Live-Report: WMCS 2009 – Day 1

Posted on 12. Nov, 2009 by Flauwy in Memory Championships, News

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Live Report

• 10:58 AM: Welcome to the 2009 World Memory Championship.
• 10:59 AM: I am in London at the Strand Palace Hotel near the Trafalgar Square where the 18th tournament of its kind takes place.
• 11:03 AM: The event has already started and we are in the middle of the second discipline – 30 Minutes Binary Numbers. There are 5 minutes left of the memorization.
• 11:04 AM: The results of the first event – Abstract Images – is right now being inspected by the arbiters.
• 11:05 AM: Let’s see if I can send you the first pictures.
• 11:07 AM: And the time is up. The arbiters are collecting all the papers.
• 11:07 AM: The room is crowded with competitors. I heard a number somewhere around 60.
• 11:08 AM: But it is not too tight. The organizers did a great job with the preparation of the room.
• 11:08 AM: There are several camera teams recording the event. Our friends from Japan who are doing a documentary about the sport and Ben Pridmore are here, too.
• 11:10 AM: Gosh I have many old pictures on my camera which I have to save first. So you have to be patient a few more minutes for your first images.
• 11:17 AM: I am facing some troubles with my youtube account. But if everything works out I will publish some videos after this recall period.
• 11:26 AM: I am converting my images right now. In the meantime I will walk arounf taking more busy pictures from the competitors and mabye film a bit.
• 11:41 AM: 30 Minutes left and I got many cool pictures. The first video is online too. I’ll post it in a sec.
• 11:44 AM: It is poor quality because I was using my iPhone. But hey – its already online.
• 11:46 AM: Sorry, wrong link. www.youtube.com
• 11:46 AM: Oh no it is fine, Scribblelive is just reducing the link to the main page.
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• 11:56 AM: Ok here are the first pictures. Enjoy! Now give me a few minutes to prepare the article image for the front page.
  
  P.S. 15 minutes left of the 60 Minutes Binary recall time.
• 11:57 AM: In the meantime: Please post your thaughts in the comments section beneath this post. I will appreciate it very much.
• 12:10 PM: I finished the article image. Check it out on the front page or just refresh your article
• 12:10 PM: One minute left of recall!
• 12:12 PM: And the second discipline is over. Let’s make some quick interviews!
• 12:20 PM: It is lunch break now
• 12:21 PM: One Hour Numbers starts at 13:45 London time.
• 12:22 PM: It is now 12:22 pm
• 12:31 PM: Ok guys prepare yourself for a treat of mine: I hired a friend of mine who is a very successful comic writer. He created the Memory-Sports.com maskott. I just got in via mail. Check it out.
• 12:33 PM:
• 12:34 PM: Tell me what you think about it.
• 12:55 PM: I am uploading a short interview with Johannes Mallow on Vimeo right now. It’ll take another 45 minutes before you can watch it because the Wireless Connection over here is kinda slow.
• 1:04 PM: Steffen Bütow – Hi Florian, herzliche Grüße aus dem regnerischen Deutschland, vermutlich bin ich allein hiuer – Ihr seid ja alle in London…
• 1:06 PM: Hi Steffen, we all miss you here. You are still my idol when it comes to memory-sports.
  
