The History and Set-Up of Certamen
From CertamenWiki
By: Ms. Susan Schearer
The History
It may be possible that the Ohio JCL convention had an oral contest about Latin studies similar to what we call Certamen in the spring of 1972. However, Tony Ruffa, who was teaching Latin at the Richmond (VA) Collegiate Schools the spring of 1971, sent out an notice to all high school and college Latin departments in Virginia, inviting them to participate in the first annual Collegiate Certamen. Something like 24 in-town schools and about the same number of out-of-town schools registered to compete. Richmond area teams played on Friday afternoon, four teams at a time, single elimination, until the local champion emerged. The out-of-town schools came the next day and followed the same procedure. The following week the two winning teams, Douglas Freeman High of Richmond and John Handley High of Winchester met at Richmond Channel 6 TV station for a live filming of the state championship. The Handley team, taught by first-year Latin teacher Susan Schearer, won. She was hooked. Same procedure in 1972. Handley won again, and she was a crusader!
When the powers-that-were decided that academic testing at National JCL conventions created too much strife between states, they essentially eliminated academic tests from the 1972 NJCL convention, of which Susan Schearer was the chairman. They were willing, however, for state teams to compete against each other in a new contest called Certamen. It did not matter what level of Latin a player was studying: a ninth-grade Latin I student might know more mythology that a senior in Latin Four. So Susan Schearer created a monster, or at least, Tony Ruffa did.
The Set-Up
Certamen is now usually played on three or more levels: Latin One, Two, (Three in some states), and Advanced. There are two or three teams per room (depending upon the number of teams registered and the number of moderators available) of up to four students per team, but instead of single elimination, all teams play three preliminary rounds, with different opponents in each round, with the object of accumulating as many points as possible. Say for example that there are twelve Latin One teams: each captain draws a letter A through L. Their teams play, e.g., as follows:
| Round | Room 1 | Room 2 | Room 3 | Room 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A-B-C | D-E-F | G-H-I | J-K-L |
| 2 | A-E-I | J-B-F | G-K-C | D-H-L |
| 3 | A-J-H | D-I-C | E-B-K | F-G-L |
There may be a fourth, semi-final round to equalize the possibility that the highest-scoring teams didn’t just luck into an “easy” draw. The three top-scoring teams on each level go into the final round. Depending on the number of teams per level of Latin, there may be more than three trophies. For twelve teams, as above, 5 or 6 trophies may be awarded. Sometimes individual medals either replace or supplement the team’s trophy.
How is the game actually played? The moderator asks a “Toss-up” question worth ten points. Any player on any team may signal (either by pushing a buzzer or by slapping a tabletop). Once that player has been recognized by the spotter, (s)he must give the answer immediately, with no consultation with the rest of the team. If the answer is correct, the team receives one or two bonus questions (the number varies from state to state) worth five points each. Team members may consult on bonus questions, but the captain, or his designated responder, must give the answer. (The captain often knows no mythology, for instance, and may refer to another player to say “Erysichthon.”) If the answer to the Toss-up question is INcorrect, no other player on that team may have a chance to answer; the question goes to whichever player on the other team(s) signals first. The same correct-incorrect procedure is followed. If no team’s first-signalling player can answer the question, no team receives the points and the moderator finally gives, or explains, the answer. A round usually consists of twenty Toss-up questions, which cover the Latin language (grammar, vocabulary, derivatives, translation L-E and E-L, abbreviations, quotations), mythology, Roman history and life, and (on advanced levels) Latin literature (authors, titles of works, metrics, rhetorical devices, who said?, etc.) Some certamina may include one question on Greek history or derivatives.
How often these competitions take place depends on the number of participating schools and the size of the state. Many states have only a state competition, which is held at their state JCL convention. Others with large JCL membership (not required, but convenient once one gets “hooked”) have regional or almost-monthly meets. In Virginia we have 6-8 meets during the year, but there is neither room nor time at the VJCL convention, so they are held at different volunteering host schools around the state about once a month October through April, with the “VJCL State Championship” coming at the end of the year (but anyone can enter). Fall competitions may have a “beginners” bracket for Latin One and Two students who have never played or have never won anything before.
Certamen allows Latin students at different schools to get to know (and respect) Latin students at other schools, but even if Latin teachers find it impossible to transport students to meets, they can still make use of certamen in their classrooms, especially for review purposes. A class of 12 can be divided into three teams of 4; 16 into four teams of four. So you have 24 students? Play two abbreviated (8-question) rounds of 12 and 12, and let the winners play each other. So you have 13-14 students? Let the brightest of them be the spotter and keep score. Each teacher knows exactly what facts the students must know and can jot down appropriate questions. If the teacher writes questions on 3x5 cards, they can be used year after year. Sensible teachers will assign students to teams, dividing the best and the weakest among teams. For review purposes, students can even use their notebooks if the teacher has a five-to-ten second timer. Students who appreciate the fact that the actual test questions are interspersed among the certamen questions benefit greatly from this approach. Even those who don’t have a competitive bone in their bodies can learn from listening and taking notes.
