A 2013 update - if you've been directed to this page looking for the 2013 event, please click here instead. Thanks!
It's getting later in the year, as I try to find the best gap in the memory competition schedule, but this year's Cambridge competition will take place on Saturday October 20, not in Cambridge, but in the same place as last year, the delightful Attenborough Nature Centre!
Most of what I said last year still applies, so here are the details again:
The traditional friendly memory championship that always takes place on the first Sunday in May in Cambridge, England, will this year take place on Saturday October 20, 2012 at Attenborough Nature Reserve near Nottingham. England. See the nature reserve's website here
The competition will only take place if enough people want to come! So please let me know right now if you want to take part!
The entry fee will be £30 (or free of charge for people who have never taken part in any memory competition before) - it might be less than £30 if there are a lot of competitors, because I only want to cover the costs of hosting the competition, not make a profit! This fee includes a hot lunch.
The venue is quite close to my house - free accommodation is available on my floor, if you bring your own sleeping bag. If you prefer a hotel, there's a nice place just over the road from me: Rockaway Hotel or plenty of guest houses in Beeston or Attenborough.
The competition will start promptly at 9:00am and finish at 5:00pm, and will be a national-standard 10-discipline championship (15 minute numbers, 10 minute cards, etc).
The nearest airport is "Nottingham East Midlands", but it's actually not very near Nottingham and it's difficult to travel from there to here by public transport. Birmingham Airport is better, you can get the train to Beeston (for my house) or Attenborough (for the competition venue) very easily.
Obviously, like all memory competitions, it won't stick to that "strictly nine to five" schedule, although we kept quite close to it last year. But please come along, it's always a fun day's memorising and chatting with like-minded individuals!
Shouldn't Nottingham East Midlands be Manchester Airport T4, lol?
ReplyDeleteHi Ben,
ReplyDeleteI became interested in memory work this last spring, after reading about you in "Walking with Einstein" by Joshua Foer. I read quite a bit on the subject after that, and currently use a combination of the Dominic system Journey method and the Major system by Harry Lorayne to memorize things. I can do a single deck in a little under 7 minutes now, and have used the methods to learn some French and Spanish. I memorized the Chemical Periodical Table in about an hour and a half, and learned all 50 US states and capitals alphabetically, then all 196 World Nations and capitals alphabetically. I memorize 40 and 160 digits numbers at my local bar for fun and free drinks! This is so much fun!
I found your blog a few days ago, and it is fun reading! I wish I could return to London sometime, but I am just a poor unemployed college teacher/ former computer expert with barely beer money just now. Perhaps in a few years. Keep up the entertaining blogs!
Your future friend, Paul M. Bay, PhD ABD
Minnesota, USA
Hi Ben,
ReplyDeleteI havent competed before but am looking to get into the sport. Please can you confirm the event will be going ahead?
Hannah
I... hope it will. I need to try to get some people to confirm they're coming, though. Update very soon, I promise!
ReplyDeleteHi ben,
ReplyDeleteI am greatly insterested in memory work and I would like to participate. It will be my first memory championship. I would like to know where can we subscribe for this event?
Thanks a lot.
Jérôme, france.
Hi Jérôme, send me an email at zoom_zoom_ben at yahoo.co.uk - the same goes for Hannah too! I will email everyone at the weekend and make sure we've got enough competitors before I announce it's definitely going to happen.
ReplyDelete