At the 53rd national Academic Games tournament, more than 1,000 participants — including players, coaches, volunteers and parents — participated from April 27-30, 2018, at the Knoxville Convention Center.

It was our third time visiting Knoxville, Tennessee, and as usual, we enjoyed a wonderful weekend of friendly competition, camaraderie, Southern hospitality, as well as friends, colleagues and new challenges. Beyond the competition, there were opportunities to make new acquaintances, explore downtown Knoxville and take part in various social activities.

Through four days of competition, we had an outstanding experience with sharing ideas, building new relationships and striving for excellence. Students tried their best to realize their varying levels of goals, from improving on last year's scores to winning a team medal or winning a Thinker.

As we experience every year, the quality of competition was excellent. Students competed at four levels: Elementary (6th grade and below), Middle (8th grade and below), Junior (10th grade and below) and Senior (12th grade and below). They exhibited some excellent strategies and challenged themselves and their opponents -- and the judges.

Beyond the champions, many students had the opportunity to see some of the best Academic Games players in the world and to learn new strategies to help them prepare for next year's local competitions and national tournament.

At the awards ceremony, we came together in a combined program to celebrate all of our winners and to honor four Outstanding Seniors. We wish them well in their post-Aca­demic Games endeavors and look forward them to return­ing as coaches or helping in their individual areas. We also saluted two Outstanding Educators for their worthwhile contributions to the Academic Games community.

It was another memorable national tournament and we look forward to seeing everyone at the Wyndham Orlando for next year’s Nationals.

Rod Beard
AGLOA Tournament Director
For the AGLOA Board and Tournament Council