Racing Thoughts
Fifteen teams of HOLers competed in A Race Around the Globe this past August. As a host of the contest, I was extremely thrilled to see the effort put in by all the racers. Here are some interesting tidbits from the race:
Canada hates me. Out of all the ten countries we choose, Canada is the only one that I have actually visited. Unfortunately, it also gave me the most trouble. After I asked around five different people for a Canadian welcome message with no responses, I started to get worried. I was trying to get someone from a different House, but in the end, I gave in and asked a Ravenclaw. Canada was also the last Detour I created. For some reason, I just couldn't find anything that could rhyme or contrast each other.
We also had difficulty finding someone to welcome everyone into Japan. Fumei's name was suggested, but she already wrote one for the Netherlands. Unlike Canada, Japan's Detour options came to me very easily. Origami and haikus! Secretly, I was hoping that a team would combine the two.
Two-part Detours. Khalai Tassadar wrote a story with a cliffhanger for the Hungary Detour. The nerve of that guy... making me wait three whole Legs to find out what happens! On the other hand, it was exciting to see Mattie turn the owl from her Canada Detour into a beautiful origami owl for Japan.
Subconscious Three. After a few visits to the RQT channel, you would probably learn that there are three Amys. Amy Lupin is Amy Three. I guess that fact is so ingrained in me that I even made her country, South Africa, Leg 3. I didn't even notice until she pointed it out to me, since Leg 3 was one of the few Legs where she beat her super speedy teammate, Guinevere Avalon, to finishing the puzzle.
Team dynamics. Ladies Adventure Gang and Parisie were the most chatty on the forum. I know a lot of teams chatted off the forum, including Rocket Rockers who were up at terrible hours for the puzzles. Meandering Minions made sure to use their team color in all submissions. I also got to watch certain avengeful members of MMFA, The Three Companions, and ICNH kill off each other while writing calaveras. Big Darn Heroes made me worry with their last minute Detour submissions, but they made it!
Toughest puzzles. The tie knots in the word squares was probably the most tricky puzzle. I had some difficulty trying to find tie knots that would fit in the squares, so 'Hanover' and 'Balthus' were slightly obscure.
The crossword puzzle also gave some teams some trouble. People gave me interesting answers for the time of Buckbeak's execution including Monday, dinner, and nine PM. 'Sunset' was in Hagrid's note. My attempt to make link most clues from the Harry Potter books backfired when I re-read "The Secret Riddle" and didn't see the word 'trinket.' However, I did have some words that had nothing to do with Harry Potter, like 'blackjack,' in the puzzle.
Logical Timing. I had a seeking match right before logic puzzle Leg was unlocked. I probably could have planned this, but I didn't realize until the night before. It turned out to be a good thing, because I didn't have enough clues written out to figure out the password (tequila, the race favorite!) to get into the Mexico Pit Stop.
Scarlet Subtleties. Yes, I do notice the details. Even in short writing assignments, teams were able to include some of my favorite things and I really appreciated them. The Scarlet haiku, choosing my real name for a story, a killer whale, mushrooms, cascade (my favorite word)... Best of all was Sirius, Saiwa, and Sulley who all took on my favorite letter and solemnly swore that they were up to no good. Mischief managed, indeed!
