University Challenge: Cromarty(IV) on Southampton vs Loughborough

Hi all, I’m the shady figure known on these pages as Cromarty(IV), a name which combines my interest in the eternally hypnotic tones of the Shipping Forecast and one of the notation systems that I regularly deploy in my chemistry degree.  (By writing Roman numerals immediately after the name of an element in a compound, often a metal, it denotes its oxidation state, which is roughly analogous to the charge that the element would carry if the compound were purely ionic.  I couldn’t resist choosing IV for my penname, because Cromarty-Four doesn’t sound too far removed from “Cromarty, Forth”, which are two consecutive area names in the Shipping Forecast!)

In fact, I’m Mr Evans from the Southampton University Challenge team.  Earlier this week, our repechage match against Loughborough beamed its way onto BBC Two, and so I thought I’d share a few recollections from the contestants’ desks.

I was awaiting the filming of this repechage match with a mixture of anxiety and excitement.  I’ve been wanting to appear on UC for at least 9 years, and as exhilarating as our first-round match against SOAS was, I was terrified that it would be my only game.  So when we got the call back to the repechage stages, we resolved to play a much more brutal game on the buzzers.  We didn’t want to get outplayed on the buzzers again and to leave the competition through silence!

These two repechage games were the first in the series to be filmed in MediaCityUK, Salford, rather than Granada Studios, Manchester.  Shortly after our arrival there on the day of filming, we met the teams from Durham, Loughborough and Christ Church, and learnt that our opponents would be Loughborough.  My mind immediately cast itself back to the British Universities Lifesaving Championships held the previous week, at which I watched my friends flying the flag for Southampton… and the Loughborough team winning a large number of events.  I thus had an “old score” to settle with Loughborough, making the match-up an extremely interesting one!

In the studios, following Paxo’s introduction of our team, I was able to introduce myself without fluffing my lines, which was a small achievement in itself!  (In the first round, I somehow came out with “I’m originally from Frimley in Surrey”, and I thankfully managed to drop the “originally” for this game.)  I then turned my head to face our captain, Bob De Caux, which I hadn’t done in the first round.  It was another UC quirk which I just had to have a go at!  Unfortunately, there was no fanfare for our team mascot, Susu the cat, this time around.

So on came the first starter for 10.  The first clue of a question about “a given name” played very much to the strengths of our ancient history specialist, David Bishop, who grabbed it impressively quickly.  This unlocked a series of bonuses on Parliament, so I was very eager to have a go at them!  Sadly, the Septennial Act of 1715 was not something which I knew anything of, and I am still kicking myself for not remembering that the Parliament Act was a direct response to the political deadlock at Westminster in 1910.  Thankfully, I managed to avoid flopping completely on this subject that I’m very interested in, by identifying the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act as a product of Nick Clegg’s latter-day constitutional meddling.  This took us to 15-0, so there was plenty of room for the game to go either way.

For the second starter, on a three-letter prefix, I considered “exo” almost at once, but wasn’t brave enough to chance my luck.  Bob was, and he earned us some bonuses on songbirds in poetry.  I’m ashamed to admit that I’m not as well-read as I would like to be, so these bonuses were never going to be my cup of tea, but I did manage to offer up the correct answer to one of them!  The bad news was that my poor old blackbird wasn’t submitted as our final answer!  On the recording, I am audibly surprised when Paxo looks in our direction and says, “No, it is a blackbird”!

This was shortly followed by a great starter about the British monarchy, another favourite subject of mine (I think there’s a bit of a trend developing here).  Embarrassingly, I failed to pick up on the fact that William IV’s widow was certainly not Queen Victoria’s mother, and Charles II’s widow was certainly not James II’s mother, so my minus-five for saying “Queen Mother” was my just desserts!  However, this premature buzz meant that I could tick another prestigious item off my list of “things that I just had to do while I was on UC” – namely to lose five points like that.  When the question continued, only to reveal a strong emphasis on the line “..who is NOT the mother of his successor”, I felt rather foolish!

My next positive contribution to the game was to recall one of the most often-churned-out nuggets of information from GCSE and pre-GCSE biology, namely that malaria is transmitted by female Anopheles mosquitoes.  I then almost redeemed myself for missing the blackbird question when a starter related to British wildlife came up, but Ali Thornton beat me to it, identifying red and grey squirrels and getting a set of bonuses on websites that I certainly wouldn’t have been able to navigate.

