In Late 2024, I was internally selected to be a member of the University of Lincoln’s University Challenge Audition Team, following a quiz/assessment handled by the Students’ Union. This was the 4th and Final Time I did so, having done so each year, since my First Year. As I was the only member of the year’s selection to have previously been selected, I was chosen to be the Team Captain, and as such was responsible for handling the paperwork and communication with the Production Company (Dock10). Following a series of team get-togethers and discussions with both the team and producers, we [the team] had our audition in Birmingham in the January of 2025.
Then, around 2 Weeks Later, I [as Team Captain] recieved a phone call, from one of the producers, informing me that the Team had been successful in our Audition and would be filmed for our First Round Match at the end of February. I immediately informed the rest of the team to the news.
Next, we travlled to Manchester on the 26th Feb to be filmed the following morning for our First Match. This Match was Broadcast on the 1st September on BBC2 and is viewable in the UK on BBC iPlayer here.
And was won by us - Lincoln - with 170 Points to Lancaster’s 145.
Following on from the Victory against Lancaster, Lincoln entered the second round, and was pitted against University College London (UCL). This was Broadcast on the 15th December on BBC2 and may be viewed in the UK here.
This match was won by UCL with 190 Points to Lincoln’s 85, thus knocking Lincoln out of the Competition.
I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed appearing on the show, and making history as the University of Lincoln’s first appearance on the venerable show.
A bonus is that when a team leaves the competition, the members get to keep their nameplate that is used on the show. I am planning on creating or commissioning a lightbox to hold mine.