World Scholar's Cup
| World Scholar's Cup | |
|---|---|
 Daniel Berdichevsky shows off an alpaca at the 2011 Jakarta Round | |
| Type: | International Educational Program |
| Founded: | 2006 |
| Founder and Alpaca-In-Chief: | Daniel Berdichevsky |
| Headquarters: | Los Angeles, California |
| Managing Director: | Jeremy Chumley |
| Director of Curriculum: | Josephine Richstad |
| Website: | http://scholarscup.org |
The World Scholar's Cup (abbreviated as WSC) is an international team academic program with students participating from over 82 countries. The competition was founded by DemiDec, in particular by Daniel Berdichevsky, DemiDec's president, in 2006. The World Scholar's Cup has attracted what it calls "a global community of future scholars and leaders", and promotes that it allows participants to "discover strengths and skills you never knew you had." It focuses on bringing students from different cultures together to discuss issues and ideas relevant to today.
Tournament Format
A team for the World Scholar's Cup is usually composed of three students but under special circumstances, may contain two. The teams are usually made up of students from the same school, but mixed teams are allowed. Students have the option of forming "independent" teams that may include students from other schools or even other countries. Each team participates in the four standard, round events.
Teams may participate in any regional round. If teams are unable to attend a regional round, but would still like to participate in the Global Round, they may qualify for a wildcard berth.
To qualify for the annual Global Round, teams must do one of the following:
- Exceed a point threshold at a Regional Round (which varies per round but is usually 20,000)
- Earn a wildcard "at-large" berth at a Regional Round (through strong point performance)
- Apply for an exceptional berth (granted only in extraordinary circumstances)
To qualify to the Tournament of Champions at Yale University, teams must:
- Exceed a point threshold at a Global Round (which is usually around 22,000 points but may vary)
- All members have qualified at a Global Round
- Two members in a team must have been teammates at the Global Round they qualified from
There are both senior and junior divisions in the competition. A student's age designates which division they may participate in. Students that are below age 14 participate in the junior division, while students 15 and older participate in the senior division.[1] For the 2019 season, a new rule has been introduced where people who are 14 or older on January 1 will be classified as a senior. [2]A junior can participate in the senior division if he/she wishes to. In Regional Rounds, both divisions participate simultaneously, though juniors only compete against juniors and seniors against seniors. At the Global Round, the divisions are staggered, with the junior division competing in each event one day ahead of the senior division. In most cases, the junior Closing Ceremony is a day ahead of the senior Closing Ceremony.
Events
Each World Scholar's Cup Regional Round consists of four main events: the Scholar's Challenge, Collaborative Writing, The Team Debate, and the Scholar's Bowl. In addition to these four main events, at select tournaments additional activities take place. These activities are both social and academic, and strive to solidify the community aspect of the World Scholar's Cup.
At the end of June, top teams from around the world come together for the Global Round. At the global round, community events such as a scavenger hunt (Scholar's Scavenge), a cultural fair (Scholar's Fair) and a dance (Scholar's Ball) are added alongside the four main events, further cultivating the sense of global community of the program.
Team Events[3]
The Scholar's Challenge
The Scholar's Challenge is a 120-question multiple choice exam given to each individual competitor to complete within 60 minutes. Prizes are awarded to top scholars in each subject and to both teams and individuals for the overall Challenge.
In 2015, WSC introduced a new element to the Scholar's Challenge: the certainty factor. Whereas normal multiple choice quizzes let you pick one answer per question, the certainty factor allows scholars to choose multiple answers for each question. The number of points scored is inversely proportional to the number of answers chosen. For example, if a scholar chose one choice and got it right, they would score a point. If they chose two answers and one was right, they would score 1/2 a point. If they chose three and one was right, they would score 1/3 of a point, and so forth. If time was running out, a student could shade in all five answers and automatically win 1/5 of a point.[4]
Collaborative Writing
Collaborative Writing is based on an argumentative structure, with students picking one of six different prompts. Each scholar on a team must pick a different prompt. Scholars pick one side of a topic and write in favour of it or against it, with the goal to persuade readers to agree with their views. Students are expected to provide evidence to support their claims using any resources available to them (including the internet), with the exception of social networking sites and communicating with people other than their teammates during the exam.
At the beginning of the event, students have 25 minutes to work with their teammates to discuss and research their arguments. Following the collaboration period, students have 45 minutes to write their essay. There is no word minimum or maximum, and students are expected to cite sources. Following the writing period, students then have 15 minutes to collaborate again with their teammates to edit one another’s work, but they may not finish a teammate’s essay.[5]
Students are also encouraged to draw alpaca sketches on their sheets but only after they have finished writing. These are what WSC refers to as "disposable sketches of alpacas" (optional), but, although humorously alluded to by Berdichevsky, do not result in extra credit.
Team Debate
The Team Debate focuses on encouraging students to develop their speaking and logic skills, as well as teamwork, to argue orally for or against a topic pertaining to the curriculum. The Team Debate is a very important event in the World Scholar's Cup, because it focuses on coming together as a community to discuss intellectual topics. The format is a straightforward one, designed specifically to be accessible to all levels of debaters, as many students in the competition are experiencing debate for the first time (about two-thirds of the competitors at regional rounds are debating for the first time).
The event proceeds as follows: All teams are assigned a debate room for the first round of debates. Debate room assignments (called debate trees, which show the room and side of teams, as well as determine where they will go next based on their debate outcome) are distributed at a central gathering place just prior to the beginning of the debate event. Teams will debate three times. In the debate room, teams will meet their opponents and learn the motion. Teams are pre-assigned whether they are to support or oppose the motion. Teams will have 15 minutes to confer within the room before the debate begins. Teams may use World Scholar’s Cup materials or any outside resources to prepare, including computers and Internet access where available. It is up to the members of individual teams to assign themselves speaking order. Before speaking, scholars will be requested to give the adjudicator his/her team number and letter (A, B, or C for Juniors; X, Y, or Z for Seniors).
Each student will stand in front of the room for the length of his or her speech. Teams may not make noise or interrupt while a student is speaking. Speakers may use notes. Students should not read their speeches in their entirety.
Students may speak for up to four minutes. There is no penalty for speaking up to four minutes. The judge will signal (usually with one knock), when the student has just one minute left to speak. At four minutes, the judge will signal (usually with two knocks) and the student may finish his or her sentence, but then must stop speaking and sit down. A two-member team may still debate, with one member speaking twice. A student who speaks twice will be scored only for his or her first speech.
Between speakers, teams will have 60 seconds to prepare before the next speaker is called. Before the end of the debate, the competing teams are required to give positive and constructive feedback to the opposing team, for roughly 90 seconds. At the end of the debate, the judge (or panel of judges) will announce a winning team. The winning team will then proceed to a designated room and the non-winning team to a different designated room, where each will face another team with the same number of wins and non-wins.[6]
One cultural aspect of WSC debate is the 'lollipop'. In order to promote positivity and self-improvement, the World Scholar's Cup in 2015 stopping using the word "losing" and instead now says "lollipopping". This change was also reflected in the debate schedules that each team receives, with the term "losing team" no longer used.
The Scholar's Bowl[7]
The Scholar's Bowl is a team event usually held in a theater. Team members work together to answer multiple choice questions that are displayed on a large screen.
In order to answer the questions, each team of students is given a "clicker" that connects to a scoring computer on stage. Students then choose their answer by pressing A, B, C, D, or E on their clicker. Once the question has been read aloud by the bowl master (usually Alpaca-In-Chief Daniel Berdichevsky), students are given 15 seconds to submit their answer. The questions gets harder each time and worth more points than the last one. There are sometimes rapid fire questions which have to be answered in 5 seconds (5 such questions will be present and each question will usually carry 100 points).
The Scholar's Bowl implements many types of questions, many based on popular multimedia examples. The questions tend to include references to pop culture, and often include the names of WSC staff members. The tournament mascot, the alpaca, often also makes an appearance, however all questions related to alpacas do not carry points or they are used as practice questions.
Questions from each area of the curriculum are featured in the Scholar's Bowl. At the Global Round in 2010, a new scoring system for the Scholar's Bowl was introduced, making each question worth more points than the last as the questions get more difficult. After all bowl rounds have finished, there is a bonus round that includes question with points starting from 1000, all the way up to 2000 per question, as the difficulty level increases. The final question of every Scholars Bowl allows you to gamble points from betting to win 500 points to 2500 points.
One of the main aims of the Scholar's Bowl is to allow the team of students to work together, using both logic skills and knowledge, to answer each question. Participants discuss the questions among their team, pulling together the different aspects of their knowledge in the pursuit of success. The Scholar's Bowl is often the last educational event of the competition before the awards ceremony.[8]
Community Events[9]
The Scholar's Scavenge
The Scholar's Scavenge occurs each year at the Global Round and the Tournament of Champions, and first took place in 2009 in Singapore. Students are teamed up with those from other countries and given a list of tasks. At least one person in the team has a camera, and the tasks are completed by taking photos and videos. The tasks may relate to the curriculum (such as "create a city out of things you find in the park"), teamwork (such as "create a human pyramid"), organizers (such as "take a video of Daniel speaking Spanish"), or just silly (such as "take a video of your team singing an annoying song"). Each task is worth a certain number of points depending upon the difficulty. At the end of the scavenge, chaperons collect the memory cards of the student taking the pictures and score them. These scores do not count toward the scores in the competition as a whole, but are only used for this event.[10]
The Debate Showcase
Another additional event is the Debate Showcase. The regional round's top 8 junior and senior debaters take part in this event. At Regional Rounds there is only one Debate Showcase with both juniors and seniors taking part. Regardless, 8 students debate in each Showcase.
The format mirrors the main event's format, but the students instead debate on stage in front of the rest of the participants. Each student speaks once for up to four minutes. When all six speakers have gone, the host of the Showcase invites volunteers from the audience and debaters from the showcase to step forward and share their general thoughts on the topic that was debated.
Additionally, top-scoring round debate participants (or runners-up) are the judging panel for the Showcase. When the Debate Showcase ends, the panel announce the winners.[11]
The Scholar's Ball
The Scholar's Ball was first added to the tournament in 2011 at the Global Round in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The idea spawned from a conversation about the competition where one party misheard "Scholar's Bowl" as "Scholar's Ball".
