BFLO III, 2017 (BGA Fall Linguistics Olympiad)

I am happy to invite all Tennessee middle school (5th-8th) and high school (9th-12th) students to compete at the Third Annual BGA Fall Linguistics Olympiad (BFLO III), on Saturday, November 11, 2017. Come try your hand and your brain at decoding complex linguistic features and "hacking" obscure languages from Abma to Zapotec. You'll need an adult sponsor such as a teacher, administrator, or parent, and you can start preparing by trying some practice puzzles from NACLO (the North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad) or from Princeton's Linguistics Challenge or a previous year's BFLO puzzles. Registration has already started. The competition is free; there is no entry fee. Thank my administration and wonderful volunteers for this wonderful opportunity! 

If you aren't on my contact list yet (or you're not sure if you are), email me (Abram Ring) at abram.ring@mybga.org. 

Pics from BFLO I, 2015:

BFLO III will be held on November 11, 2017, from 8:45am to about 2pm, at Battle Ground Academy see here for directions. Note that we will start with check in to receive puzzle packets 8:45-9:05am in the Middle School Gymnasium (the first building you come to on the right side of Echo Lane). Then there will be a short opening assembly, the competition itself ca. 9:15-11:45am, BYO lunch (11:45am-12:10pm), and a fun activity period (ca. 12:10-1:30). 

In the competition, students hack (i.e. decode) a variety of language-related puzzles which require no specific prior knowledge of the languages. They do this either alone or in their 2-3 person teams. There will be candy available in each room to feed their brains (brains need glucose) while they are competing. During the activity period, students get to choose to watch a fascinating linguistics-related film (Arrival, this year), socialize in the language game room (Scattergories, Taboo, etc.), or relax and play outside with frisbees, balls, or even Dr. Ring's unique chainmail throwing disc. Finally, the awards ceremony will start about 1:30 pm, as soon as we have all the puzzles scored and ranking completed.

The event will take place on BGA's Glen Echo Campus as last year, in the same buildings, i.e. the assemblies will occur in the Middle School Gym and the competition rooms will be in the Middle School Academic Building. I have gathered some fascinating new puzzles...

REGISTRATION

This year's BFLO will have two separate contests at each level (middle and high school). Each student must choose one or the other contest, not both:

• individual (the student attempts to solve all puzzles alone)
• 2-3 person team (2 or 3 students cooperate to solve all the puzzles)

To register, please email Dr. Abram Ring the following information for each student:

Student name, grade level, school (we're open to all public, private, and home school students), sponsor/chaperone name & email, and the desired contest (individual or team)--and, if the student plans to compete in a team, the other team members.


Please spread the word!

(Share by email, social media, and let Dr. Ring know if he should add anyone to his contact list for this and future years!)

Our BFLO Mascot (Get it?)

BFLO II 2016 (BGA Fall Linguistics Olympiad)

I am happy to invite all Tennessee middle school (5th-8th) and high school (9th-12th) students to compete at the Second Annual BGA Fall Linguistics Olympiad (BFLO II). Come try your hand and your brain at decoding complex linguistic features and "hacking" obscure languages from Abma to Zapotec. You'll need an adult sponsor such as a teacher, administrator, or parent, and you can start preparing by trying some practice puzzles from NACLO (the North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad) or from Princeton's Linguistics Challenge or last year's BFLO puzzles. Registration has already started. The competition is free; there is no entry fee. Thank my administration and wonderful volunteers! 

If you aren't on my contact list yet (or you're not sure if you are), email me (Abram Ring) at abram.ring@mybga.org. 

Pics from BFLO I, 2015:

BFLO II will be held on November 12, 2016, from 9am to 1:30/2pm, at Battle Ground Academy see here for directions. Note that we will start with check in to receive puzzle packets at 9 am in the Middle School Gymnasium (the first building you come to on the right side of Echo Lane). Then there will be a short opening assembly, the competition itself ca. 9:15-11:45am, BYO lunch (11:45am-12:10pm), and a fun activity period (ca. 12:10-1). During the activity period, students get to choose to watch a fascinating linguistics film, socialize in the language game room (Scattergories, Taboo, etc.), or relax and play outside with frisbees, balls, or even Dr. Ring's unique chainmail throwing disc. Finally, the awards ceremony will start about 1 pm or as soon as we have all the puzzles scored and ranking completed.

The event will take place on BGA's Glen Echo Campus as last year, likely in the same buildings, i.e. the assemblies will occur in the Middle School Gym and the competition rooms will be in the Middle School Academic Building. I have crafted some fascinating new puzzles...

REGISTRATION

This year's BFLO will have two separate contests at each level (middle and high school). Each student must choose one or the other contest, not both:

• individual (the student attempts to solve all puzzles alone)
• 2-3 person team (2 or 3 students cooperate to solve all the puzzles)

To register, please email Dr. Abram Ring the following information for each student:

Student name, grade level, school (we're open to all public, private, and home school students), sponsor/chaperone name & email, and the desired contest (individual or team)--and, if the student plans to compete in a team, the other team members.


Please spread the word.

BGA FALL LINGUISTICS OLYMPIAD (BuFfaLO) 2015

I invite middle school (5th-8th) and high school (9th-12th) level students who love language, logic, or puzzle-solving to compete at our first ever BGA Fall Linguistics Olympiad, Saturday, November 14, 2015, from 9am to about 1pm, at Battle Ground Academy Middle School (336 Ernest Rice Ln., Franklin, Tennessee).

We will be checking competitors in at registration at the BGA Middle School Gym before a short opening assembly to explain the competition and the schedule. Then competitors will move to the Middle School Academic building to compete.

For DIRECTIONS to campus see here or this map. Once on Ernest Rice Ln., you will pass Gray Fox Ln. and turn left on Echo Ln. before making a right into the Middle School Parking Lot. The Gym is the first building you see on the right.

I hope that the competition lets the students have some fun while they're getting great experience doing what I call "language hacking." The students use available data in each puzzle along with logic and analytical skills to reverse engineer a working understanding of vocabulary, grammar, writing systems, and other aspects of languages that were previously unknown to them.

Competitors may work alone to solve the puzzles (individual competition) or may register as pairs and enter the pairs competition where both work together. This year, as we are getting started and trying to attract more competitors, I have made the entry cost FREE. Students will just need to bring their own lunch if they want to stay after the competition (which runs 9:15-11:45) for the awards ceremony (about 1pm). There will be some fun activities planned for that intervening time around lunch.

To register students, send me their names, grade levels, sponsor names (teacher or parent), sponsor email contact, and finally whether they plan to compete as an individual or in a pair. If they are competing in pairs, please identify which students are paired together. Email me, Abram Ring, at abram.ring (AT) mybga.org. I hope to have all competitors registered by Monday, November 9, because, though I'll try, I can't guarantee entry after that date.

Prizes will be awarded for the best individual scores at each grade level (5th-12th), and for the top 3 individuals and top 3 pairs at the middle school level (5th-8th) and for the top 3 individuals and top 3 pairs at the high school (9th-12th) level.

The olympiad is inspired by the spring competition at MTSU, and see their site for information and for practice puzzles. Students, especially in the upper grades, may also be interested in competing in the national level linguistics olympiad, called NACLO.