News
Trivia Invades UW-SP
The Pointer
ssuch489@uwsp.edu
Despite the snow on the ground and the chill in the air, one sure harbinger of spring has fallen upon Stevens Point, Wisconsin, or as it is known to some “Trivia Town, USA.” It must be spring, for the 39th annual Trivia competition is upon us. For some, this means 54 hours of Google, carry out pizza and copious amounts of beer all while listening to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point’s own, 90 FM radio station and Student Television
This is an extra special year for Jim Oliva as it is his 30th year at the helm of the Trivia competition writing the questions and coordinating the event.
Writing questions for trivia is a yearlong process for Oliva. He takes notes all year long on just about everything he sees in preparation for writing his notoriously difficult questions for each year’s contest.
“I pick up candy wrappers, take notes on cereal boxes, movies…just about anything,” said Oliva. Then in January, with his massive volumes of notes in hand, Oliva and a friend sit down every Saturday and Sunday to start writing questions for the April contest.
It took Oliva three to four years to adjust to writing questions once the Internet became a major factor. Prior to Google and Wikipedia, teams would have volumes of encyclopedias, tons of books and movies among other resources to answer questions.
“I didn’t write the questions as tough before the internet,” said Oliva, “But the teams soon find out that the internet doesn’t have everything, it helps, but it doesn’t have all the answers, the bests teams are the ones that have the best notes.”
After 30 years of being involved in trivia, OZ, as his fans affectionately call Oliva, has seen trivia evolve quite a bit, but the essence of the game has stayed the same.
“It’s always chaotic and that’s what’s cool about it,” said Oliva. During the Trivia weekend Stevens Point plays host to over 400 teams and thousands of trivia players all calling in to 18 phones in 90 FM’s office on the first floor of the Communication Arts Center.
“We never know how many people we are going to get,” said Oliva, “We capped at 572 teams…that was too many for us to handle.”
To help bring down the numbers, the station raised the price from $20 to $30.
“That knocked about 100 teams off and that was good for us,” explained Oliva.
Oliva’s advice to anyone who wants to do well in his trivia competition might surprise some people. “Watch plenty of T.V., it’s the best thing you can do with your life, it’s better than studying,” said Oliva.
This year’s Trivia competition will kick off this Friday April 11 with the annual trivia parade starting at 4 p.m. in Lot Q. The first question will be asked at ##### Friday night. Eight questions are asked every hour until Sunday morning. It’s just a guess, but the first answer might be “Robert Redford.”