The Scholar's Ball encourages mingling, dancing, and the chance to "look sharp". Students are required to come in formal wear. Some scholars refer to it as a "pseudo-prom" or "nerd-prom". It was introduced to allow students mingle with students from different countries.[12]
The Scholar's Show
The first Scholar's Show occurred in 2010 at the regional round held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Its origins are spontaneous—it is the result of students' response to Queen's "We Will Rock You" playing during an intermission. Students began stomping their feet and clapping along, and one of the organizers encouraged them to sing along. When the song was over, Berdichevsky invited any student wanting to showcase their talent to come forward, and The Scholar's Show was born.
Since its inception, The Scholar's Show has grown from a spontaneous talent show to a showcase of students' ambition, skill, and bravery. Student performances range from vocal and instrumental performances to beat boxing, dancing, and magic tricks. The Scholar's Show is meant to bring students together by introducing them to mutual talents and interests. The Scholar's Show is held at all two-day rounds, and at each Global Round and the Tournament of Champions.
Notable performances include three girls singing a self-written song about Alpacas, to the melody of John Lennon's "Imagine" (2012 Beijing Round), and Berdichevsky himself doing a rap on Alpacas (2011 Global Round). A boy in Dubai also recited 100 digits of pi while a boy in Hong Kong performed another magnificent feat: correctly identifying all the capitals in the world to its correct countries. A duo in Bangalore Regional Round did some Yoga.[13]
Flag March
The Flag March happens at the end of every Global Round and Tournament of Champions before the Awards Ceremony. In the Flag March, there is one representative (flag bearer) from every country participating in the World Scholar’s Cup. The flag bearers carry the flag of their country and march to the stage.[14]
The World Scholar's Camp
In 2012, the World Scholar's Camp was created, and took place in Singapore in December 2012. It included seminars and outings to various locations in Singapore.
Camps take place at various schools and cities through the year.[15]
Awards Ceremony
The Awards Ceremony, also known as the Closing Ceremony, takes place just before everyone says their goodbyes. Traditionally, staff members stand on stage and announce the winners for the entire round. In the 2017 Hanoi Global Round, a new division, the Skittles Division, was formed, which encompasses kids aged primary years (from 8-12).
Curriculum
The World Scholar's Cup curriculum has six subjects that relate to a larger theme. Each year the theme changes, and with it so does the Special Area. The curriculum is designed to help students understand the overarching themes of the subjects and how they relate to one another. Students are often given questions that require critical thinking skills as well as their basic knowledge to come to a conclusion rather than focusing on memorization. For instance, instead of asking on which date an experiment was performed, the question would ask, "Which artist would be most likely to oppose this experiment?"
The subjects of the curriculum are:
- Science
- Literature
- Arts and Music
- Special Area
- History
- Social Studies
Until 2009, mathematics up to trigonometry was included in the curriculum. However, in 2010 it was eliminated in order to better address the goals of the competition. The tournament's decision to eliminate math stemmed from the subject's inflexibility and its difficulty to debate, though the World Scholar's Cup does not deny the importance of math in life and education. In 2008, the World Scholar's Cup added a "film" category to its visual arts section, and in 2010 added a "music" category to its art section.
Until 2013, the World Scholar's Cup released curriculum guides each year—one for each subject. The guides were available free-of-charge on its official website. Starting in 2013, topic outlines and theme-relevant material was made freely available to students through their website. The World Scholar's Cup recommends connecting each section of the outline to the given theme and how they connect or impact society.[16]
Until 2014, there was a Current Affairs section, which was replaced by Social Studies. To address its absence, Current Affairs would from thereon out be integrated across all six subjects instead.
Theme Songs
In 2014, during the Global Round, Director of Social Stuff Burch Wang revealed that he felt that the competition needed a song to capture the never-ending feeling of the event. Just after the opening ceremony, he played his song, "Endless", for the first time. It was an instant hit with the scholars, as it was constantly asked to be sung by Burch during the course of the Global Round.[17]
In 2015, Burch returned with another theme song, specifically written for WSC, called "Boundless". Its intention was to capture the idea of The World Unbound, which was the overarching WSC theme that year. This song was played several times during the 2016 World Scholars Global round, one specific rendition using piano and vocals causing Burch to cry in happiness.[18] In addition, Chauncey Lo created a parody called "Burchless", and it was played in the Scholar's Bowl of 2016 Globals.[19]
In 2016, fitting in with that year's time of "An Imperfect World," a theme even mentioned in the talent show acts, Burch wrote a song named "Flawless." Before playing the song for the first time, Burch announced that this was one of the hardest songs to ever write, and that he rewrote it six times.[20]
In 2017, Burch's theme song was named "So Close", breaking the pattern of similarly suffixed titles. The song was released to YouTube and iTunes in June 2017.[21]
In 2018, Havana is the theme song. Scholars have claimed that the song has been played over 100000 times across the various Global Rounds.[22] They have also performed an original song at each global round titled "Remember that We're Non-Violent."
The Alpacas
The Mascot
A ubiquitous symbol of the World Scholar's Cup is the alpaca. According to Berdichevsky, the three finalists were the alpaca, the penguin, and the emu. The alpaca appears on most, if not all, literature released by the program, as well as in its official logo. At competitions, students receive their own alpacas from staff members. These alpacas may come in the form of finger puppets, stuffed toys, or even dolls made with real alpaca fur.[23] Different types of alpacas are showcased in the World Scholar's Cup. They range from the Japanese alpaca, Totoro, to several collector versions. In the 2017 Hanoi Global Round, contestants were able to purchase rainbow-colored "Skittles" alpacas.
