Gluttony for charity
I don't normally make my posts public these days, but I would like for as many people as possible to see this. Next session, in three or four weeks, (probably July 22 or 29) members of the CTY staff will be holding their triennial pizza-eating contest. This year, after consulting with some of the administration in Baltimore, I have decided to turn the contest into a fundraiser, with proceeds going towards a CTY scholarship. I feel strongly that CTY should be available to gifted students from all backgrounds, and this is my way of trying to help. Whether you're a former student, current or former staff, or just like the idea of nerd camp, you too can help support this cause.
The fundraiser will be similar to a "walk-a-thon" style pledge drive. Donors can choose to sponsor one or more competitors for their efforts in the contest, with greater donations promised for greater pizza consumption. Typically, pledges would take the form of some set amount per slice eaten, but since this is nerd camp, I figure we can be a bit more flexible. Sponsors can feel free to pledge donations based on any mathematical formula of their choosing, provided that it is a) non-negative for all possible number of slices eaten -- i.e., you never take money away from the scholarship -- and b) monotonically non-decreasing -- i.e., i.e., the amount of your donation can never decreasd as the number of slices eaten increases. In addition to the standard dollars-per-slice model, other simple donation models that are allowed in this format include a single flat donation for a competitor, and a dollars-per-slice donation with a ceiling -- say, $5 per slice, with a maximum donation of $50 at 10 or more slices.
If you are interested in contributing, it may help to know a bit about typical pizza-eating results, so that you can choose a donation formula appropriately. The "main event" at the pizza-eating competition is the deep-dish Sicilian bracket. Most competitors consume between 4 and 8 slices in this bracket. The winning total in both 2000 and 2003 was 10 slices, and the overall record is 11 slices. A Sicilian pizza at our pizzeria of choice has 12 slices, and I would love to see someone finish the whole pie off. Last contest, a thin-crust bracket was introduced, with a winning total of 4 slices -- the more prodigious eaters tend to prefer the Sicilian bracket. However, competitors could certainly put up huge totals on thin-crust. We may also be instituting a tag-team bracket, for two-person teams eating the Sicilian pizza. Again, the biggest eaters will probably opt for the singles bracket, but a good tag team may well finish a whole pizza.
Of course, sponsors will want to know who the competitors are. For starters, I will be competing. I was the contest winner in both 2000 and 2003, and announced my retirement after my second victory, but I am coming out of retirement to compete in exhibition, to support the fundraiser. As I mentioned above, my winning total was 10 slices each time, though this year, I will probably aim for 6 to 8 slices. tiurin is also competing this year, and he estimates his capacity around 6 to 8 as well. Peter, a (presently pseudonymous) computer science TA, is also entering the Sicilian bracket. Foxtrot, the Astro instructor, will be eating in the thin-crust bracket. sammka is participating as well, with a stated target (as the official Zeno) of 2 slices. Other competitors will be added to this list as I hear of them.
If you would like to sponsor a competitor, you can leave a comment in this entry, or e-mail me at my-LJ-username AT gmail DOT com. Even if you don't have a specific competitor and donation formula in mind, I would like to get a sense for the interest in this fundraiser. Details for sending in the donations themselves will be announced when I get some additional clarification from Baltimore. Feel free to spread the word about this fundraiser to others who might be interested, though I would prefer that knowledge be limited to current and former staff and their friends, and former students. We try to keep current students from learning about the pizza-eating contest, though I certainly hope that some of them will benefit from it.
-TT
The fundraiser will be similar to a "walk-a-thon" style pledge drive. Donors can choose to sponsor one or more competitors for their efforts in the contest, with greater donations promised for greater pizza consumption. Typically, pledges would take the form of some set amount per slice eaten, but since this is nerd camp, I figure we can be a bit more flexible. Sponsors can feel free to pledge donations based on any mathematical formula of their choosing, provided that it is a) non-negative for all possible number of slices eaten -- i.e., you never take money away from the scholarship -- and b) monotonically non-decreasing -- i.e., i.e., the amount of your donation can never decreasd as the number of slices eaten increases. In addition to the standard dollars-per-slice model, other simple donation models that are allowed in this format include a single flat donation for a competitor, and a dollars-per-slice donation with a ceiling -- say, $5 per slice, with a maximum donation of $50 at 10 or more slices.
If you are interested in contributing, it may help to know a bit about typical pizza-eating results, so that you can choose a donation formula appropriately. The "main event" at the pizza-eating competition is the deep-dish Sicilian bracket. Most competitors consume between 4 and 8 slices in this bracket. The winning total in both 2000 and 2003 was 10 slices, and the overall record is 11 slices. A Sicilian pizza at our pizzeria of choice has 12 slices, and I would love to see someone finish the whole pie off. Last contest, a thin-crust bracket was introduced, with a winning total of 4 slices -- the more prodigious eaters tend to prefer the Sicilian bracket. However, competitors could certainly put up huge totals on thin-crust. We may also be instituting a tag-team bracket, for two-person teams eating the Sicilian pizza. Again, the biggest eaters will probably opt for the singles bracket, but a good tag team may well finish a whole pizza.
Of course, sponsors will want to know who the competitors are. For starters, I will be competing. I was the contest winner in both 2000 and 2003, and announced my retirement after my second victory, but I am coming out of retirement to compete in exhibition, to support the fundraiser. As I mentioned above, my winning total was 10 slices each time, though this year, I will probably aim for 6 to 8 slices. tiurin is also competing this year, and he estimates his capacity around 6 to 8 as well. Peter, a (presently pseudonymous) computer science TA, is also entering the Sicilian bracket. Foxtrot, the Astro instructor, will be eating in the thin-crust bracket. sammka is participating as well, with a stated target (as the official Zeno) of 2 slices. Other competitors will be added to this list as I hear of them.
If you would like to sponsor a competitor, you can leave a comment in this entry, or e-mail me at my-LJ-username AT gmail DOT com. Even if you don't have a specific competitor and donation formula in mind, I would like to get a sense for the interest in this fundraiser. Details for sending in the donations themselves will be announced when I get some additional clarification from Baltimore. Feel free to spread the word about this fundraiser to others who might be interested, though I would prefer that knowledge be limited to current and former staff and their friends, and former students. We try to keep current students from learning about the pizza-eating contest, though I certainly hope that some of them will benefit from it.
-TT