Path: ...!weretis.net!feeder9.news.weretis.net!news.quux.org!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: Your Name Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.apps Subject: [OT News] Microsoft Excel World Championships 2024 Date: Thu, 23 Jan 2025 09:59:42 +1300 Organization: A noiseless patient Spider Lines: 54 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Injection-Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2025 21:59:43 +0100 (CET) Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="86a1d0ea7c1c9491f762e805dda35dea"; logging-data="1277672"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX1+pkSJZ/f9nBy81UiMGpXXsFc1DMeM/XhE=" User-Agent: Unison/2.2 Cancel-Lock: sha1:QhrpE02lRxqlYb4Z/PiaHzy2kio= Bytes: 2991 Don't forget to watch the "exciting" 7 *hour* video of the event at the bottom link. :-\ At the Microsoft Excel World Championship, selfies and a 'hype' tunnel ------------------------------------------------------ An arena. A hype tunnel, the kind through which NBA players typically streak. A competitor dressed in a jersey patterned with six-pack abs. In a new piece, The New York Times takes readers to an event that organizers call the Microsoft Excel World Championship, a 40-minute, Las Vegas-based competition featuring 12 contestants - all of them solving thorny Excel puzzles. Some 400 people attended the December event, which ESPN3 livestreamed in between "competitions like speed chess and the World Dog Surfing Championships," reports the Times. The event was no joke, even if the self-described nerds involved have a healthy sense of humor. According to the story, the winner - a Toronto-based financial consultant - walked away with a $5,000 prize, a wrestling-style championship belt, and the title of world's best spreadsheeter after two front-runners stumbled. Selfies were taken. The hope is that the prize money will eventually hit $1 million as more spectators and sponsors get involved. In the meantime, the four-year-old event - held in person last month for the first time - is already a big hit. "You'd never see this with Google Sheets," one contestant told the Times. "You'd never get this level of passion." Highlights from the Microssoft Excel World Championships Video (1min 30secs) Microsoft Excel World Championships 2024 Video (7hrs, 23mins, 19secs)