During the 2011 season in honor of biotechnology being the focus of the science subject, Berdichevsky introduced to the competition a new hybrid mascot known as the "Alpabear". These half-alpaca-half-bears "possess many of the same characteristics as normal alpacas." The founder also introduced the result of a science "fraught with peril"—a bright blue, giant alpabear known by the name "Blue Bear". In 2016, due to reactions from a Practice question, the WSC released a version of the mascot named "Trumpaca", alpacas with a funny face of Donald Trump.
"The Mascot Election"
The alpaca was elected the mascot of DemiDec and the World Scholar's Cup in 2006. Students nominated potential mascots online, and from that pool came the final three: The alpaca, the emu, and the penguin. At the end of the vote, the alpaca was victorious and the emu came in 2nd place. Theorists speculate that the reason the alpaca won is due to a split among bird-lovers.
However, in 2011, Berdichevsky hinted that the results of the election may be apocryphal. During the Scholar's Bowl, in lieu of a history section, the founder of World Scholar's Cup presented a historical analysis, he hinting that the election results may be mythical. Evidence of this has never been found, but Berdichevsky admits that he "may have had a pre-existing relationship with alpacas," and poses the question that perhaps he "was the one tallying the votes."
At the 2017 Hanoi Global Round, the Emu and Penguin returned as the locations of Scholar's Challenge and Collaborative Writing areas.
"Pwaa"
Another common occurrence during World Scholar's Cup tournaments is the echoing of the word "Pwaa". "Pwaa," explains Berdichevsky at the start of every cup, "is the sound that a happy alpaca makes."
Often used as an interjection or a response to a statement, this onomatopoeia has become a sensation among World Scholar's Cup participants. It may also be used in a call-and-response format, as demonstrated by staff members at many competitions. Often, staff members will call out the word and find themselves echoed by hundreds of students. The word has also made appearances in Facebook statuses, and at the 2011 Global Round in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Deputy Prime Minister of Higher Education in Malaysia Dr. Hou Kok Chung Saifuddin Abdullah used it during his closing remarks. The word "Pwaa" is used as a pun in various places during the contest. Examples of usage: Pwaasome (Awesome), Pwaala Lumpur (Kuala Lumpur), Singapwaa (Singapore), Pwaalified (qualified), Live long and pwaasper (live long and prosper) or just "Pwaa".
Champions
Overall Individual Champions
Seniors
| Year | Round | Location | Champion | School | Country/Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Global | Bangkok | Chun Shin Yau | Hwa Chong Institution |  |
| ToC | Yale | Glenys Poon | National Junior College | | |
| 2013 | Global | Dubai | Herbert Chang | Kaohsiung American School |  |
| ToC | Yale | Medha Goyal | Chinese International School |  | |
| 2014 | Global | Singapore | Terran Kroft | Kaohsiung American School | |
| ToC | Yale | Nora Jandhyala | GEMS Wellington International School |  | |
| 2015 | Global | Kuala Lumpur | Chauncey Lo | International School of Beijing |  |
| Mini Global | Ireland | Yuval Beker | Ahad Ha'am High School |  | |
| ToC | Yale | Chauncey Lo | International School of Beijing | | |
| 2016 | Global | Bangkok | Dylan Kroft | Kaohsiung American School | |
| Mini Global | Prague | Vishnu Sriram | American International School Chennai |  | |
| ToC | Yale | Pavithra Chempakanalloor | Henry Wise Wood Senior High School |  | |
| 2017 | Global | Hanoi | Nicol Yong | St. Joseph's Institution International Malaysia |  |
| Global | Athens | Zhuoyan Li | Keishin High School |  | |
| Global | Cape Town | Dana Chiueh | International Bilingual School at Hsinchu Science Park | | |
| ToC | Yale | Tyus Sheriff | Senri-Osaka International School | | |
| 2018 | Global | Kuala Lumpur | Tyus Sheriff | Senri-Osaka International School | |
| Global | Barcelona | Emily Deng | University of Toronto Schools | | |
| Global | Melbourne | Alessandra Lim | St Joseph's Institution International Singapore | |
Juniors
| Year | Round | Location | Name | School | Country/Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Global | Bangkok | Kevin Kuo | Morrison Academy Kaohsiung | |
| ToC | Yale | David Boo Koh | Hwa Chong Institution | | |
| 2013 | Global | Dubai | Milo Thursfield | Ardingly College |  |
| ToC | Yale | Chauncey Lo | International School of Beijing | | |
| 2014 | Global | Singapore | Yifeng Dong | Dulwich College Shanghai | |
| ToC | Yale | Aatmik Gupta | Modern School, Barakhamba Road | | |
| 2015 | Global | Kuala Lumpur | Emile Timothy Anand | Cambridge International School, Dubai | |
| Mini Global | Ireland | Owen Yeung | Po Leung Kuk Choi Kai Yau School | | |
