March 18, 2003
Practicing Geography for Sport
Students Take Third in Competition and Help Put GW
on The Map
By John
Carroll
Seven GW students representing the Mid-Atlantic Division of the Association
of American Geographers (AAG) took third place out of nine teams at
the World Geography Bowl. The academic competition is part of the 99th
Annual AAG meeting held in New Orleans on March 5–8.
In a geography bowl competition, teams compete for eight rounds of individual
and group questions. Group questions are similar to those on “Jeopardy,”
with a person buzzing in when they know the answer. Group questions
are more complex and the group has 30 seconds to answer correctly. Wesley
Reisser, an international affairs junior, was the second highest scorer
overall at this year’s competition.
This is the first year GW students have been involved in geography for
sport. After only one preliminary competition they have demonstrated
academic superiority in the subject. In November at a regional competition
in Richmond, GW’s rookie team took third place. The top six individual
scorers from that competition were chosen to represent their division
at the World Geography Bowl in New Orleans. It just so happened that
the top six scorers out of more than 100 players were all GW students.
Marie Price, associate professor of geography and international affairs,
founded the team last year. “Last spring when I was teaching “World
Geography,” I asked students if they would like to compete in the
World Geography Bowl. To my surprise, many were interested and they
brought their friends. Word is getting out and students are E-mailing
me about competing next year.”
Price is excited about the success of the team at this year’s bowl.
Before the competition she recognized the challenge of winning a national
competition. “To win the competition we will need to win most,
if not all, of the rounds. If we place in the top three, I’ll be
satisfied.”
Each Thursday evening at 5:30, room 704 of the Gelman Library has been
clamoring with questions and answers about everything from geopolitical
trends to bodies of water. Price and the team have met there to exercise
their geographic acumen and prepare for competition. At a recent practice,
Jill Wilson, a second-year graduate student, stumped the team with a
practice question and an unlikely answer. “In political geography,
what is the term that denotes the shared administration of a territory
by two governments? Condominium.”
The team consists of four undergraduate and three graduate students
from the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences and the Elliott School
of International Affairs. The undergraduates are sophomores Mustafa
Dimbiloglu and John Walker, Reisser, and senior Sophia Fisher; the master’s
candidates are Jennifer Brown, Maxwell Ruckdeschel, and Wilson.
“Students do this for the academic challenge and fun,” Price
says. “They are also getting a trip to New Orleans.”
Price is grateful for the financial support from the Department of Geography
and the dean’s offices of the Columbian College and the Elliott
School. The AAG also provided financial support to the team.
Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu
