5 days to go

Now that we are within striking distance of the quiz, things have really started hotting up. Along with an clearly upward trend on the participation (more on this below), planning has started for the D-Day. Who's going to man (or person, for gender-neutrality :)) the various desks, who will help check the papers, who does the speeches etc. would need to be sorted out soon.

As you may be aware, this time, we have been very fortunate to have been chosen by our valued sponsors. In addition we have our media partners who will cover the event LIVE. We would surely love to have more folks helping in the arrangements. Just drop an email to ace2008@ashaindia.org with "Wish to volunteer for Phase Forward ACE 2008" as the subject line and we will get back to you at the earliest. Please note that you would need entry passes for the event. So please get in touch early in case you wish to help out.

So far, we have around 45 confirmed teams. These include the who's who of the IT industry (Wipro, Microsoft, Google, SAP, Infosys etc.). NVidia, the brains behind the lush & sharp displays of notebooks worldwide is sending 6 teams (clap, clap). Meanwhile, registrations are still coming in, at a rate of 3-4 per day. Since we allow teams to register on-the-spot, we wouldn't know the final count till after the quiz. We have at least 1 out-station team. NTPC, one of only 10 Navaratnas in the Indian public sector is sending 2 teams all the way from apni Dilli.

We have all the ingredients of a thriller: the best brains pitted against each other in an august setting, live media coverage carrying the emotions to lakhs of listeners across Hyderabad and prizes worth more than Rs. 50,000 at stake. Did I mention the wonderful kids from RUPS who will be there cheering the teams? And you thought IPL was exciting!

P.S. What will it take for Federer to beat Nadal at Roland Garros? An extra "e" in his name? Nadal playing right-handed? More suggestions welcome :)