  People, Steffen Bütow was the one I watched 6 years ago breaking the German record in Speed Cards with 45.xx seconds. It was so amazing that I started to train more! Thank you Steffen.
• 1:48 PM: I have great news for you. Give me two more minutes.
• 1:59 PM: We have two (maybe even three) new world records in only ONE discipline!
• 2:00 PM: New World Record in Abstract Images: Dr. Gunther Carsten with 318 points raw score and 1272 Championship Points.
• 2:04 PM: New Junior World Record in Abstract Images: Dorothea Seitz with 214 points raw score and 856 Championship Points.
• 2:15 PM: I am not sure about the Childrens (Junior I) record though. I will keep you posted about it.
• 2:16 PM: I am sorry about the delay. I am fighting with connection problems.
• 2:17 PM: But good news: The hotel just gave me an unlimited special guest connection to the WLan hotspot. It is soooooo much quicker than the connection before.
• 2:17 PM: The first video will be up in no time.
• 2:17 PM: I will now get the complete results in digitial.
• 2:17 PM: Wait for it.
• 2:31 PM: Steffen Bütow – Hi Florian, thanks for your very nice comment. Nevertheless I was only one of many, many other memory sportsmen, who loved the memory sport. So, I always will do… I’m very much looking forward to see the todays results. Best regards to all!
• 2:38 PM: There are 15 minutes left of the One Hour Numbers event
• 2:39 PM: I am editing the complete results of Abstract Images right now. They will be available soon!
• 2:41 PM: And the first video interview is online. Tell me how it is – I cannot watch it on my netbook because I have opened like a thousand programs at once. www.vimeo.com
• 2:47 PM: Sooo many numbers with the results. A few more minutes patience please!
• 2:47 PM: Henry – Do you have the detail’s on Gunther’s new World Record? As in can you translate the points into what he achieved – number of images out of how many, in what time. Thanks. Henry.
• 2:49 PM: Hi Henry, he memorized 318 Abstract Images and got 1272 points for it. He got 15 minutes to memorize them and 45 minutes for recalling.
• 2:53 PM: The memorization period is over. The arbiters are collecting the sheets and handing out the recall papers.
• 2:58 PM: And the two hours of recall time have started!
• 3:14 PM: And here we go: The complete results of the first Discipline Abstract Images. I created a new article for it. memory-sports.com
• 3:22 PM: Ok, I have another treat for you: This is the counter interview to the one with Johannes. Check out Ben Pridmore. www.vimeo.com
• 3:39 PM: I linked the two interview videos on memory-sports.com.
• 3:49 PM: There are still many competitors in the room recalling their numbers.
• 3:49 PM: It is amazing how many different nations are competing.
• 3:49 PM: And we have many Juniors I and Juniors II among them.
• 3:50 PM: Germany and China are strongly represented in the younger group – as well as in the adults one.
• 3:52 PM: Do you guys all know my Twitter channel?
• 3:52 PM: It is twitter.com
• 3:53 PM: You should also check out the official Twitter from the World Memory Sports Council: twitter.com
• 4:26 PM: I was just talking to a Canadian called Dave Farrow. He is the record holder of memorizing the most cards at all: 59 decks. He wants to improve the education system in Canada with memory techniques. What do you think? Are the techniques we are using capable of improving the school experience of a child and teenager?
• 4:29 PM: 30 minutes left of the first days competition. The room is pretty empty so far. There are about 15 people left. Most of the top ten are still here.
• 4:43 PM: Nelson Dellis – I have to say, you are doing a phenomenal job Florian…this up to the minute action is making my day amazing over here in the US!! Keep it coming! Try to get an interview with Ronnie White if you can!
• 4:44 PM: Henry – Did Dave Farrow memorize the 59 decks with a single sighting?
• 4:44 PM: Thank you Nelson.
  
  @Henry: I don’t know but I don’t think so. I can ask him for you.
• 4:45 PM: 15 minutes left.
• 4:49 PM: Henry – I always found Dominic O’Brien’s 54 decks with a single sighting in 2002 far more impressive. There is a big difference in achieving this with a single sighting of the cards, rather than multiple sightings. But Dave’s attempt is still amazing in most people’s books. Well done Dave.
• 4:55 PM: @Henry: I just asked Dave about his record. He did it with a single sighting and only one mistake.
• 4:56 PM: One minute left!
• 4:57 PM: And it’s done. The first day of competition is over – for the competitors. Not for the arbiters and my coverage of course.
• 5:06 PM: Good news: Binary results are coming in.
• 5:29 PM: They have troubles with the projector but I can tell you so far that Ben won this one without a new record before Gunther.
• 5:30 PM: I give you the complete results as soon as possible. Stay tuned.
• 5:47 PM: And another video online: www.vimeo.com This is actually very great because you can see the top ten sitting in front of their filled in sheets at the end of the recall period. It seems like they are all going for a new world record.
• 6:07 PM: Everyone left already. The arbitors are rechecking the binary results. It seems they did some mistakes before. I will post them as soon as they are done (if they are in the next hour or so).
• 6:13 PM: Here are the team results after two disciplines:
  
  1. Germany – 5042 points
  2. China – 4493 points
  3. England – 2950 points
  4. Sweden – 1664 points
  5. Norway – 1601 points
  
  Check out Sweden and Norway: They are batteling each other. I think it is very interesting which team will beat the other one in the end. Just one thing: Both teams have my most sympathy in this event!
• 6:27 PM: I am very interested where you guys and girls all come from? Tell me in the comments.
• 6:33 PM: Don’t leave, I have still a few treats for you.
• 7:05 PM: And now the next video: Dr. Gunther Carsten who is leading the tournament so far. Enjoy! www.vimeo.com
• 7:44 PM: Sorry guys but I haven’t heard from the arbiters so I will call it a day now. See you tomorrow for day two of this stunning event. But before I go I give you my last treat of the day: All the videos from today with one you haven’t seen so far. Good fight – good night.
  
  memory-sports.com

Tags: WMCS 2009, World Memory Championship