| ToC | Yale | Sze Ann Pang | Nanyang Girls High School | | |
| 2016 | Global | Bangkok | Alessandra Lim | SJI International School | |
| Mini Global | Prague | Alexa Jeanne Wong Loste | Immaculate Conception Academy |  | |
| ToC | Yale | Tyus Sheriff | Osaka International School | | |
| 2017 | Global | Hanoi | Adam Mihir Libby | Sishya School | |
| Global | Hanoi | Amy Mance (Skittles Division) | Iona Presentation College |  | |
| Global | Athens | Sarah Luna Nabhani | Mentari School Jakarta |  | |
| Global | Cape Town | Anika Sharma | Pathways World School Aravali | | |
| ToC | Yale | Chi Dao Mai | Stanford Online High School |  | |
| 2018 | Global | Kuala Lumpur | Anthony Shen | Kaohsiung American School | |
| Global | Kuala Lumpur | Maia Anika Punzalan (Skittles Division) | Miriam College | | |
| Global | Barcelona | Vishnumaya Deepakchandran | GEMS Modern Academy | | |
| Global | Melbourne | Dipika Choudhury | Perth Modern School | | |
| Global | Melbourne | Muhammad Rafi Permadi (Skittles Division) | BINUS School Simprug | |
Overall Team Champions
Senior
| Year | Round | Location | Champions | School | Country/Area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Global | Bangkok | Sara Ng, So Phia Ong, Chun Shin Yau | Hwa Chong Institution | |
| ToC | Yale | Dikaios Pang, Louiz Kim-Chan, Glenys Poon | National Junior College | | |
| 2013 | Global | Dubai | Terran Kroft, Herbert Chang, Kevin Kuo | Kaohsiung American School | |
| ToC | Yale | Medha Goyal, Jimin Kang, Cuthbert Chow | Chinese International School | | |
| 2014 | Global | Singapore | Kean Murphy, Jack Tan, Cheng Tat Chua | Hwa Chong Institution | |
| ToC | Yale | Enrique Chuidian, Jonathan Mak, Nicholas Vallone | Chinese International School | | |
| 2015 | Global | Kuala Lumpur | Zihan Chen, Julie Wang, David Zhao | Tsinghua International School/Phillips Academy Andover |  |
| Mini Global | Ireland | Maayan Asiskovich, Yuval Beker, Maya Michaely | Ahad Ha'am High School | | |
| ToC | Yale | Nicole-Ann Lim, Caitlin Wee, Chan Wen-Shuen | Nanyang Girls High School | | |
| 2016 | Global | Bangkok | Ivy Gao, Linda Huang, Ng Zi Ling | Nanyang Girls High School | |
| Mini Global | Prague | Vishnu Sriram, Nate Malone, Uday Saharia | American International School Chennai | | |
| ToC | Yale | Kelvin Ho, Clement Ho, Owen Yeung | Po Leung Kuk Choi Kai Yau School | | |
| 2017 | Global | Hanoi | Eunice Lee, Sze Ann Pang, Teo Yue Qi | Nanyang Girls High School | |
| Global | Athens | Hila Ofek, Gull Shakhar, David Iungelson | Rehovot School for Gifted and Talented | | |
| Global | Cape Town | Brandon Lin, Wendy O-charoenrat, Dana Chiueh | International School Bangkok / International Bilingual School at Hsinchu Science Park |  | |
| ToC | Yale | Natalie Kainz, Jeff Hu, Jenny Hu | King George V School | | |
| 2018 | Global | Kuala Lumpur | Van An Trinh, Lexi Prichard, Terry Guo | Island School/Iona Presentation College/Conestoga High School | |
| Global | Barcelona | Jeremy Flics, Matthew Flics, Grace Pang | Brooklyn Technical High School/Hwa Chong Institution | | |
| Global | Melbourne | Tara Kripalani, Alessandra Lim, Kyle Lim | St Joseph's Institution International Singapore | |
Juniors
| Year | Round | Location | Champions | School | Country/Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Global | Bangkok | Jasmine Thng, Alicia Lim, Selina Xu | Nanyang Girls High School | |
| ToC | Yale | Jun Kai Sebastian Guek, Jun Teck Roystan Ang, David Boo Koh | Hwa Chong Institution | | |
| 2013 | Global | Dubai | Angela Lin, Yifeng Dong, Romain Speciel | Dulwich College Shanghai | |
| ToC | Yale | Claudia Meng, Tara Parekh, Adele Lim | Dulwich College Shanghai | | |
| 2014 | Global | Singapore | Claudia Meng, Adele Lim, Tara Parekh | Dulwich College Shanghai | |
| ToC | Yale | Helen Bae, Stella Qiu, Jessie Fan | Skyline High School (Washington)/West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South/International School of Beijing | | |
| 2015 | Global | Kuala Lumpur | Khong Yan Yi, Vivien Tan, Wong Zi Ling | Nanyang Girls High School | |
| Mini Global | Ireland | Rotem Steiner, Nimrod Nakdimon, Owen Yeung | Ort Kramim High School/Po Leung Kuk Choi Kai Yau School | | |
| ToC | Yale | Ruth Scharff-Hansen, Melissa Adams, Gordon Chi | German Swiss International School | | |
| 2016 | Global | Bangkok | Chi Dao Mai, Khoi Dang Vinh, Gabrielle Jia-Min Ho | Australian International School Vietnam/Vo Truong Toan High School/International School Ho Chi Minh City | |
| Mini Global | Prague | Claire Quan, Annie Qiu, Kevin Xu | Shanghai American School, Pudong | | |
| ToC | Yale | Kyle Lim, Alessandra Lim, Tara Kripalani | St. Joseph's Institution International | | |
| 2017 | Global | Hanoi | Kohana Ah-Teck, Sasha Pond, Luka Murphy | Tanglin Trust School | |
