. Drawing the Line | St. Bernard | LA 2. Challenge? Vetoed. | NOAGL | LA 3. We Devour | Ann Arbor | MI Senior Division Presidents Champions

Drawing the Line

Junior Division Individuals 1. Mark McKinney | Mohawk | PA 2. Mason Bell | Karns City | PA 2. Patrick McDermott | Palm Beach County | FL Junior Division Teams 1. Impeached | IU4 | PA 2. DR. WAC | Jefferson Parish | LA 3. Kim’s Cabinet | St. Bernard | LA

Junior Division Presidents Champions

Impeached

Middle Division Presidents Champions

Tippecanoe and PB2

Elementary Division Presidents Champions

Northville Legends

Middle Division Individuals 1. Arsalan Siddiqui | Palm Beach County | FL 1. Thomas Wang | Ann Arbor | MI 3. Cole Kudiak | Lakeview | PA Middle Division Teams 1. Tippecanoe and PB2 | Palm Beach County | FL 2. The Corps of Discovery | Palm Beach County | FL 3. Gouda Than You | Ann Arbor | MI Elementary Division Individuals 1. Alexander Tustin | Slippery Rock | PA 2. Jack McMullin | St. Bernard | LA 3. Benjamin Wang | Ann Arbor | MI 3. Tony Wu | Northville | MI Elementary Division Teams 1. Northville Legends | Northville | MI 2. Iconic | Ann Arbor | MI 3. The Honest Abes | IU4 | PA 15

2 0 2 3 O ut s t a n d i n g

Jeremiah Friday Seneca Valley| PA

SOLUTIONS 2023

Heather Fry Grove City | PA

Nick W

Ann Arb

E du c at or s

Wang

bor | MI

AGLOA’s Outstanding Educator Award is a prestigious honor awarded to outstanding teachers and coaches who demonstrate exceptional leadership and dedication in promoting Academic Games in their school or community. The award recognizes their ability to inspire and motivate their students to excel in Academic Games and beyond.

Winning the Outstanding Educator Award is a significant achievement and a reflection of the many hours these educators spend creating a supportive and challenging learning environment, their success in promoting academic games in their community, and their ability to foster positive relationships with their students and colleagues.

Winning this award is a significant achievement and serves as a testament to the dedication, hard work and commitment to excellence of all our honorees.

Ben (Junxiong) Ye Livonia| MI

17

L inguiSHTIK

Middle LinguiSHTIK Champion

Rishi Iyer

Junior LinguiSHTIK Champion

Jessica Wu

Senior LinguiSHTIK Champion

Alfredo Meza

SOLUTIONS 2023

LinguiSHTIK is a language arts game that challenges players to improve their grammar, vocabulary, spelling and writing skills. Players learn to compose better sentences with proper grammar application. They also use richer vocabulary as they compete against others and are rewarded.

All grade levels play with the same set of procedural rules. However, each division’s level of competition introduces increasingly more difficult grammatical concepts for the players to use. Competitors are challenged to enhance their vocabulary and grammar skills in increasingly creative ways.

In each of the cube games, competition consists of four rounds of play with players divided into 2or 3-player matches. Scores from each round of play are combined to form an individual’s and team’s total points. After the four regular rounds, undefeated players enter the individual playoffs and the section winners (plus possible wild card teams) enter the team playoffs.

Playoffs bring the fiercest competitors together to determine champions for both Individuals and teams. In the Elementary Division, there are no individual cube game playoffs.

