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Movie kicks off trivia events April 1-2

Trivia Contest draws 'Jeopardy' champ April 8-10

By GENE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
The 36th annual Trivia Contest sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UW-SP) campus radio station, 90FM WWSP, is still three weeks away, but events will begin this weekend with the showing of the Trivia Kickoff Movie.

This year's movie is "Martin and Orloff" and will be shown at Rogers Cinema in Stevens Point at midnight Friday, April 1, and Saturday, April 2. Doors will be open at 11:15 p.m., and tickets are $3 per person. The movie will be the source of some questions during the contest.

The contest itself will be held on April 8, 9 and 10, and the 74-time champion on the "Jeopardy!" television show is expected to take part.

Ken Jennings, who won $2,522,700 on the "Jeopardy!" show, will be in Stevens Point to obtain some research for a trivia book he is writing for Random House. The 54-hour contest begins with the first question shortly after 6 p.m. Friday, April 8, and will end on Sunday, April 10, at midnight.

The theme for this year's Trivia Contest is "Trivia 36: Keep on Trivia" and is inspired by adult comic cartoonist Robert Crumb. Crumb is known as one of the most prominent "underground commix," probably most famous for the comic book "Zap Comix" which introduced such as Mr. Natural, Fritz the Cat and Mr. Snoid. Past trivia themes include last year's homage to Bob Hope theme, "Trivia 35: Thanks for the Contest," and "Trivia 34: Survivor" based on the popular CBS reality show.

90FM's annual Trivia Contest draws 12,000 players that make up nearly 500 teams. Contestants come from across the United States, and even from Europe to Stevens Point to participate.

The contest consists of eight questions that are read every hour for 54 hours. Teams are permitted one phone call per question and have the duration of two songs to answer. The questions are all given point values from 5 to 500 based on the amount of teams answering correctly.

Regular features of the contest include the Running Question, Music Questions and the Trivia Stone.

The Music Questions occur three times within the contest and are sound bites of songs in which the teams must decipher the name of the song and the artist.

The Running Questions involve going to a predetermined location, such as Plover or downtown, the north side or the south side in Stevens Point, to find answers to questions about stores or business places in the area.

The Trivia Stone is similar to a scavenger hunt in which clues are read on the radio during the contest and teams have to follow the clues to arrive in a location where they will receive a "stone."

New to this year's contest will be Keep on Truckin' Questions. Jim "The Oz" Oliva, who has been writing questions for the contest since 1979, said the questions are designed for participants who complained they had too much time on their hands after answering an easy question.

The Keep on Truckin' Questions will be eight additional questions that will be asked throughout the contest and don't have to be answered until much later. "This is bare-knuckle trivia," he said, explaining that team will probably require a lot of time to find the answers to those questions, giving them something to do after quickly answering another question.

All teams must register in advance at the 90FM studios located in the Communication Arts Center on Reserve Street. Teams may register Monday, April 4, through Thursday, April 7, from 3 to 7 p.m. and Friday, April 8, from noon to 6 p.m. The cost of registration is $30 per team. "Trivia 36: Keep on Trivia" items will be available for purchase.

Teams can also register to be in the Trivia Parade.

The parade starts at 4 p.m. Friday, April 8, the first day of the contest. The parade winds its way through the UW-SP campus to Goerke Park and shows the creativity of some of the teams involved in the contest. First, second and third prizes are given for this event, which ends before the contest begins.

Proceeds from Trivia help 90FM maintain its programming and an educational environment for those wishing to go into the broadcasting field.

The Trivia Contest started in 1969 with only a few teams involved. Questions were read on the 90FM airwaves for 16 hours with five questions per hour. In 1970 90FM's staff began writing the questions and by 1975, the contest was 54 hours long with eight questions read per hour.

Oliva, who has been writing the questions for the contest for 27 years, is assisted by John Eckendorf for the 17th year. Eckendorf started helping in 1989.

Programming on 90FM during the week of Trivia, better known as Hits Week, will be devoted to past and modern alternative hits, Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. A 24-hour countdown to Trivia will start on Thursday at 6 p.m. with programming throughout the period.

Trivia on 90FM has been recognized through different media venues around the United States, including USA Today, Chicago Tribune and also "Jeopardy!" Chase's Calendar of Annual Events has listed Trivia on 90FM as the largest contest of its kind.

90FM-WWSP is the largest student-run radio station in the Midwest. The college alternative station has been in the Stevens Point community for 35 years and provides programming in many genres including jazz, blues, bluegrass, rock, hip-hop and more.

For more information about the Trivia Contest, contact Jamie Shorts, 90FM promotions director, at 346-3755 or at the Web site www.momsfamilies.com/trivia/.



