National Memory Master Competition Part 4: Cruise

After a couple of months of studying, it was finally time to board the cruise where the National Memory Master Competition would take place! I was very excited and nervous to finally compete. The night before the cruise, we stayed at a hotel where most of the other finalists were also staying. We got to meet each other in person for the first time, and we had a big party with a dinner on the pool deck. On April 28, we had a church service in the morning, and that afternoon we boarded the boat. That evening we had an NMM meet-and-greet with a gift exchange for all the finalists. Since CC also used this cruise for National Number Knockout and an end-of-year celebration, there were quite a few kids from CC on board the ship. Because of this, CC also hosted a tween and teen scavenger hunt on the first night of the cruise. We were divided into teams, and I was with a couple of the NMM finalists. We had to go around the cruise ship (with an adult) and find things such as a magazine or someone wearing sea bands. The next day, we came into port at Nassau. Classical Conversations had set up an island scavenger hunt for all the NMM finalists and their families. We spent the morning in Nassau learning about the island’s history and completing fun tasks. In the afternoon, we didn’t have anything specific scheduled so my family and I spent the day walking around some of the shops and finding small souvenirs. It was nice to have a couple of days before the competition to get to know each other and relax and have fun together. We tried to eat dinner together every night on the cruise, usually at about three big tables, one for the girls, one for the boys, and one for the parents and siblings.  

On April 30, it was time for the competition. We woke up bright and early that day, as we had to be in the room where the competition would take place a bit early. I believe the judges went over the rules with us, prayed over us, and then started the competition.  

Round 1 

The first round was entitled Grammar. As I mentioned before, we had to recite selections from six subjects in under a minute each. As far as I remember, we sat down at tables of 4. We were allowed to whisper quietly, but we could not discuss the material, and we had to be as quiet as possible. One person at a time from each table was rotated through each station of memory work. I don’t remember much from the first round, but there is one part that sticks out. When I was reciting the presidents, I lost track of where I was around Filmore. I had no idea who I last said, or who was next, so I said “scratch” (the National Number Knockout way to say that you’re starting over), and started over. I don’t know how I managed to get through it again in the remaining part of the minute I had, but somehow I did. After the speed round was over, ten of us were selected to move on to round 2, which would be a Memory Bee.  

Me at the NMM Competition

Round 2 

The ten remaining finalists were given chairs on the stage in alphabetical order by first name. We were called to the microphone one at a time. The judges would give us a prompt from any subject, and we were given five seconds to begin answering. If we recited incorrectly twice, we would be asked to leave the stage, until only 4 students remained. We started with simpler questions, such as history sentences and math facts that I had been studying since last summer. However, after quite a few cycles through the order, we had only lost two finalists. The judges stepped out of the room for a minute- they had run out of questions. When they came back, they decided to ask questions almost exclusively from the timeline. When this happened, we started reciting wrong much more often. We were all still a little bit rocky saying it backward, and it was also difficult to start from anywhere and say the next six cards. My first error was substituting one of the cards for a similar one. I was very shaken after this error, as I didn’t catch it and I didn’t know why I was told I was wrong. The next time I had to recite, I was saying the timeline backward. I said the wrong card about halfway through. I caught it, said “scratch”, and corrected myself, but it didn’t count and I was asked to sit down. It was really upsetting and I was frustrated that I had even messed up to begin with, but there was nothing else I could do about it. After I was asked to sit down, there were only 5 or 6 finalists left, so it wasn’t much longer until the round was over.  

Round 3 

After round two, we took a thirty-minute break while the four remaining finalists drew their maps. Then we came back to the competition room, and the four finalists came on stage one at a time. They were asked to recite and present the timeline for five minutes, starting with a certain card. Then, they had to recite John 1:1-7 in English and Latin. Finally, they were given a prompt similar to the one we were given for our entry videos. They had five minutes to think of a story and then recite it to the audience. After all this, the scores from the maps were calculated and added to the recitation portion of the round. Then, the winner was announced, and the competition was over. It had taken almost the entire day. 

After the competition, in the afternoon and on the following day, we continued to have fun together. We had a game night where we played Clue and chess and just talked together. We watched a movie and swam on the cruise deck. On the day following the competition, we had a big award ceremony with cake where we took a lot of pictures and had the opportunity to spend even more time together. On May 2 we got off the boat and the cruise was over. It was an amazing experience, and I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to become a finalist. The friends I made through the National Memory Master competition are lifelong. Most of us still talk through text, email, or letters. Four years later, we have kept in contact even though we live all across America. This competition made an impact in my life. Even though I didn’t win, the experience was wonderful and something I will never forget.