I’m slovenly posting from my phone, having eaten my second cupcake of the day, and watching the Wimbledon Men’s Final, the first bit of Wimbledon I’ve watched in years, actually. I suspect my teenaged interest in it had more to do with having a crush on Pete Sampras than a real passion for the game.

That having been said, this has been a fantastic match so far.

Yesterday proved that my own ‘winging it’ attitude when it comes to competition can only get me so far in trivia terms. I came in third, of four participants, for the first time, which was a bit of a blow (even though the guy who came in second is always right on my tail at these things, and is also a master Scrabble player, so his brain is very good at mapping). I think my haphazard methods (such as they are) are detrimental. I also found out that this year’s World Quizzing Champion is my age and has been competing internationally for many, many years.  I’m just a Canadian hack.

Not that I ever honestly thought I could compete against professional quizzers, but it is frustrating as hell to not have the same team-building and competitive opportunities that they are afforded. Sporcle quizzes are one thing, but really understanding the language of these international (and, in Britain, national) contests, and having the opportunity to participate is essential.

Unless, y’know, I learn everything about everything. Including cricket. A bit daunting. I only half-understand the rules. The only question I’ve ever answered about it was because I lived in Edgbaston, which happens to be the name of the grounds they were asking about.

And that’s just one sport of many I don’t know. And sport is just one of many, many subjects I’m useless at.

I know I’m early in my competitive quizzing ‘career’ (if one can call it that), but I want to get better. Much better. I’ll have to create the tools to get there, though, since the mechanisms aren’t already in place.