	Movie kicks off trivia events April 1-2 Trivia Contest draws 'Jeopardy' champ April 8-10 By GENE KEMMETER of The Gazette The 36th annual Trivia Contest sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UW-SP) campus radio station, 90FM WWSP, is still three weeks away, but events will begin this weekend with the showing of the Trivia Kickoff Movie. This year's movie is "Martin and Orloff" and will be shown at Rogers Cinema in Stevens Point at midnight Friday, April 1, and Saturday, April 2. Doors will be open at 11:15 p.m., and tickets are $3 per person. The movie will be the source of some questions during the contest. The contest itself will be held on April 8, 9 and 10, and the 74-time champion on the "Jeopardy!" television show is expected to take part. Ken Jennings, who won $2,522,700 on the "Jeopardy!" show, will be in Stevens Point to obtain some research for a trivia book he is writing for Random House. The 54-hour contest begins with the first question shortly after 6 p.m. Friday, April 8, and will end on Sunday, April 10, at midnight. The theme for this year's Trivia Contest is "Trivia 36: Keep on Trivia" and is inspired by adult comic cartoonist Robert Crumb. Crumb is known as one of the most prominent "underground commix," probably most famous for the comic book "Zap Comix" which introduced such as Mr. Natural, Fritz the Cat and Mr. Snoid. Past trivia themes include last year's homage to Bob Hope theme, "Trivia 35: Thanks for the Contest," and "Trivia 34: Survivor" based on the popular CBS reality show. 90FM's annual Trivia Contest draws 12,000 players that make up nearly 500 teams. Contestants come from across the United States, and even from Europe to Stevens Point to participate. The contest consists of eight questions that are read every hour for 54 hours. Teams are permitted one phone call per question and have the duration of two songs to answer. The questions are all given point values from 5 to 500 based on the amount of teams answering correctly. Regular features of the contest include the Running Question, Music Questions and the Trivia Stone. The Music Questions occur three times within the contest and are sound bites of songs in which the teams must decipher the name of the song and the artist. The Running Questions involve going to a predetermined location, such as Plover or downtown, the north side or the south side in Stevens Point, to find answers to questions about stores or business places in the area. The Trivia Stone is similar to a scavenger hunt in which clues are read on the radio during the contest and teams have to follow the clues to arrive in a location where they will receive a "stone." New to this year's contest will be Keep on Truckin' Questions. Jim "The Oz" Oliva, who has been writing questions for the contest since 1979, said the questions are designed for participants who complained they had too much time on their hands after answering an easy question. The Keep on Truckin' Questions will be eight additional questions that will be asked throughout the contest and don't have to be answered until much later. "This is bare-knuckle trivia," he said, explaining that team will probably require a lot of time to find the answers to those questions, giving them something to do after quickly answering another question. All teams must register in advance at the 90FM studios located in the Communication Arts Center on Reserve Street. Teams may register Monday, April 4, through Thursday, April 7, from 3 to 7 p.m. and Friday, April 8, from noon to 6 p.m. The cost of registration is $30 per team. "Trivia 36: Keep on Trivia" items will be available for purchase. Teams can also register to be in the Trivia Parade. The parade starts at 4 p.m. Friday, April 8, the first day of the contest. The parade winds its way through the UW-SP campus to Goerke Park and shows the creativity of some of the teams involved in the contest. First, second and third prizes are given for this event, which ends before the contest begins. Proceeds from Trivia help 90FM maintain its programming and an educational environment for those wishing to go into the broadcasting field. The Trivia Contest started in 1969 with only a few teams involved. Questions were read on the 90FM airwaves for 16 hours with five questions per hour. In 1970 90FM's staff began writing the questions and by 1975, the contest was 54 hours long with eight questions read per hour. Oliva, who has been writing the questions for the contest for 27 years, is assisted by John Eckendorf for the 17th year. Eckendorf started helping in 1989. Programming on 90FM during the week of Trivia, better known as Hits Week, will be devoted to past and modern alternative hits, Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. A 24-hour countdown to Trivia will start on Thursday at 6 p.m. with programming throughout the period. Trivia on 90FM has been recognized through different media venues around the United States, including USA Today, Chicago Tribune and also "Jeopardy!" Chase's Calendar of Annual Events has listed Trivia on 90FM as the largest contest of its kind. 90FM-WWSP is the largest student-run radio station in the Midwest. The college alternative station has been in the Stevens Point community for 35 years and provides programming in many genres including jazz, blues, bluegrass, rock, hip-hop and more. For more information about the Trivia Contest, contact Jamie Shorts, 90FM promotions director, at 346-3755 or at the Web site www.momsfamilies.com/trivia/.