Monday 24 October
By Jasmine Rolfe
Trivia is back and the best part – you don’t have to be a brainiac to take part!
If you’re looking for a break from the physical side of the Jupiters Pan Pacific Masters Games (JPPMG) and want to test your knowledge in mental gymnastics, trivia is for you.
Trivia will see men and women aged 30 and above, from all backgrounds and abilities, go head-to-head in a fun and friendly battle of the minds at Jupiters Gold Coast from Thursday 10 to Friday 11 November.
There will be two separate divisions within the trivia event this year, so if you consider yourself a bit of a factual genius but aren’t up to competing against the quiz masters for a gold medal, then the social trivia held on Thursday night is for you.
Several members of the Australian team taking on the world at the inaugural Quiz Olympiad this year in Athens will be in action.
Australian B team captain, Quizzing Australia Director and trivia convenor Christian Kelly, will host this year’s trivia competition after competing in November’s Quiz Olympiad.
Christian said trivia is a fantastic way to experience a professional competition, while soaking up the camaraderie the event is renowned for.
“I love the variety of questions and the multiple ways to work out an answer in a well written quiz, as well as the social side, the individual challenge and the learning that goes with it,” he said.
“We cater for the serious quizzers and the social ones alike with the emphasis always on enjoyment!”
Quiz master Christian revealed his preparation for events such as JPPMG involved playing online quizzes daily as well as competing in regular trivia competitions at his local bowls club in Burleigh Heads.
He encourages anyone thinking of entering to “come and give it a go”.
“You will certainly enjoy the event since the question difficulty and range is set specifically for the JPPMG,” Christian said.
“It’s a perfect complement to the more physical sports and the social nature for casual players is a big plus too.
“We have separate divisions for social players, with individual, pairs and teams available.
“We’ll even find you a team if needed!”
Australian representative Ross Evans will return to JPPMG for the trivia competition
Australian A team captain and two-time Australian quiz champion Ross Evans competed at the inaugural trivia event in 2014 and has again registered for the individual trivia competition, alongside fellow national representative Gordon McGregor.
Ross said his favourite aspects of the JPPMG trivia event was the mixture of social and professional players and how there are categories for everyone.
“I’m actually not that good at the trivia and pop culture questions. I’m stronger at the nerdy stuff like history and geography,” he said.
“That is one of the things I like about this event, the fact that the questions are varied and interesting enough to give people with different areas of knowledge a chance to compete on a level playing field.”
Gordon McGregor (centre) is aiming to replicate his 2014 gold medal efforts at JPPMG16
Another strong contender to win this competition is top-five Australian trivia champion and JPPMG14 gold medallist, Gordon McGregor, who has some ‘brain training’ tips for anyone preparing for the trivia event.
“I had never done any particular study before a quiz until recently, but in the last year or so I have decided to become more serious about quizzing,” he said.
“I have started noting down interesting facts that I come across in an effort to commit them to memory.
“I also try to keep up to date with what is happening in the world. I attend regular trivia quizzes as well.”
So what are you waiting for? Entries are still open for the trivia!
The 10th biennial Jupiters Pan Pacific Masters Games will be held 5 – 13 November 2016 on the beautiful Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.
The world’s biggest and best biennial masters games will showcase competition in 44 team and individual sports and attract more than 13,000 participants from Queensland, interstate and overseas.
Sample Questions
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