Elementary LinguiSHTIK Perfect Scorers Priyam Chowdhury | Ann Arbor | MI Siddharth Sivaramakrishnan | Ann Arbor | MI Jaeyoung Lee | Ann Arbor | MI Kate Wang | Ann Arbor | MI Emily Browne | Seneca Valley | PA Zeynep Akbulut | Palm Beach County | FL Arjun Iyer | Ann Arbor | MI Varick Chen | Ann Arbor | MI Alice Wang | MNCCS | MI Aiden Mou | MNCCS | MI

Elementary Division Teams 1. Iconic | Ann Arbor | MI 2. MNCCS Bing Chilling Lovers | MNCCS | MI 3. Nacho Average Team | Ann Arbor | MI

Elementary Division Equations Champions

Iconic

Middle Division Individuals 1. Rishi Iyer | Palm Beach County | FL 2. Tarun Iyer | Ann Arbor | MI 3. Anvesh Pochhareddy | Northville | MI

Middle Division Teams 1. Oh snap! It’s Northville! | Northville | MI 2. Gouda Than You | Ann Arbor | MI 3. No hablo ingles | Palm Beach County | FL Middle Division Equations Champions

Oh snap! It’s Northville!

Junior Division Equations Champions

Junior Division Individuals 1. Jessica Wu | Ann Arbor | MI 2. Jayeun Lee | Ann Arbor | MI 2. Shenhao Deng | MNCCS | MI

Junior Division Teams 1. DR. WAC | Jefferson Parish | LA 2. One Jennifer Short | Ann Arbor | MI 3. MNCCS Elliptical Clause | MNCCS | MI

DR. WAC Senior Division Individuals 1. Alfredo Meza | Ann Arbor | MI 2. Tony Varkey | Ann Arbor | MI 3. David Lee | Ann Arbor | MI

Senior Division Equations Champions

We Devour

Senior Division Teams 1. We Devour | Ann Arbor | MI 2. We Stay Hungry | Ann Arbor | MI 3. Red (Thinkers Version) | Jefferson Parish | LA 19

Senior Division Individuals 1. Aditya Narayanan | Palm Beach County | FL 2. Molly Hohmann | Grove City | PA 3. Karlie Bailey | Hancock County | WV Senior Division Teams 1. We Devour | Ann Arbor | MI 2. Sparky and the Rat Pack | IU4 | PA 3. The Soviet Union | Palm Beach County | FL

Senior Division Theme Champions

We Devour

Junior Division Individuals 1. Mia Mertz | Grove City | PA 2. Andy Xu | Ann Arbor | MI 3. Rogan Geyer | Ann Arbor | MI Junior Division Teams 1. One Jennifer Short | Ann Arbor | MI 2. Blame it on Brad | IU4 | PA 3. Homie Chi Minh | Palm Beach County | FL

Junior Division Theme Champions

One Jennifer Short

.Middle Division Individuals 1. Ethan Chacon | Montour | PA 2. Cruz Alvarez | Palm Beach County | FL 3. Miles Jenny | Grove City | PA Middle Division Teams 1. Bye bye cat. Hello taxi! | Palm Beach County | FL 2. Here for Ares | IU4 | PA 3. MNCCS Froot Loops | MNCCS | MI

Middle Division Theme Champions

Bye bye cat. Hello taxi!

Elementary Division Individuals 1. Jaiden Brown | Detroit | MI 2. Arav Patil | Palm Beach County | FL 3. Alice Wang | MNCCS | MI Elementary Division Teams 1. Duck and Cover | Palm Beach County | FL 2. MNCCS Bing Chilling Lovers | MNCCS | MI 3. If We Lose, It’s Abby’s Fault | IU4 | PA SOLUTIONS 2023

Elementary Division Theme Champions

Duck and Cover

Theme While preparing for and playing Theme, the players learn to research a particular historical theme that varies from year to year and to prepare notes and study materials about that theme. Examples of past themes include “Women in World History,” “The 1960’s,” “The American West,” and “Space Exploration.” Players learn how the events in the theme affected people at the time and how those issues still affect them today. The knowledge gained from playing Theme leads to more informed and responsible future citizens.

Elementary Division (grade 6 and below) and Middle Division (grades 7-8) questions are composed with easier language than for the Junior and Senior Divisions (grades 9-12). In the high school divisions, the historical and political events referred to are more demanding.

The topic for Theme in 2023 was The Cold War. Theme is a question and response game. Students sit in groups of three or four for purposes of checking each other’s answers and keeping score. Many such groups may be playing simultaneously in the same room.