Then came the first picture round.  It was to do with the recent US presidential election.  It was a fantastic subject area for me – or at least it could have been, had we not gone one election too late every time!  I had a sinking feeling that I should have pushed 1992 a lot harder for the final bonus, what with Texas showing up red again, a sure sign of the presence of a Bush.  But I have no regrets over 1984/1980 – Reagan, Mondale and Bush Snr were all around for both, so there was very little to choose between for those two years!  (For the starter, I unfortunately didn’t look closely enough at the red Massachusetts, so I was thinking along the same lines as Matt.  When he came out with “bellwether states” and then couldn’t stop himself from elaborating further, we could all tell that he was wrong!  That moment was one of our favourites from this particular episode.)

By the time the music bonuses rolled around, I was just starting to think to myself, “I’m not being very useful in this game” – after all, the only thing I’d really done was to lose five points!  I’d also lost a buzzer race to Kathy Morten of Loughborough by what felt like nanoseconds, and hence missed the chance to relish some chemistry bonuses that would have been home questions for me.  (Watching these questions back, I’ve noticed – or, rather, my sister noticed – that Paxo asks Loughborough to identify a “cation” that forms a white precipitate when tested with silver nitrate solution, although the correct answer is an anion – the very opposite of a cation!  Someone among the question setters has been rather sloppy!)

I would also have loved to get the “You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two” bonuses, as my family are all fans of the musical genre – but I might well have said “Omid Djalili” as Loughborough did, and thus been berated by Paxo!  (On that note: Paxo clearly wasn’t aware that Djalili has actually played Fagin in the West End, and that this answer wasn’t as bad as he thought!  And if Laurence Olivier had ever taken the role, that really would be unmissable…)

The music bonuses gave Loughborough a five-point lead, so I was more anxious than ever to get back into the game.  It was a great relief all round for the team when Bob worked to his strengths and solved a word puzzle relating to Asian countries.  When I watched the episode back this week and saw the last of the bonuses that followed, I immediately knew that the country that was governed by Spain for 400-odd years from 1492 was Cuba, which was not what we came up with in the game.  It just goes to show that the old story is very true: the studio lights do have a habit of frazzling your mind at times!

I should point out now that, back in 2007, five members of my local chess club appeared on Eggheads.  In their episode, Judith Keppel failed to identify the numerical series that started with 6 and 28 – they are, in fact, perfect numbers, and I looked the term up shortly after the episode aired.  It turned out that the next two perfect numbers after 28 were 496 and 8128.  So when Paxo read out a starter question that began, “8128, 496”… I had a feeling that there was only one way this was going.  I mashed my buzzer and said 6, gaining me one tally on the starter chart.  (I seem to remember sounding ridiculously overexcited when I said 6, and much to my relief, it doesn’t show too badly on the broadcast!)

Our reward was a set of bonuses on bread.  The good news was that I am renowned in my household for eating more bread than everyone else put together – I absolutely love the stuff!  The bad news was that I am not a baker, and nor do I know very much about international breads, so I couldn’t offer much in the bonuses.  The other good news was that we had definitely regained the initiative and were beginning to power away on the scoreboard.

I threw a bit of a spanner in the works by buzzing in on a subsequent starter as a knee-jerk reaction to hearing the name F Scott Fitzgerald.  The QI klaxons silently went off all around me as I said The Great Gatsby.  Bob later admitted that he knew the correct answer, but his buzz-in wasn’t at knee-jerk speed, so a good opportunity was sadly missed there.

David got an opportunity to stand in the spotlight when a series of bonuses on military engagements of the 1500s came our way, and he ably took control of them, with a small amount of support from my appalling pronunciation of Tenochtitlan (or “Tenoch”, according to Paxo)!  The starter that followed shifted the focus from centuries-old history to 20^th and 21^st century affairs, so the onus was on me to get this one.  (Actually, the broadcast shows that Matt turns and looks in my direction hopefully midway through the starter!)

“Add the number of the current French republic” – I pictured the number 5 in my head – “..to the number of permanent members of the UN Security Council” – I pictured another number 5 and made 10, then waited for the next clue – “What number results?”  I was extremely surprised that this question didn’t go on any further.  Either way, I took to the buzzer and made 10 more points.  The adrenaline rush from going to the buzzer so quickly was fantastic, which is yet another reason why I strongly encourage anyone who’s thinking of applying to appear on UC to get out there and have a go! 

