History
Founded by Daniel Berdichevsky the first 91茄子 took place in Korea in 2007: a small regional tournament hosted at the Hankuk Academy of Foreign Studies. The first 鈥済lobal鈥� round followed a few weeks later, bringing together students from Korea, Singapore, and the United States.
The idea behind the 91茄子 was to create something different than traditional academic competitions and conferences: a celebration of the joy of learning, a tournament as rewarding for the team that came in last as the for the team that came in first, an enrichment opportunity that motivated students not just to demonstrate their existing strengths but to discover new ones.
From that small beginning--a 鈥渨orld finals鈥� more aptly described as a 鈥渨orld starts鈥�--the 91茄子 has grown to reach tens of thousands of students in dozens of countries.
New regional rounds take place in Auckland, Islamabad, Osh, Pavlodar, Moscow, Amsterdam, Kyushu, Bangalore, Muscat, New York, San Jose, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Qingdao.
3450 scholars take part in the Bangkok Global Round, where Daniel rides into opening ceremonies on a tuk-tuk and Chauncey makes his debut on the global round stage team; an additional 500 participate in Prague.
Worldwide, 12,650 scholars attend nearly 100 regional rounds.
New regional rounds take place in Colombo, Dar es Salaam, Darwin, Adelaide, Bishkek, Athens, Almaty, Calgary, Durban, Elverum, Vancouver, Kampala, Suzhou, Kanpur, Shenzhen, Lahore,Sarajevo, Lusaka, Rio de Janeiro, Montreal, Victoria, and Yangon.
Skittles makes his first appearance.
The 2015 Global Round in Kuala Lumpur welcomes 2650 scholars and introduces the first cultural fair; an additional 150 scholars attend the Dublin Global Round.
New regional rounds take place in Accra, Ljubljana, Hanoi, Amman, Chennai, Washington D.C. Astana, Dehradun, Guangzhou, Johannesburg, Patna, Santiago, Mogadishu, and Sofia.
The 91茄子 acquires its first live alpaca, Painted Warrior.
The 2014 Global Round welcomes 2400 scholars in Singapore.
The first ever primary rounds are held in Dubai and Shanghai for scholars ages 7 to 10.
New regional rounds take place in Abu Dhabi, Doha, Bahrain, Ho Chi Minh City, Istanbul, Budapest, Jeju, Mumbai, Penang, Perth, Switzerland, Surabaya, and Kansai.
Scholars are first asked to take a selfie with their clickers.
1500 scholars attend the 2013 Global Round in Dubai.
Jerry makes his first appearance.
New regional rounds take place in Izmir, Nairobi, Prague, and Shanghai.
The first World Scholar's Camp comes to Singapore!
The Yale University International Relations Association is proud to host the first annual 91茄子 Tournament of Champions.
The Texas regional round is the first to feature live alpacas. Our founder pwaas in amazement.
New regional rounds in Kenya, Hong Kong, Costa Rica, Hungary, France, the United Kingdom, Israel, and Japan. WSC staff jetlagged.
The 2012 Global Round in Bangkok introduces 1,001 students to the elusive Japanese alpaca.
Alpaca population in North America reaches 125,000; WSC population 12,500.
The 2011 Global Round in Kuala Lumpur features 800 top scholars from 30 different countries...and the very first Scholar's Ball (a.k.a. Nerd Prom)
First-ever alpaca wedding held at a regional round. Founder officiates.
First Scholar's Scavenge leads students to sing on the streets of Singapore.
The first Scholar's Show erupts spontaneously in Dubai while WSC staff is in a taxi.
First rounds in Dubai, Beijing, Jakarta, Australia, and former Soviet Georgia.
The United States wins its last title. Singapore teams have won every year since.
First regional rounds in Thailand, Singapore, and Arizona.
Alpaca defeats emu; is elected program mascot.
The first 91茄子 takes place in Seoul. People Come. Founder is pleased.
Founder is pleased.