On November 9, several teams from the Boston Latin School Junior Classical League (JCL) competed in a Certamen tournament held at Yale University.
JCL is an organization consisting of students who enjoy different aspects of classics and do various events to serve their community. A major event students participate in is Certamen, a buzzer trivia game played with a team of up to four people. Each round includes 20 questions about various topics concerning the classics, including the Latin language, Roman history, mythology, culture and literature.
At Yale University, students from all over the country competed at the novice, intermediate and advanced levels. The two novice and intermediate teams played their three preliminary rounds in the morning while the advanced teams prepared for their rounds in the afternoon. After lunch, many BLS teams proceeded to play in semifinals, and some even made it to finals.
To prepare for Yale Certamen, advanced players underwent a five week intensive training course before the competition. In addition to studying the syllabus, BLS Latin teacher and advanced Certamen coach Mr. Michael Howard adds,“We build in some teamwork. […] and then, of course, there has to be some conditioning work; [I’m] big on the push ups and things like that, to help us have the right mindset.”
As a result of their diligent preparation, the students did very well at the competition. The two novice teams placed 13th and 15th, one of the two intermediate teams placed 2nd, and the two advanced teams placed 2nd and and 14th, out of a total of 82 teams who competed in the tournament.
Members of teams on all levels were satisfied with their performance. Advanced Certamen player Joseph Hemr (II) states,“[A]s a team we are very happy with this performance and are looking to improve before our next tournament.”
At the conclusion of the competition, the teams celebrated with cake before the bus ride back to BLS. Students thanked their coaches for preparing them and taking them to this unique experience.
Team members also attended Classics Day, a statewide JCL event at Boston University, which was held on November 21. Classics Day has a myriad of activities, including lectures, workshops and group activities with over 300 attendees from all over Massachusetts.
Brynn Bennett (III) shares, “It’s so cool being able to see people go to all these tournaments and get to know people more. We’re competing against each other but it’s a community.”
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JCL Conquers Certamen
By Abrielle Huang (V), Contributing Writer
November 30, 2024
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