The following bonuses were on “an acid”, namely uric acid.  Strangely enough, Matt’s first starter in our first round game was also about uric acid.  I, still dazed from saying the number 10, couldn’t think of the name, so we went with a bit of a comedy answer to move the game on; I hope “ornithic acid” will never fail to make me smile!

With less than 3 minutes to go to the gong, and our lead standing at 105 points, I allowed myself to break slightly out of the mindset that I’d been adopting all through the game (“You’re probably not going to win”), and I accepted that we were home and dry.  I had decided even before our first-round match to go into every game expecting to lose, as I do whenever I play chess, thus forcing me to play with all guns blazing all the way through – largely because of the sad story of last year’s Lincoln College, Oxford team.  But our lead felt absolutely unassailable by this point.  I felt sorry when Katie Spalding buzzed in on the next starter to no avail, with a resigned tone of defeat in her voice.  Grant Craig won a terrific buzzer race on a chemistry starter thereafter, beating Bob and I by the narrowest of margins, allowing Loughborough to take their bow with a set of bonuses on their institution’s famous strength – sports!

The final starter of the game involved a quotation about treaties with Russia.  I had a flashback to my A-Level history course on German nationalism in the 19^th and early 20^th (ie up to 1919), in which that exact quotation (or a form of it) featured prominently at one stage.  The buzzwords “which statesman” were all I needed to hit the buzzer, deliver the Iron answer “Bismarck” and bring the curtain down on the show.  Just as Bob was answering the first bonus on our behalf, the gong went, confirming a victory for Southampton by 185-80.  (We had to reshoot the “Kim” answer several times.  We variously jumped the gong, were beaten by the gong and got drowned out by the gong, while we were supposed to be saying “Kim” just on the gong, which led to much mirth from Paxo!)

I’m slightly less happy now with the outcome of this show than I was in the studio.  There were plenty of bonuses that were very gettable for us, but we just threw them away somehow or other.  But the main line was, and is, that we had succeeded in doing what we came back to do: we were much better on the buzzers than before.  We’ve seen many times that a team with ultra-fast buzzer speed can win a match with deeply lacklustre bonus conversions simply by keeping their opponents quiet.  That was why we had to up our game on the buzzers, and I’m pleased that we managed to do so.  185 is not a bad score by any means, or so I felt while I was sitting in the chair.  We nearly made 200, but I was happy to settle for 185 – on the condition that we scored at least 190 in round 2!

I ended the show with the notoriously slightly clumsy “Goodbye from Southampton” moment, in which I unintentionally channelled the great Corporal Jones by waving and saying goodbye considerably later than my three allies!

When I phoned home a few hours after leaving the set, I summed up the experience with just six words.  I had won a game of University Challenge, something that I’d wanted to do since I was ten years old.  “I can die a happy man,” I said.

(Thank you Mr Evans for your comments; much appreciated!)

University Challenge 2013-14: Repechage Play-Off 2: Southampton vs Loughborough

And so, off we set again, for another round of University Challenge. The second play-off tonight, with the winners taking the final place in the second round. Two very likeable teams, who both scored 155 in their first match, so very little between them in that sense.

Southampton were comfortably beaten by SOAS in their first match, but scoring their points against such a good team means they were the favourites for tonight's match, in most peoples' books. With LAM and JOW reader and contributor Cromarty(IV) amongst their number, the unchanged quarter were:
David Bishop, from Reading, studying Physics
Richard Evans, from Frimley in Surrey, studying Chemistry
Captain: Bob de Caux, from West Sussex, studying Complex Systems Simulation
Matt Loxham, from Preston, studying Respiratory Toxicology

Loughborough lost a tighter match to Clare College Cambridge a week prior (the day Paddy won the Jackpot on DoND). It took them one starter more than their opponents to reach that score, hence their ranking below Southampton, but still a respectable effort. There were also unchanged from before:
Ali Thornton, from Penicuik in Scotland, studying Banking, Finance and Management
Cathy Morten, from Southampton, studying Aeronautical Engineering
Captain: Grant Craig, from Bonybridge near Falkirk, studying Analytical Chemistry
Katie Spalding, from Ipswich, studying Maths

So, very little between these two teams. It could go either way. 

