GENERAL INFORMATION:

 

Certamen is a Latin Jeopardy-style game that tests students' skill in the Latin language and knowledge of Roman culture. Widely played at the regional, state, and national levels, Certamen is an excellent way to enrich a student's experience in the Latin classroom and to give a competitive edge to the Classics. Some key differences between the way Jeopardy and the way Certamen is played are:

 

•               In one round of Certamen, three teams of up to four players compete

•               Each Certamen round consists of 20 tossup questions, which any one player from each team may buzz in and answer                 within 5 seconds, and 2 bonus questions per tossup scored, which the team discusses and answers within 15 second

•               Each tossup question in Certamen is worth 10 points and each bonus question is worth 5 points

•               There are three levels of play in Certamen: Novice (for students taking Latin 1/2-1), Intermediate (for students taking                     Latin 2), and Advanced (for students taking Latin 3 ad infinitum)

•               Questions in a Certamen round occur in random order and are from the following subjects: Latin Grammar, Latin                       Forms, Latin Translation, Latin Comprehension, Latin Vocabulary, English Derivatives, Classical Mythology, Roman                   History, Roman Life, and (in Advanced only) Latin Literature

 

 

BLSJCL hosts our annual Certamen tournament every year. In addition, BLS has been very successful at Certamen, competing often at state and national contests per year.

 

If you are interesting in playing Certamen talk to the Certamen coaches:

•               Latin 1/2 and 1 (7th and 8th grade): Mr. Bartoloma, Ms. Moguel

•              Latin 2 (9th grade): Mr. Brownell

•              Latin 3+ (10-12 grade): Ms. Hausey

 

Every year, BLS participates in the following tournaments with approximate dates in parentheses: 

•               Roxbury Latin Scrimmage (November)

•               Yale Certamen (November)

•               BLA Certamen (January)

•               BLS Certamen (February)

•               SCL Certamen (early March)

•               Harvard Certamen (late March)

•               States Certamen (April/May)

•               Nationals Certamen (July)

 

Common study materials and sources can be found here.

 

To be successful at Certamen you should DATA:

•                  Devote sometime towards studying (reading, looking over questions)

•                  Attend practices

•                  Trust teammates and coaches & listen to their advice

•                  Attend tournaments                 

 

 Good luck!