| Global | Hanoi (Skittles) | Supasinee Siripun, Willa Blair, Victor Phisitkul | Ruamrudee International School | | |
| Global | Athens | Noam Rotem, Ofek Linchevsky, Noa Alon | Rehovot School for Gifted and Talented | | |
| Global | Cape Town | Aileen Bachtiar, Kathleen Humato, Fiona Limanto | National High Jakarta School | | |
| ToC | Yale | Minh Le Hai, Ghina Hijanah Abdul Ghani, Chi Dao Mai | Kells Academy/MRSM Alor Gajah/Stanford Online High School | | |
| 2018 | Global | Kuala Lumpur | Adam Mihir Libby, Sibhi Aravindan, Tejas Narayan | Sishya School/American International School Chennai | |
| Global | Kuala Lumpur (Skittles) | Melissa Steffi de Chavez, Zoie Irasusta, Maia Anika Punzalan | Miriam College | | |
| Global | Barcelona | Muktha Kaja, Abhay Sharma, Rohit Vivek | GEMS Modern Academy | | |
| Global | Melbourne | Health Muller, Xavier Dry, Pearson Chambel | Scotch College Perth | | |
| Global | Melbourne (Skittles) | Giang La Chau, Linh Dinh Tran Phuong, Linh Phan Khanh | Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted | |
Coach of The Year
| Year | Recipient Coach | School | Country/Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Michael Sheridan | International School of Beijing | |
| 2013 | Glenda Clark | Winchester School | |
| Frank Hardee | North London Collegiate School Jeju |  | |
| Emily Fitzpatrick | Qatar International School |  | |
| Tomohiko Takasaki | Delegation of Japan | | |
| 2014 | Matt Roberge | Mentari School Jakarta | |
| 2015 | Selena Gallagher | International School Bangkok | |
| Darren Lim | Prince of Wales Island International School | | |
| Matthew Savage & Marie Beanland | Bromsgrove International School | | |
| Mara Nanaman | National High Jakarta | | |
| Simeon Sostenes Enriquez-Padre | 21st Century Private Academy | | |
| Jason Caesar | Jincai High School | | |
| Miss Niken | Sekolah Ciputra | | |
| 2016 | Gina Williams | Bahçeşehir College |  |
| Yaniv Boxer | Hillel School | | |
| Saltanat Rahmanova | Aychurok Girls High School |  | |
| Mitch Pryor | International School Yangon |  | |
| Jennifer Chung | Po Leung Kuk Choi Kai Yau School | | |
| Nate Samuelson | Shanghai High School International Division | | |
| Adrian Walker | St. Christopher's School Bahrain |  | |
| Katarina Lovenjak | OŠ Danile Kumar |  | |
| Craig Bowker | BESA Leadership Academy |  | |
| Joyce Mburu | Rusinga School Nairobi |  | |
| Dalia Ben Assa | Ahad Ha'am | | |
| David Sheppard | Tanglin Trust School | | |
| 2017 | Louise Ormesher | Iona Presentation College | |
| Jonathan Marsh | British School Muscat |  | |
| Sumana Chatterjee | GEMS Modern Academy | | |
| William Norris | UCSI International School Kuala Lumpur | | |
| Kristine Oehlers | Nanyang Girls' High School | | |
| Steve Sheriff | Senri-Osaka International School | | |
| Jake Sklarew | International School of Beijing | | |
| Seth Roberts | International Bilingual School at Hsinchu Science Park | | |
| Yaffa Gluska | Rashish Junior High | | |
| Carmen Ogweno | Brookhouse School | | |
| Janice Doyle | Dominican International School Taipei | | |
| Agafe Joy Diaz | Creative British School | | |
| Marie Beanland | Scotch College Adelaide | | |
| Orit Feder | Rehovot School for Gifted and Talented | | |
| Cynthia Samynaden | Brettonwood High School | | |
| Elizabeth Serhan | La Salle High School | | |
| Charles Soko | Rhodes Park School |  | |
| Patience Masaire | Peterhouse Boys School |  | |
| Nuhal Nassar | English Talents School |  | |
| 2018 | Eka Devi | SDI Al Azhar 35 Surabaya | |
| Tom Wash | Ruamrudee International School | | |
| Ashli Carte | GEMS World Academy Singapore | | |
| Mark Williams | French International School of Hong Kong | | |
| Zainab Noor | Lahore Grammar School State Life |  | |
| Peter Flynn | Dubai English Speaking College | | |
| Danielle Richmond | Concordia International School Shanghai | | |
| Lydia Sundaramutty | HELP International School | | |
| Shannon Hancock | International School of Amsterdam |  | |
| Aaron Stamboulieh | St. George's School of Montreal | | |
| Ece Kahraman | Koç School | | |
| Craig Sanders | Ridge Point High School | | |
| CJ Junior | Light International School | | |
| Marlene Gracie | Grace Trinity School for Girls | | |
| Divya Pandanda | Pathways School Noida | | |
| Adam Saligman | Almaty International School |  | |
| Eliysha Saputra | Singapore National Academy | | |
| Sam Sterrett | Scotch College | | |
| Felda Mohammed Asari | Kolej Yayasan Saad | | |
| Petri Mostert | Curro Hillcrest | | |
| Coach of the Decade | Nigel Kaw | Pioneer Junior College | |
| Matt Roberge | Mentari School Jakarta | |
Alpaca Scholar of the Year
| Year | Scholar Recipient | School | Country/Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Terran Kroft | Kaohsiung American School | |
| 2015 | Chauncey Lo | International School of Beijing | |
| 2016 | Dylan Kroft | Kaohsiung American School | |