There are two rounds for the Theme topics. One round is the Lightning Round. 18 questions are read by a central reader. The point values of each question are determined ahead of time (2, 4 or 6). Players score the point value for a correct answer and zero (0) for an incorrect answer.

Senior Theme Champion

Aditya Narayanan

Junior Theme Champion

Mia Mertz

Middle Theme Champion

Ethan Chacon

Elementary Theme Champion

Jaiden Brown 21

Senior Current Events Champion

Wade Rogers

Junior Current Events Champion

Jeremiah Alondra

Middle Current Events Champion

Sameer Vines

Elementary Current Events Champion

Poojit Sambangi SOLUTIONS 2023

Cur rent Events While preparing for and playing Current Events, players learn about the major political and cultural events of the most recent calendar year. They learn to be aware of what is happening to them, their country, and their world. The knowledge gained from playing Current Events leads to more informed and responsible future citizens.

Elementary Division (grades 4-6) questions are composed with easier language than for the Middle Division (grades 7-8). At the Junior and Senior Divisions (grades 9-12) events referred to are more detailed.

Current Events is a question and response game.

Students sit in groups of three or four for purposes of checking each other’s answers and keeping score. Many such groups may be playing simultaneously in the same room.

There are two rounds of play for Current Events, the Lightning Round and the Wager Round. Questions are read by a central reader. In the Lightning Round, in all of the 18 questions read, on the following six categories is covered: People in the News, Sports, Entertainment, Disasters, Science/Technology and Business/Economy. The point values of each question are determined ahead of time (2, 4 or 6). Players score the point value for a correct answer and zero (0) for an incorrect answer.

Senior Division Individuals 1. Wade Rogers | NOAGL | LA 2. Andrew Woods | Blackhawk | PA 3. Aditya Narayanan | Palm Beach County | FL Senior Division Teams 1. “B”Team Stole Our Name | Palm Beach County | FL 2. BCAGL Better than 2020 | Beaver County | PA 3. Age of Omicron | WPAGL | PA

Senior Current Events Champions

“B”Team Stole Our Name

Junior Division Individuals 1. Jeremiah Alondra | Palm Beach County | PA 2. Sam Haas | Beaver Falls | PA 3. Ryan Vukovcan | Hopewell | PA Junior Division Teams 1. Putin A Title | Palm Beach County | FL 2. What Year is it? | IU4 | PA 3. Dethrone King Richard | WPAGL | PA

Junior Current Events Champions

Putin A Title

Middle Division Individuals 1. Sameer Vines | Detroit | MI 2. Eli Grave de Peralta | Palm Beach County | FL 3. Cole Kudiak | Lakeview | PA Middle Division Teams 1. One Party System | IU4 | PA 2. May Contain Fake News | Palm Beach County | FL 3. Detroit Mackenzie Donut Lords | Detroit | MI

Middle Current Events Champions

One Party System

Elementary Division Individuals 1. Poojit Sambangi | Palm Beach County | FL 2. Ashwath Rajesh | Palm Beach County | FL 3. Anishaa Sundaram | Palm Beach County | FL Elementary Division Teams 1. #INDIAN | Palm Beach County | FL 2. Detroit Mackenzie It’s All About The Foo | Detroit | MI 3. Elon Musk Bought Twitter | Palm Beach County | FL

Elementary Current Events Champions

#INDIAN 23

AGLOA Hall of Congratulations to our newest Hall of Fame inductees: Individuals players are inducted into the Hall of Fame after the AGLOA National Tournament of the year in which they graduate from high school. One graduate from the Class of 2023 met the qualifying criteria for individuals and was inducted into the Academic Games Hall of Fame.

Tony Varkey (Ann Arbor, MI) was the 2019 Middle Division Propaganda and overall Sweepstakes champion. In his final year of competition, he repeated as the 2023 Senior Division Propaganda and Sweepstakes champion. Also, Tony was selected as a 2023 AGLOA Outstanding Senior for his contributions to his local Academic Games program.

Coaches can either have two Sweepstakes teams and 150 total points OR a coach can simply earn 200 total points. A point breakdown can be found on the Hall of Fame page of the website. Three coaches were inducted into the Hall of Fame because of their stellar Academic Games careers.