David Bishop took his first starter of the series, getting Southampton off the mark first. More starters went Southampton's way, but very few bonuses went with them. Katie Spalding was unlucky to miss one starter, answering 'Dowager Queen' when 'Queen Dowager' was what was sought. Loughborough did manage one starter before the first picture round, on US states which ticket candidates in US election represented. Southampton led by 55-20.

The next starter went to Loughborough, and a full set of bonuses on rugby players allowed them to pull within five points. The next starter, on the horses of historical figures, saw at least three players race to their buzzer; Bob de Caux got there first, increasing Southampton's lead, though, again, only one bonus went their way. Loughborough weren't getting as many starters, but their slightly better bonus showing allowed them to keep in touch.

The music round, on renditions of You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two, went to Loughborough, who produced laughter with suggestions of Laurence Olivier and Omid Djalili! It did, however, allow them to sneak into the lead, 70-65. But Bob de Caux immediately took it back for Southampton, and two further starters allowed the side to pull away into three figures. An interesting set of bonuses on people born on the same day went to the side, with two bonuses falling their way too.

The second picture round was on representations of months in the Bedford Hours, and both sides narrowly missed the starter by being a month out both ways! Southampton got the bonuses, and now led 135-70. Not quite a match winning lead yet, but it would be if they kept getting starters.

And that they did, and when Richard Evans completed a complex piece of arithmetic, their lead reached three figures, and the win was secure. Grant Craig did pull one starter back for Loughborough, ensuring all eight players had answered at least one starter correctly, but just one bonus came out of a complex set of gold winning athletes and their surnames. An odd moment happened when Ali Thornton interrupted incorrectly, but Southampton did not get the rest of the question.

At the gong, Southampton won by 185-80. A close match in the first half, but Southampton pulled away in the second for a respectable win. Bad luck Loughborough, but you still pretty well, and shouldn't be disheartened over either loss at all. But well done Cromarty(IV) and co, and best of luck next time!

The stats: Bob de Caux was the night's best buzzer, getting five starters for Southampton, and the side converted 15 bonuses out of 33 (with two penalties), which is OK, but may need to be improved on next time. Cathy Morten got two starters for Loughborough, with her colleagues getting one each, and the side managed 7 correct bonuses out of 15 (with one penalty).

Next week: the second round begins. No word on the draw yet. Good to see extra care being taken to avoid accidental spoilers though.

University Challenge 2013-14: Repechage Play-Off 1: Durham vs Christ Church

Good evening, from Ayrshire, for the first of the repechage play-offs. If I understand correctly, this was the first match recorded after the show moved to Salford. So, what would a change in location do? Well, apart from Paxo being zoomed in on from slightly further back than before, not a lot. We'll see what playing away does to Manchester's performance when we see them again later.

Durham narrowly lost to Queens' College Cambridge back in early August, by just twenty points, and with a score of 170, twenty points higher than their opposition tonight. Despite that, most would consider them the underdogs tonight; they were unchanged from before:
Alex Richards, from Derbyshire, studying Chemistry
Daniel Hulme, from Staffordshire, studying Theoretical Physics
Captain: Matt MacKenzie, from Gloucestershire, studying History
Oliver Burnham, from Hampshire, studying Chemistry

Christ Church Oxford were unlucky to draw the formidable Trinity College Cambridge team in their first match, but despite getting trounced, they still came away with an impressive score of 150, and only missed a handful of bonuses along the way. Their score was just enough to bring them back, so back again were:
George Greenwood, from Exeter, studying PPE
Andreas Capstack, from Norway, studying PPE
Captain: Ewan MacAulay, from Hong Kong, studying Chemistry
Phil Ostrowski, from Poland, studying Cardiology

So, on paper, not much between them, with Durham having a slightly higher score. But Christ Church's score was achieved against the best team of the first round, and that combined with their bonus rate made them the favourites tonight.

Early on, honours were even, with starters being swapped, and bonuses coming by the plenty. Phil Ostrowski was lucky to get away with a rather long pause after not answering a starter fully at first; but was given the benefit of the doubt, and became the second Christ Church to get a starter right in the series! The first picture round, on logos of international organizations, went to Durham, and they led 60-40.

