CMU Exercise Science Students Take First in Regional Jeopardy-Style Competition
A group of dedicated CMU exercise science students made their mark at the Rocky Mountain region’s American College Sports Medicine (RMACSM) meeting this year. The annual RMACSM meeting is an opportunity for students to present research and network with fellow exercise science professionals.
The highlight of the conference was the Undergraduate Student Bowl — a Jeopardy-style competition where intellect and quick thinking are key components to winning.
Just like in a typical game of Jeopardy, contestants go into the competition blind, unaware of the categories or questions until they start playing. Each team had to wager a number of points before answering questions under a short time limit. At the end of the game, the team with the most points won.
“It’s a different way for their knowledge to be assessed,” said Assistant Professor of Kinesiology Nate Bachman, PhD. “This is a scenario where you're in front of a group of people, you're working with a team, you're discussing things in a really short amount of time and coming together as a group to make a decision. It ultimately reflects what they’ve learned and achieved.”
Competing against teams from universities across the Rocky Mountain region, CMU's two teams secured both first and third. The first-place team comprised of CMU seniors Spencer Olson, Reese Fledderjohn and Tydeman Newman. The third-place team included Gilon Dierks, Dillan Ritmiller and Sam Shaver.
“When we won, it was a huge accomplishment,” said Fledderjohn. “It was cool to get to do this with friends. To have good people and professors coming around giving you high fives, and the rest of the people that went to the conference cheering you on and screaming. It was a good feeling,” Newman added.
Olson, Fledderjohn and Newman are all involved in CMU’s Exercise Physiology Research Club. The club holds a game of exercise Jeopardy much like the one at the conference, which was a useful tool to practice for the competition.
“As a club one of the events we do each semester is an exercise Jeopardy like this. I host it, everyone splits up and practices what it’s like. There’s questions and they only have 30 seconds to actually figure it out, process it, talk to their teammates and answer the question. It’s a fun thing that we tend to do as a club. It’s good practice,” said Olson.
Their victory guaranteed them a spot to compete at the national American College Sports Medicine (ACSM) conference in Boston on May 31. The event attracts over 6,000 ACSM members from across the globe. There, they will represent CMU and the Rocky Mountain chapter against other formidable chapters across the country.