Quizzing Around the World: World Quizzing Championships

Quizzoholics has all of your New Jersey (and, most recently, Philadelphia) pub quiz needs covered, but should you find yourself overseas in a few weeks, you might want to check out the 16th annual World Quizzing Championships, set for June 2. Nearly 3,000 competitors from over 45 countries take part in the competition (including a number of venues stateside), sponsored by the International Quizzing Association.

The WQC differs from standard pub quiz in that it’s a strictly written test, though many are still held in pubs and bars. On quiz day, participants are handed two packets each of four “papers,” containing 240 questions in total spanning eight genres: culture, entertainment, history, lifestyle, media, sciences, sport and games, and world. Each genre contains subcategories like fashion, ballet, hobbies, human geography, philosophy and more. Contestants have one hour to answer each pack. Spelling doesn’t matter, and answers are checked by fellow players. 

Because the tournament happens simultaneously in so many countries, the IQA has staffers in charge of coordinating accurate translations. Languages include Bulgarian, Finnish, French, Japanese, and Latvian. Over the last 16 years, the competition has grown substantially, and it’s become known as a fun, challenging event for quiz enthusiasts across the globe.