Then, up surged Christ Church, and away they pulled. Unlike in the heat though, Ewan MacAulay was being aided by his colleagues, who were also adding their two cents on the buzzer. A dropped starter finally came when Mr MacAulay buzzed wrongly, and Paxo dared Durham to take a guess; the guess that came amused Paxo so much he didn't think it was worth guessing!

Phil Ostrowski admitted he was embarrassed to be able to identify Celine Dion for the music starter, but Paxo reassured him it was fine, as it got his team the points! The side swept the bonuses, on Canadian female vocalists, much to Paxo's amazement! Christ Church now led 135-60, and shortly afterwards, George Greenwood made sure all four Oxonions had at least one starter under their belts. The resulting bonuses saw the Oxford side take ages conferring on one bonus, and make Paxo crease up in the process!

Trying to break Durham back into the match, Daniel Hulme buzzed early on the next starter, but he didn't phrase his answer properly, allowing Christ Church to take the points. Matt MacKenzie made a similar mistake afterwards, giving the Oxonians more wheat to their mill. Durham finally broke back into the game with the next starter, but no bonuses followed.

And then the second picture round, on the dogs of US presidents. In each case, the breed was required, and the president as well for the bonuses! Ewan MacAulay narrowly missed the starter, allowing Durham to sneak the points, and the bonuses. More hilarity ensued! Durham now trailed by 200-80, but Daniel Hulme pounced on another Oxford error, giving all eight players at least one starter to their name.

Now into three figures, Durham needed to sweep the remaining starters up, but Christ Church wouldn't let them, and the next starter confirmed their victory. Now playing for pride, Durham did manage a late rally, stringing together two starters and a good tally of bonuses. The final points of a good match went to Christ Church, and at the gong, they had the win by 245-140.

Paxo was correct in saying 140 is a good score to lose with against such a good team. A shame to lose yet another promising Durham side so early, but they didn't disgrace themselves at all, and gave a good account of themselves in their two matches. Well done to Christ Church though for an entertaining victory, and, like so many others in the second round already, a favourable draw could see them make further progress.

The stats: Ewan MacAulay led again for Christ Church, this time with six starters, only one more then Phil Ostrowski managed, while Matt MacKenzie was Durham's lead buzzer with four. On the bonuses, Durham managed a respectable 13 out of 24 (with one penalty), while the Oxonians converted 23 out of 36, which is a slight step back from their first match, but still very good indeed. Good play all round.

Next week's match: the second repechage match between Southampton and Loughborough (good luck Cromarty(IV)!)

As for Only Connect, tonight we saw the first of the elimination matches between sides that lost their first match. Another close one too; shame to lose either side.

University Challenge 2013-14: First Round Review and What We Can Expect Next

So, we've reached the end of the first round. So, time for the usual check-up post.

The fourteen teams safely into Round 2, listed in order of qualifications with their scores and winning margins, are:

• Queen's University Belfast (140, 35)
• Reading (180, 60)
• Trinity College Cambridge (300, 150)
• Queens' College Cambridge (190, 20)
• Clare College Cambridge (195, 40)
• SOAS (230, 75)
• Manchester (215, 110)
• Liverpool (295, 255)
• Peterhouse Cambridge (250, 105)
• York (270, 200)
• Somerville College Oxford (255, 110)
• Cardiff (145, 50)
• Downing College Cambridge (260, 145)
• Bangor (230, 120)

So, what can we expect from those raw stats? Well, Trinity got the highest score of the first round, but not the biggest win. Liverpool and York got lower scores, but won by much bigger margins. But, I maintain that Trinity are better bets to reach the QFs, as they defeated a much stronger team in their first match. It's all well and good to thoroughly trounce your opponents, but it might not be entirely down to your skill.

I will need to see how Liverpool and York fare against stronger opponents before we decide if they should be seriously considered for the title. Many times in recent years, teams that have trounced their first opponents have struggled against stronger teams (Imperial last year, and Edinburgh three years ago).

Aside, from Trinity, I would also say SOAS are good bets to reach the QFs, as they also defeated a good team who managed a good score by a decent margin. I suppose it helps that they are probably a great deal older than most of the others, but, then, SOAS is one of those institutions that is just more likely to have older students (as was said by someone last series).

Aside from those two, I have no idea who to tip for the QFs. There are a whole load of teams who could make it with a favourable draw. And a couple who will have to pick the pace up to survive.