| Aimee Watts | American School of Rio de Janeiro |  | |
| 2017 | Alexa J. W. Loste | Immaculate Conception Academy | |
| Amelia Marlowe | BINUS School Simprug | | |
| Thomas Savage | International Community School Amman | | |
| Nimrod Nakdimon | ORT Kramim | | |
| Elizabeth Kalamatila | Rhodes Park School | | |
| 2018 | Sarah Swea | Han Chiang High School | |
| Rishika Arora | Shalom Hills International School | | |
| Alessandra Lim | St Joseph's Institution International Singapore | | |
| Jaymee Chen | St Andrews College |  |
Alpaca of the Year
| Year | Recipient |
|---|---|
| 2015 | Sara Syed |
| 2016 | Tom Brazee |
| 2017 | Julie Wang |
| Isabel "Izzie" Hahn | |
| 2018 | Dylan Kroft |
| Kevin "KK" Kuo | |
| Vishal Verma |
MVP
| Year | Recipient |
|---|---|
| 2017 | Albert Ma |
| 2018 | Alisya Reza |
| Jerry's Head | |
| Julie Wang |
Subjects through the Years
[24] Subjects in italics are subjects only for the Senior division.
| 2007 - The Ancient World | |
|---|---|
| Global Round in the English Village in Seoul, South Korea. | |
| Science | Anatomy |
| Special Area | History of the Ancient World |
| Literature (Poetry) | Poetry of England |
| Literature (Novel) | Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse |
| Mathematics | General Mathematics |
| Economics | Fundamentals |
The 2007 Global Round was the first world round for the World Scholar's Cup. Teams from Australia, Singapore, South Korea, and the United States participated.
| 2008 - The Frontier | |
|---|---|
| Global Round in the YBM English Village in Korea on May 30 - June 1, 2008. | |
| Science | Astronomy |
| History | Exploration |
| Literature (Poetry) | Short Selections |
| Literature (Novel) | Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather |
| Literature (Film) | 2001: A Space Odyssey |
| Art | Art on the Edge of the Possible |
| Mathematics | Mathematical Scenarios |
| Economics | Fundamentals |
| 2009 - The Fall of Empires | |
|---|---|
| Global Round took place in Singapore at Nanyang Girls' School on June 13–14, 2009. | |
| Science | Sustainable Development |
| Special Area | The Fall of Empires |
| Literature (Poetry) | Poetry of the Fall |
| Literature (Novel) | Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid |
| Visual Arts (Art) | The Art of Decline and Decadence |
| Visual Arts (Film) | The Last Emperor and Serenity |
| Mathematics | The Essentials of Standardized Assessment |
| Economics | Fundamentals of Economics, The Economics of Spectacular Collapse |
| History | Empires at the Brink |
| 2010 - A World Divided | |
|---|---|
| Global Round took place in Shanghai, China at Concordia International School Shanghai. | |
| Science | Great Conflicts in Science |
| Special Area | The Psychology of War |
| Literature (Poetry) | Poetry of a World Divided |
| Literature (Novel) | The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay |
| Literature (Film) | The Motorcycle Diaries |
| Art (Visual Arts) | Art of Separation and Difference |
| Art (Music) | Music of Separation and Difference |
| Economics | Fundamentals of Economics, The Economics of Wealth and Poverty |
| History | When the World Breaks |
Mathematics was removed from the curriculum starting from 2010.
| 2011 - A World Transformed | |
|---|---|
| Global Round took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the Universiti Teknologi Mara. | |
| Science | Biotechnology |
| Special Area | The Modern Metropolis |
| Literature (Poetry) | Changing Lives, Changing Worlds |
| Literature (Short Stories) | The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World by Gabriel García Márquez, Nightfall and The Last Question by Isaac Asimov, Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, Julian: A Christmas Story by Robert Charles Wilson, and There Will Come Short Rains by Ray Bradbury |
| Literature (Film) | Forrest Gump |
| Art (Visual Arts) | A World in Flux |
| Art (Music) | Musicals |
| Economics | Fundamentals of Economics |
The Music and History resources were not released.
| 2012 - A World in Flux | |
|---|---|
| Global Round took place in Bangkok, Thailand at Centara Grand and Bangkok Convention Centre and the Bangkok Patana School. | |
| Tournament of Champions took place in Yale University. | |
| Science | Biotechnology and Nanomedicine |
| Special Area | The Postmodern Metropolis |
| Literature (Fiction) | Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Nightfall by Isaac Asimov, and Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes |
| Literature (Film) | Wall-E and Life is Beautiful |
| The Arts | New Media in Art and Music |
| History | Technology and Social Change |
| Current Affairs | The Global Economic Crisis |
The Science and Special Area resources were updated versions of their 2011 counterparts. Economics was replaced by Current Affairs in 2012 - for both divisions.
| 2013 - A World in Motion | |
|---|---|
| Global Round took place in Dubai, UAE. | |
| Tournament of Champions took place at Yale University. | |
| Science | The Science of Transportation |
| Special Area | The Turbulent Earth |
| Literature | Movement in Poetry, Film, and Prose |
| Art | Movement in Art, Music, and Dance |
| History | The Great Migrations |
| Current Affairs | Globalization |
In 2013, emphasis was placed on topic outlines instead of the introductory guides.
| 2014 - The World Within | |
|---|---|
| Global Round took place in Singapore, Singapore. | |
| Tournament of Champions took place at Yale University. | |
| Science | Thoughtful Brain, Troubled Mind |
| Special Area | The Science of Decision-Making |
| Literature | Voices from the Inside |
| Art & Music | Echoes of the Interior |
| History | The History of Espionage |
| Social Studies | Worlds Within Walls |
In 2014, Current Affairs topics were integrated across all the above subjects.
| 2015 - The World Unbound | |
|---|---|
| Global Round took place in at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Mini Global Round took place in Maynooth, Ireland. | |
| Tournament of Champions took place at Yale University. | |
| Science | Liberating Technologies |
| Special Area | Heroes and Superheroes |
| Literature | Voices of the Unbound |
| Art & Music | Peering Over the Edge |
| History | Movements Towards Freedom |
| Social Studies | Worlds Held Together, Worlds Torn Apart |
| 2016 - An Imperfect World | |
|---|---|
| Global Round took place at the Bangkok Convention Center, Bangkok, Thailand; Mini Global Round took place in Prague, Czech Republic. | |
| Tournament of Champions took place at Yale University. | |
| Science | Diseases & Public Health |
| Special Area | Crime & Justice |
| Literature | Words to Light the Darkness |
| Art & Music | Flawed Visions, Broken Sounds |
| History | History of Cheating |
| Social Studies | When States Falter |
| 2017 - An Unlikely World | |
|---|---|
| Global Rounds took place in Hanoi, Vietnam; Athens, Greece and Cape Town, South Africa. | |
| Tournament of Champions took place in Yale University. | |
| Science & Technology | To Shoot for the Moon |
| Special Area | Modern Mythologies |
| Literature | Voices of the Almost Impossible |
| Art & Music | Fragments of an Improbable Universe |
| History | History of Conspiracy |
| Social Studies | Predicting the Future |
| 2018 - An Entangled World | |
|---|---|
| Global Rounds will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Barcelona, Spain and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Mini-Global Round will take place in Durban, South Africa. | |
| Tournament of Champions will take place in Yale University. | |
| Science | The Science of Memory |
| Special Area | Human (Alpaca) Relationships |
| Literature | Voices of the Inseparable |
| Art & Music | Braving the Distance |
| History | History of Diplomacy |
| Social Studies | Black Markets |
References
- ↑ "World Scholar's Cup". Retrieved 2013-03-16.
- ↑ "World Scholar's Cup | Official Group". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
- ↑ "The World Scholar's Cup · Team Events". www.scholarscup.org. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
- ↑ http://scholarscup.org/events
- ↑ http://scholarscup.org/events
- ↑ http://scholarscup.org/events
- ↑ "The World Scholar's Cup · Team Events". www.scholarscup.org. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
- ↑ http://scholarscup.org/events
- ↑ "The World Scholar's Cup · Community Events". www.scholarscup.org. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
- ↑ http://scholarscup.org/communityevents/
- ↑ http://scholarscup.org/communityevents/
- ↑ http://scholarscup.org/communityevents/
- ↑ http://scholarscup.org/communityevents/
- ↑ "Flag Bearer List Sheet1.pdf" (PDF). Dropbox. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
- ↑ "2012 Viewbook" (pdf). Retrieved 2013-03-16. (Download)
- ↑ "Subject Introduction". Retrieved 2013-03-16.
- ↑ TheBurCHannel (2014-06-23), Burch - Endless (WSC Globals Theme Song), retrieved 2018-01-02
- ↑ TheBurCHannel (2015-11-06), Burch - Boundless (Official Video), retrieved 2018-01-02
- ↑ TheBurCHannel (2016-07-03), BURCHLESS [Feat Chauncey Lo], retrieved 2018-01-02
- ↑ TheBurCHannel (2016-06-27), Burch - Flawless [Official Lyric Video] | WSC 2016 Theme Song, retrieved 2018-01-02
- ↑ TheBurCHannel (2017-11-15), Burch - So Close (Official Audio) | WSC 2017 Theme Song, retrieved 2018-01-02
- ↑ Template:Citation needed reason="Source did not verify assertion."
- ↑ "World Scholar's Cup Tournament of Champions 2016".
- ↑ "The World Scholar's Cup · Themes". scholarscup.org. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
External links
- World Scholar's Cup - The official website of the World Scholar's Cup
- Scores - Detailed Scores for Scholar's Cup competitions
- Discussion - Discussion regarding the World Scholar's Cup