collage of the trivia master team members
The trivia masters, led by Head Master Grace Krueger 鈥21 (center), will present the Great Midwest Trivia Contest Jan. 29-31 despite the many challenges of the pandemic.

The desire for trivia won鈥檛 be doused by a global pandemic.

It might look different. It might feel different. But the听Great Midwest Trivia Contestwill kick off its 56th听annual edition on schedule Friday night, its team of trivia masters balancing a love of tradition with the realities of pandemic protocols that have forced a reimagining of the beloved weekend.

The passion and creativity of 杨贵妃传媒视频鈥檚 trivia weekend remains, even if some of the contest鈥檚 staples鈥攖he WLFM studio, the on-campus phone bank, the shared spaces of sleep-deprived participants鈥攚ill not be in play.

The contest is being streamed on听Twitch听beginning at 37 seconds past 10 p.m. Friday and will continue until midnight Sunday. The action questions, a popular slice of the weekend, will continue but virtually鈥攖hink variations of digital art鈥攁nd answers through the weekend will be received in a mix of phone calls and a virtual phone line on a听Discord server all facilitated by 11 trivia masters scattered near and far.

鈥淲e鈥檙e nervous but excited to be trying new things this year,鈥 said Head Master Grace Krueger 鈥21, charged with bringing all this together amid challenges unseen in the contest鈥檚 first five and a half decades.

Grace Krueger, head trivia master, posing with her hand in her hip
Grace Krueger 鈥21

鈥淚鈥檝e been challenged to maintain 55 years of tradition without access to most of the tools we use to make it happen.鈥

Much of the weekend will be recognizable, keeping to traditions that have carried forth since the contest was first broadcast on WLFM in 1966鈥攎ore than 300 rapid-fire and obscure questions over the course of 50 hours; teams organized to seek out answers via digital sleuthing or ingenious snooping; the awarding of weird and mostly useless prizes; the Super Garuda, the impossible finale question that returns as the first question of the following year鈥檚 contest.

But other elements have to change due to the COVID-19 restrictions. Trivia masters cannot be huddled together. Teams can鈥檛 physically gather as they once would, on or off campus. The campus radio station is off limits.

鈥淲e are entirely virtual this year, which means I鈥檝e been challenged to maintain 55 years of tradition without access to most of the tools we use to make it happen,鈥 Krueger said.

But there鈥檚 a will to make it work despite the obstacles, and in the process of finding new avenues, some pluses have surfaced. For one, the ability to interact in the moment will be greater.

鈥淥ur Discord server allows me to answer questions as soon as I see them, and it gives teams an avenue to connect with each other,鈥 Krueger said. 鈥淎nd we鈥檙e excited about the inter-activeness of the Twitch chat because trivia masters on air will be able to read the chat and interact with players directly.鈥

Trivia players should make a Twitch account if they want to participate in the chat during the contest and a Discord account if they want to be connected with the trivia masters throughout the contest. No account is needed, however, for players who just want to view the stream.

Krueger, a theatre arts major from Branson, Missouri, called the adherence to tradition wherever possible a high priority as she and her team have pulled together the contest over the past few months. Once it became apparent that we鈥檇 still be deep in the throes of the pandemic when late January rolled around, it was time to explore what was and was not doable.

鈥淚t鈥檚 very difficult to balance the needs of the contest with this year鈥檚 restrictions, and, in some cases, we have had to make changes to trivia that go against tradition,鈥 Krueger said. 鈥淥ur main focus is making sure the contest happens this year and that it can be a positive experience for everyone.鈥

Bringing trivia weekend to life has always been a lot of work. Doing so amid the pandemic, with nearly half of the student body studying remotely and safety protocols forcing most interactions to be virtual, has added to the strain.

鈥淪ince the trivia masters and I meet virtually, it鈥檚 been hard to build the same sense of community because there are few opportunities to simply hang out and get to know each other,鈥 Krueger said. 鈥淎dditionally, all of us are under more pressure than usual because of current events. I鈥檝e had several trivia masters drop out of the contest for personal reasons, which puts the pressure on the rest of us even more. However, we鈥檙e still super excited about the contest and we hope that everyone will be able to see all the hard work we鈥檝e put into making it happen this year.鈥

Krueger鈥檚 team of trivia masters include Ellie Ensing 鈥21, El Horner 鈥21, Cristy Sada 鈥21, Mikayla Frank-Martin 鈥22, Riley Newton 鈥22, Riley Seib 鈥22, Caroline Rosch 鈥21, Mary Grace Wagner 鈥21, Nick Mayerson 鈥22, and Finn Witt 鈥22.

Great Midwest Trivia contest logo

Krueger said she鈥檚 already heard from a number of long-standing players who have said they鈥檒l play this year even if they can鈥檛 get together in person. Others, she said, will surely opt out. The contest typically draws upwards of 100 teams, but hitting that number might be difficult this year.

Tim 鈥10 and Molly Phelan 鈥10, die-hard trivia players since their 杨贵妃传媒视频 days, say they鈥檒l be playing from their Chicago home. They know they鈥檒l need to roll with the changes.

鈥淲hile our team is often just the two of us, we usually have friends who come by and play on our team for a few hours throughout听the weekend, but obviously this year that won鈥檛 be the case,鈥 Molly said. 鈥淏ut we鈥檝e had remote players on our team before and usually we just ask other players to text the group the听second they get an answer and then everyone on the team tries to call it in, and the second someone picks up, everyone else hangs up to prevent jamming. In a lot of ways this contest will be the same for us as it has been in previous years鈥攋ust two old alumni, hanging around our house glued to a computer.鈥

That, Krueger said, is the attitude she hopes other teams will take. She knows they鈥檒l lose some teams, but she remains hopeful many of the veteran teams will still jump in.

鈥淥n one hand, a lot of teams who usually gather together for trivia weekend will be playing at a distance for the first time, and I鈥檓 not sure that鈥檚 a sacrifice they鈥檒l be willing to make,鈥 Krueger said. 鈥淥n the other hand, the new virtual setup for the contest makes trivia much more discoverable to people on the internet, so we may see some growth in new players this year, especially since there are fewer activities happening generally due to the pandemic.鈥

Molly Phelan said she鈥檚 throwing nothing but love and support to this year鈥檚 trivia masters. A former trivia master herself, she has a pretty good idea of what they鈥檙e up against.

鈥淎s a small team, we come for the chaos, the search, and the comedy,鈥 she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 a first-year choir teacher in an all-remote district, so I have nothing but respect when new technology听works out, and nothing but understanding and sympathy when it implodes.鈥澨