Also, as has been already noted, this year's Manchester team don't seem as strong as their predecessors. Of course, they may well pick up the pace next time around (we all know how badly last year's Manchester team began, and they went on to win the whole thing).

On to the repechage, where the four teams competing are:

• Durham (170, 20)
• Southampton (155, 75)
• Loughborough (155, 40)
• Christ Church Oxford (150, 150)

This is a fine example of the stats only telling half the story, as Christ Church, the lowest scoring and most trounced of the four, I would actually say are the favourites against whoever they face (past form says Durham), as they earned a good score against superb opposition, and converted about four fifths of their bonuses en route. So, unless Ewan MacAulay has an off-day (lets not forget, he was responsible for all of his side's starters in that match), I would definitely say his team are the most likely to make it through. (Mind you, we all thought Lincoln were most likely to make it through the repechage last year, and look what happened there)

Overall, the first round this year was much better than the first round last year, where only a handful of teams broke 200; this year, only a handful of winning teams haven't! And the standard feels better than last year too. I can only hope things will not tail off, and we will be in for a good repechage and second round.

Still no word on the draw for next Monday's match, but Durham vs Christ Church would be my best guess, followed by Southampton vs Loughborough. Hopefully, we'll know for sure shortly.

University Challenge 2013-14: Round 1: Match 14: Aberystwyth vs Bangor

So, the final first round match! It's been a long round, hasn't it? An all-Welsh affair, with both sides aiming to score 155 or more to make it into the repechage, whatever happened. Pleasingly, no accidental spoilers have leaked out in the past week, so none of us knew what to expect tonight.

Aberystwyth University was part of the University of Wales until 2007, having been around in various forms for well over a century beforehand. It hasn't been seen on UC for some years, its last appearance being in 2006-07, where the team reached the QFs before losing to eventual winners Warwick. Playing for them tonight:
Simon Thomas, from Warminster in Wiltshire, studying Strategic Studies
Matthew Campbell, from Inverurie, studying Strategy
Captain: Ned Bishop-Harper, from Canterbury, studying Managing the Environment
Daniel Guy, from Epping, studying Biology

Nice to see someone from my neck of the woods on the show.

Bangor University has a similar history to its opponents, having been founded in 1884, and also becoming its own uni in 2007. Lest we forget, their team reached the semi-finals last year, before bowing out to Manchester. One of last year's team, Adam Pearce, remarked yesterday that this year's captain was his team's reserve, and he knows two more of them. They were:
Owain Jones, from Swansea, studying History
Daisy Le Helloco, from Dorchester, studying English Literature
Captain: Catriona Coutts, from Angelsey, studying English Literature with Creative Writing
Anna Johnson, from Chippenham, studying Marine Biology

So, both teams knew what they had to do, and off we set. Bangor struck first, with Daisy Le Helloco providing correct answers to the first two starters. Aberystwyth got off the mark, but went backwards to -5 before getting their first starter of the night. The first picture round was on jerseys used in the Tour de France; Bangor took this, increasing their lead to 75-15.

And almost immediately, everyone of the Bangor side had a starter to their name. A good set of bonuses on pairs of celebs, the first of whom's surname is the second's first name, gave them a full set of bonuses. Step in James Guy, who managed two consecutive starters for Aberystwyth, and a fair amount of bonuses went with them. The music round was on genres whose names are also dances; Bangor got the starter, and seemed to take their time answering the bonuses, not for the first or last time.

Bangor's lead was now 115-55, and another good buzz from Daisy Le Helloco increased it. Again, the side took their time with the bonuses. An early buzz from Bangor allowed Aberystwyth to get back into the match, and a full set of bonuses followed. A second starter and bonuses for Aberystwyth reduced the Bangor advantage to just 25 points. The second picture round, on depictions of female authors, gave Bangor more room to manoeuvre, and increased the lead to 140-100.

Into the final minutes, with the gap still closeable. Catriona Coutts became the latest in a long list of quiz show contestants to mistake Cardinal Wolsey for Thomas Cromwell, and to think he was executed (which he wasn't). Another starter went to Aberystwyth, but no bonuses followed. And this, alas, was as far as Aberystwyth could make it, and the remaining non-dropped starters went to Bangor. Again, the side took their time with the bonuses.

