Jan 31, 2014

KVSC Presents TSPN: Trivia Sports Playing Network 2014

The 35th annual Trivia Weekend presented by KVSC 88.1FM takes place Feb. 7-9. Each year, a different theme is chosen to pay homage to popular cultural phenomena. “TSPN: Trivia Sports Playing Network” was chosen to bring out the fiercest trivia athletes. Coinciding with the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia; the theme will enunciate athletic culture, sports and recreation.

Each year, the on-campus radio station at St. Cloud State University hosts the 50-hour marathon of trivia questions asked to teams listening on the radio and Internet. With a broad range of questions on pop culture, science, history and more, KVSC’s Trivia Weekend is a staple in Central Minnesota.

This year’s trivia theme is perfect for an Olympic year—a way for us to tip our hat to athletes and those who love sports,” said Jo McMullen-Boyer, Station Manager of KVSC 88.1FM. “We’re discovering there’s a great deal of Minnesota ties not only to the Olympics but a wealth of facts about well known and off the beaten path sports.”

The rich history of KVSC’s Trivia Weekend began in 1980 as an event put on by KVSC and the SCSU Residence Hall Association as a way to alleviate Minnesota’s cabin fever. That year, a staff of 14 answered calls on four phone lines from 25 teams. 

In 2013, KVSC required hundreds of volunteers to staff the 32 trivia hotlines and 62 teams participated in the three-day contest. With the growth of Trivia Weekend volunteers have become very important in making the event possible. Around 40 volunteers are needed to operate the contest for each of the 50 hours.

The contest has grown in a many different ways. The number of volunteers has more than doubled, allowing KVSC to present a very responsive contest for our competitors with increased interaction with the phone hotline volunteers. The scoring program was digitized in 2009 with a custom developed software program,” McMullen-Boyer said. “All in all, Trivia Weekend has matured and grown in its impact—something one would expect of a 35-year-old.”

Trivia rules require teams to register by 4:30 p.m. Feb. 7, the Friday of Trivia Weekend. Teams create a name and designate a headquarters to work from as they put their heads together in a quest to be called the most knowledgeable team.

I’m enjoying the trivia teams that are modifying their team names to fit KVSC’s theme,” McMullen-Boyer said. “Team names I’ve chuckled at include: Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle… Costanza, The Athletic Supporters and GBCRE No Doping. I also hope to see a lot of our volunteers taking the sports theme to heart—I wouldn’t mind seeing a lot of classic track-suits for 50 hours.”

Concluding the 50-hour contest is an awards ceremony in Ritsche Auditorium at SCSU. The winning team receives the coveted Minnesota Masters of Trivia Traveling Trophy. The golden urn (trophy) shows the names of the winning teams over the past 34 years.

Following the awards ceremony, the exhausted contestants and volunteers head to the Red Carpet Nightclub in downtown St. Cloud to celebrate surviving another Trivia Weekend. The Shake A Hamster Band takes the stage and performs their new theme-based numbers as well as some of the favorites from previous years.

Starting a Trivia Team for the first time? Creating an effective team can be a lot of hard work and McMullen-Boyer offers up advice to first-timers: “Assign teammates responsibilities. One or two people calling in and tracking guesses, the others searching for answers. Every guess matters and can lead you to a possible answer,” McMullen-Boyer said.

“Take breaks (including a few hours sleep as needed) because you become a liability if you try to keep going past 24 hours. Have a few healthy snacks and water available. Create a resting space for team members to be left undisturbed. Shower. Group think the questions—use the question to help form the search and CALL sources (people) politely for answers.”

KVSC encourages trivia enthusiasts from all over to pull together friends and family members to create a team or to consider becoming a phone bank volunteer for the weekend. The entire contest is also streamed live online. For information on registration and volunteering, visit www.kvsc.org.

KVSC 88.1FM licensed to St. Cloud Cloud State University is the Voice of St. Cloud since 1967, offers listeners an alternative format without commercials. KVSC features a diverse variety of music as well as news coverage and community events. The staff of KVSC 88.1FM is comprised of students and community volunteers.
 

Thank You Underwriters

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