Co:Wat?! 2024 - Countdown in Waterford (29/06/2024)

[L'oisleatch McGraw]

TL;DR summary:
~It takes place on June 29th, 11am-7pm.
~Bristol-style classroom format. Five amended 9Rers, followed by three 15Rers
~Atropine and Robo Riley will be used to run the event.
~It costs €12 for those who have sorted out their own accommodation.
~It costs €40 for anyone who is availing of our campsite facilities.
~It will be FOCAL affiliated, with prizes available at all levels.
~The Saturday night usually consists of a meal out followed by a pub sing-song. This should be the case for 2024.

[Event facebook page is here: https://www.facebook.com/events/372541768925443]

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WHAT IS IT?
Based on Channel 4's flagship daytime TV quiz show, this will be a chance to partake in a real-life Countdown tournament, in the beating heart of Waterford city. We'll have consonants, we'll have vowels, we'll have numbers. We may not have Rachel Riley to dispense them, but we won’t have Anne Robinson or Colin Murray either! Every cloud…

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THE IRISH SCENE.
Aside from Co:Wat?!, there are two other events on the Irish scene this year. Jessamine O’Connor’s CO:MON! in Monasteraden, Co. Sligo was a great success. It took place on April 6th, and gave Brendan Duke his first event win. Then there is Co:Wat?! on June 29th. And finally, recent TV octochamp and series runner-up, Eddy Byrne, will be running Co:Dub at the same venue as last year -the Urban Junction, Blackrock- on September 28th.

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WHO CAN COME?
Anyone at all! Having an interest in anagramming, word games, or puzzles would certainly make it more fun for you, but that is not a requirement. The event caters for all abilities. Some players will be very skilled, but many will be beginners. There will be prizes on offer at each ability level... so whether you are expert, intermediate or novice, there is a chance of coming away with a prize.

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WHERE IS IT?
The event will be held in the Edmund Rice Youth & Community Multiplex on Manor Street, Waterford, Ireland. This new venue was first used for Co:Wat in 2023. Right in the heart of Waterford city, with parking available on site, dead handy for food, nightlife and accommodation options; this proved popular with last year’s attendees, so we’ll go with it again.

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HOW WILL IT WORK?
It kicks off at 11am, and will be conducted using the Bristol-style classroom format. Everyone gets to see the same sets of letters and numbers, and to play them at the same time. Each person will have a direct opponent assigned. These match-ups will be drawn at random just before the start of each game. Everyone is guaranteed 8 games during the day. The results of the early matches (five 9Rers) will determine the composition of the different quarter final groupings. After lunch we play the QFs SFs and finals for each grouping of 8 players. These matches will be 15Rers. The top 8 (sorted by number of wins, then number of points) will contest the quarter final group from which the event winner will come. The final game to determine the event winner will be the only game that won’t be done in the classroom-style setting. It will be a stand-alone match, and everyone will be welcome to stick around and spectate if they so wish.
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After dinner, we’ll stroll downtown to a nearby pub for to relax and enjoy some banter, pub games, etc!
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COSTS INVOLVED.
Once again the aim is to make this as cheap as possible while still covering costs. This year there are two price plans:-
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~PLAN #1 [FULL PACKAGE]:- €40 …includes the event and access to a camp site. (Also, lifts to and from the venue will be provided.)
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~PLAN #2 [EVENT ONLY]:- €12 …includes the event only. (Lunch won’t be provided this year, as we have no access to a kitchen, and there are zillions of nearby food options.)
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I would expect that many of those travelling to Waterford for this would need accommodation. Some years we can provide decent dormitory accommodation very cheaply, but this year we can offer a camp-site. We will provide a few tents. We can guarantee 12 spaces in our tents. You will need to bring your own sleeping bag, air bed, pillow etc. (There is plenty of space in the campsite. For your €40 you are getting 2 nights access to a camp site specially kitted out for Co:Wat guests (with toilet / basic kitchen facilities), the event, & breakfast on Saturday and Sunday.
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€12 is the price available for Waterford natives, or anyone else who has their own accommodation sorted.
Other items that are provided throughout, free of charge, include:- 1. Pens and paper to use; 2. Coffees, teas, and some soft drinks; 3. Snacks.
(We are hoping all of this will be doable without operating at a loss financially. Depending on the numbers, it is possible.)