At the gong, Bangor won by 230-110. A good first victory for the side, despite their taking their times with their bonuses, and, like so many others, a favourable draw could see them do well in the later stages. Bad luck Aberystwyth, but a respectable effort.

The stats: a late surge saw Catriona Coutts emerge as Bangor's best buzzer with five starters, while Daniel Guy's three was Aberystwyth's best tally. On the bonuses, Abersywyth managed a decent 11 out of 18 (with one penalty), while Bangor's final tally was 22 out of 37 (with two penalties), which is also a good tally.

So, the repechage teams are: Durham (170), Loughborogh and Southampton (155 each) and Christ Church Oxford (150). Four good teams, so we should be in for some good matches, we hope.

Next week: the first repechage match. No word on the draw yet, but my best guess is Durham vs Christ Church.

Tune back in tomorrow for a short summary for the first round, and what we can expect next.

University Challenge 2013-14: Round 1: Match 13: St John's vs Downing

It's Monday night, so it must be University Challenge time. And, with the first round nearing its close, the fight for the repechage is heating up. Scoring 160 or more would guarantee tonight's losing team a place in it. And it was an Oxbridge match, and, if the previous three were anything to go by, there was a chance we could've seen that.

St John's College Oxford was founded in 1555, and is now, like its Cambridge namesake (who we've already seen this year lest we forget) once was, the richest college in the university. A long list of alumni include a certain Mr T. Blair. The college last appeared back in 2009-10, where they impressively reached the final before losing to Alex Guttenplan's Emmanuel team to finish second. Hoping to go one step further this year were:
Ted Elgar, from Blackheath in London, studying History and Politics
Tom Finch, from Appleford in Oxfordshire, studying Classics
Captain: Jonathan Lane from Carmarthenshire, studying Medicine
Tom Salt, from Oxfordshire, studying Maths

Downing College Cambridge was founded in 1800 with the legacy left by Sir George Downing, builder of Downing Street. A long list of alumni include John 'Basil' Cleese, the late Michael Winner and, er, my Grandfather! The college last sent a team in the 2010-11 series, where they lost to eventual winners Magdalen College Oxford in the second round. Playing tonight were:
Tom Claxton, from Grantham, studying Natural Sciences
Georgina Phillips, from Shoreham-by-Sea, studying Geography
Captain: John Morgan, from Abingdon, studying Theoretical Chemistry
Tom Rees, from Guildford, studying Maths

A lot of Toms tonight. And this series overall, in fact.

Both teams got off the mark quickly, sharing the first two starters, and getting one bonus each. Then, Downing stepped into gear, and began to pull out into the lead. After the first picture round, they led by 75-15.

A set of bonuses on brothers went to Downing next, and I got one on a complete guess of Edwards IV and Richard III. An incorrect interruption then gave St John's a chance to get back into the game, and two bonuses from a set of new entries into the OED gave them two correct answers. But Downing soon resumed normal business, and pulled away through the three figure barrier.

St John's did take the music round, which required them to name the instrument being played, which was probably as hard as it sounded. The gap now stood at 120-50 in Downing's favour, and it grew when Tom Ress didn't fall into the trap of saying Darwin coined the term 'Survival of the Fittest' a la Alan Davies on QI. The subsequent bonuses required two soundalike words to be spelt out, and an amusing moment came when Mr Rees was nominated, then tried to renominate Miss Phillips! She eventually gave the right answers.

Downing secured the 160 points that ensured we'd be seeing them again one way or another. St John's pulled back with two starters in a row, getting them towards three figures. The second picture round was on restaurants and the chef associated with them. Tom Rees very quickly shot in with the Fat Duck and Heston Blumenthal (as did I as well) almost as soon as Paxo finished his preamble! Paxo seemed rather surprised he knew it!

Downing's lead was now 205-85. St John's didn't stand much of a chance of catching Downing, but could still reach the repechage with a good run of questions. An unlucky penalty didn't help them much, and then Downing put their feet down again, and added to their already impressive score. Two starters were dropped, including one where the answer had a leeway of one either way; both teams' answers were two away on either side!

Another starter went to Downing, and it now looked unlikely St John's could gather the momentum to reach the repechage. They did manage a short sprint in the closing minutes, breaking three figures and reaching respectability. At the gong, Downing won by 260-115.

