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?)