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BOOKING DETAILS.
We can only guarantee a place in our tents to the first 12 people who apply, and need a place to sleep, thereafter, you'd need to bring and pitch your own tent, or sort out your own accommodation in a local hotel or B&B.
To secure your place at Co:Wat?!, get in touch with organiser Eoin. You can pay on the day. (Payments on the day cannot be done by card.) Alternatively, pay in advance online. Send the payment to Eoin Jackson via PayPal at the address ayum@live.ie. (please remember to select 'payment to friends & family')

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FLIGHTS, TRAVEL, etc.
If you are coming from overseas, the best options are to fly into Cork or Dublin. Both of these are approx a 90min drive from Waterford. Bus and train would be available to the city, and we can arrange a lift to the venue from there (for free, obviously). For anyone who would rather take the Ferry. There are regular sailings into Rosslare harbour from Pembroke and Fishguard in Wales. (Rosslare is a 60min drive from Dunmore East.)
For anyone travelling within Ireland, if you can make it to Waterford, we can provide a lift to the venue for you. If you are using Sat Nav, the Eircode is X91TY8N.
[More details to go here as they come available.]

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I think that’s everything for now! If you have any queries, leave a comment below or on the event page, or contact me via a facebook private message.

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LIST OF CONFIRMED ATTENDEES (as at 24-06-23)
[C= Appeared on CD. | A = Apterite. | N = Co-event Newbie.]

Michelle Jackson (Host)

1. Eoin Jackson [C / A]
2. Alan O'Sullivan [A]
3. Hazel Drury [C / A]
4. Finola Jackson
5. Kevin Jackson
6. Paul Drury
7. George Drury
8. Brendan Duke [C / A]
9. Roshin Sen
10. Mark Murray [C / A]
11. Samik Sen
12. Sean Lonergan
13. Jessamine O'Connor [C / A]
14. Roger Stevens
15. Brian Sullivan
16. Ciara O'Hare [N]
17. Liam Thomas Davis
18. Antoinette [Ryan] Forde [C / A]
19. Mark McDonnell
20. Kelly Thomas [N]
21. Kevin O'Sullivan
22. Sarah Langan
23. Liam Holton
24. Lech Andrej Koper [N]
25. Sean O'Sullivan [N]
26. Fionnuala Knox
27. Leeny Jackson
28. Ceara McGovern
29. Jenny Burns [N]
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[On 15-06-2024 - 23 players]

[L'oisleatch McGraw]

The theme of this year's Co:Wat?! is FOCAL.
Can you think of a better theme for a word game played in Ireland, than the Irish word for word?!
The theme will run throughout the event. (If you're nerdy enough, you may be able to predict some ways in which it will manifest.)
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Event themes thus far:
2017 - Waterford
2018 - Oirishness
2019 - G.O.A.T.
2020 - Plague
2021 - ZoomDown
2022 - 40th birthday
2023 - 7
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and...
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2024 - FOCAL!

[L'oisleatch McGraw]

The gameplay next Saturday will be Live-Streamed to YouTube.

If you can't make it, but want to play along, here's where you will find each game
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6:00pm - Grand Final - https://youtube.com/live/UoVvzDVIJCw?feature=share
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11:00am - 1st preliminary - https://youtube.com/live/9LR0D5BOcEc?feature=share
11:37am - 2nd preliminary - https://youtube.com/live/faofIVF4Saw?feature=share
12:14pm - 3rd preliminary - https://youtube.com/live/cx6OucOzqE8?feature=share
12:51pm - 4th preliminary - https://youtube.com/live/SZpwCQfHe-Q?feature=share
1:28pm - 5th preliminary - https://youtube.com/live/Z4EJ7TTpA7k?feature=share
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3:00pm - Quarter-finals - https://youtube.com/live/PsODfatCwx4?feature=share
4:00pm - Semi-finals - https://youtube.com/live/gtducTMwRqk?feature=share
5:00pm - Finals - https://youtube.com/live/sU2i5NqItE4?feature=share
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6:00pm - Grand Final - https://youtube.com/live/UoVvzDVIJCw?feature=share
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[L'oisleatch McGraw]

One more piece of exciting news...

Co:Wat will become the first co-event to official ditch the legacy version of the game!
9Rers have been retired from the TV show for over 2 decades now.
Their use at co-events is only tolerable as it allows for more games to be played.
However, they disproportionately favour conundrum specialists.

At Co:Wat 2024, for our 5 preliminary games, we will use an amended version of the 9Rer. The only change being that the conundrum will be scaled down, offering 6pts instead of 10.

In future years, we may go all out and introduce the 7.5Rer, which will be a true short form of the current 15Rer used on telly, as fans of the modern game deserve to be catered for properly at co-events. For now, the amended 9Rer will do fine. It is, at the very least a step in the right direction.

[L'oisleatch McGraw]

If you want to keep up with the tournament updates as they happen, you can follow this link:- https://greem.co.uk/co/CoWat-2024.

[Fiona T]

How did the 6pt conundrum thing go? How many games did it change the result from what a 10pt conundrum would have given?