Tony Varkey Ann Arbor | MI

Doug Battle

Yuxuan Chen

Nick Wang

Ann Arbor| MI

Ann Arbor| MI

Palm Beach County| FL

Doug Battle | Palm Beach County | FL 2010 AGLOA Outstanding Educator Yuxuan Chen | Ann Arbor | MI 2022 AGLOA Outstanding Educator Nick Wang | Ann Arbor | MI 2023 AGLOA Outstanding Educator

Simon Shavit, Tony Varkey, Alexandra VanLaven, Alfredo Meza, and David Lee. Not pictured: Catherine B. Li, Jennifer Tang, Claire Zhang | Ann Arbor | MI SOLUTIONS 2023

Fame Keit Thai, Harshita Pattam, Sania Islam, Mahir Rahman and Benson Gao. Not pictured: John Kwon, Snehalata Mondal Jefferson Parish | LA

Yuxuan Chen, Claire Fishman, Andrew Gitlin, Shwetha Rajaram and Thierry Laurens. Not pictured: Luke Cheng | Ann Arbor | MI

Amy Pellittieri, Robert Monjure, Mozahid Haque, Jeffery Francis and Jack Torres. Not pictured: Stephen Brassette, Laura Gillen | St. Bernard Parish | LA

The AGLOA Hall of Fame Committee met in June 2023 to discuss the inclusion of prospective individuals, coaches, or teams that would be inducted into the Academic Games Hall of Fame following the 2023 AGLOA National Tournament. Congratulations to the newest Academic Games Hall of Fame inductees.

Visit agloa.org/hall-of-fame for the full listing of Hall of Fame inductees.

Teams evenly divide points that a team earns from national championships amongst the coaches of that team.

The Hall of Fame Committee votes on teams that are nominated that meet the established minimum criteria, and three of the five team must be the same from year to year.

This year, four teams were nominated and voted into the Academic Games Hall of Fame.

A team from Ann Arbor, Michigan, that played for five years (2019-2023) collected three Sweepstakes championships and ten titles. The team took first place in LinguiSHTIK each of the three years that they were Sweepstakes champions. Team members included David Lee, Catherine B. Li, Alfredo Meza, Simon Shavit, Jennifer Tang, Alexandra VanLaven, Tony Varkey, and Claire Zhang.

One team from Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, made up of Benson Gao, Sania Islam, John Kwon, Snehalata Mondal, Harshita Pattam, Mahir Rahman, and Kiet Thai garnered two Sweepstakes championships in 2017 (Middle Division) and 2019 (Junior Division). They also took home four team titles in four different game competitions at the two separate national tournaments.

Another Ann Arbor, Michigan, team was a two-time Sweepstakes winner (2012) and (2014) in the Junior and Senior Divisions, respectively, that also garnered four game titles. Their game titles were in the cube games. The team members included Yuxuan Chen, Luke Cheng, Claire Fishman, Andrew Gitlin, Thierry Laurens, and Shwetha Rajaram.

A team from St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, was the Sweepstakes champions in 2002 (Middle Division) and 2004 (Junior Division). Their team placed first overall in two games each of those two years giving them a title in each of the four games in which they competed. The team included Stephen Brassette, Jeffery Francis, Laura Gillen, Mozahid Haque, Robert Monjure, Amy Pellittieri, and Jack Torres.

25

ATLANTA

2024

Join us in April 2024 to celebrate our 57th Academic Games national competition.

Each April, we welcome more than 1,000 students, parents, chaperones and volunteers for four days of rigorous competition, friendly and enjoyable company and wonderful fun and camaraderie for the AGLOA National Tournament.

Next year marks a return to downtown Atlanta, but at a new facility at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Next door to our previous hotel partner, this location will again have easy access to nearby attractions.

As always, the tournament provides a unique opportunity for competitors to showcase their academic skills, while also promoting important values that are a core part of the AGLOA mission—critical thinking, good sportsmanship, team work and camaraderie.

We can’t wait to see all of you in Georgia next year!