St John's definitely didn't disgrace themselves, but they were just comprehensively beaten on the buzzer by Downing. A very good first showing by the Cambridge side though, who, again, could do well this year with a favourable draw. The Toms Claxton and Rees got five starters each, and the Cambridge side converted 25 bonuses out of 42. Tom Finch's four starters was the best individual tally for St John's, who managed 10 correct bonuses out of 21. Both side incurred one penalty.

Safely through to the repechage: Durham (170), Loughborough and Southampton (155)

Next week's match: Aberystwyth vs Bangor in the first first round match.

Again didn't see much of Only Connect tonight, but a comfortable win for the winning team, whose captain's brother was part of the Draughtsmen, who were runners-up two series ago.

University Challenge: Is multiple Oxbridge teams fair?

So, just two more first round matches in this year's UC, the draws for both of them known. The second, a week on Monday, an all-Welsh affair between Aberystwyth and Bangor. The first, this Monday coming, a fourth Oxbridge match, with St John's for Oxford, and Downing for Cambridge.

St John's will be the fifth Oxford college to appear this series, while Downing will be the seventh Cambridge side. Now, I understand what Jim Gratrex meant when he said on LAM that there would be 'a lot more Cambridge teams than usual'.

Naturally, I flagged up how fair this was on LAM last week, and Dave Clark responded with the very good point about how fair it is that 12 of the 28 teams come from two universities.

This is a very good point, and one that has been around for decades, possibly since UC began back in '63. We all know about the infamous 'Trotsky' incident that got Manchester banned until the show moved to the BBC, but it is still a major point to this day.

I've seen many comments online remarking about how 'unfair' it is that Oxbridge are allowed multiple teams. I recall someone on Twitter saying this after Clare College Cambridge trounced Leeds a couple of years ago. And also there seems to be a lot more of a positive reaction when a non-Oxbridge team beats an Oxbridge team. Various matches from a few years ago come to mind, including Sheffield's narrow win over Magdalen College Oxford.

Also, it must be said that 12 Oxbridge teams is a bit much IMO. The average is about ten per series, five each side. It's not the first time we've had this many: we had twelve in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 series as well, and eleven in the Alex Guttenplan series of 2009-10. Having four Oxbridge matches though is, as Iain Weaver said when this happened before two years ago, a bit too much.

Cambridge having two more teams than Oxford might be seen as unfair too. However, it won't give them any advantage in any way. Three years ago, Magdalen were one of two Oxford teams in the second round, while Cambridge had six, and we all know how that series ended, don't we?

So, some claim that multiple Oxbridge teams is unfair. But, what is we did limit it down to just one each per series?

DanQuizzing remarked on LAM last week that, if Oxford and Cambridge sent one team each a year, either would win every year. He makes the very valid point that splitting them up into seperate colleges stops them pooling all their best players into one unbeatable team.

Some teams, of course, have very powerful individual players, and having all of them in one team would make them unstoppable. Imagine a joint Oxbridge team of Alex Guttenplan, Gail Trimble, and Will Cudmore and Kyle Haddad-Fonda from tha afore-mentioned Magdalen team. That team would be unbeatable, for sure.

By splitting up Oxbridge into multiple teams, they give others a fair chance against them. Of course, this also means fewer uni can send teams, which is a bit unfair.

It's also worth mentioning, however, that while Oxbridge are guaranteed about ten teams each per series, the University of London, which also has multiple colleges, has varied amounts of teams each year, with only one (SOAS) in the current series.

Of course, Durham, which also has multiple colleges, is only allowed one team a year, but they have a reason: their colleges are for accommodation purposes rather than to teach. London representation can vary. There have been a few teams over the years from independant unis/colleges in London (such as Imperial, which became independent in 2007, but they rarely appear.

Back in 2004, Iain Weaver wrote a very good article about how unis/colleges founded since '92 have been at a disadvantage on the show. I cannot think of any post '92 institutions on this year's series. I think this is the first time this has happened. (Of course, the Welsh teams were once part of the University of Wales, then became independent about ten years ago)

I guess this whole multiple Oxbridge teams affair is never going to be fully resolved for as long as UC stays on air. People are always going to have conflicting views on the subject, but then, the same can be said for many issues of the day. That's what makes these things so interesting to discuss, and to continue to be discussed.