Jordan Brownstein received the award through the vote of the ACF membership. Jordan’s list of accomplishments is so deep and wide that a summary barely suffices. As an editor, few have been as prolific as Jordan, who has been the head editor of numerous circuit events, from prestigious all-subject tournaments such as Chicago Open to well-received side events such as Jordaens and QBOWLOSM. As an ACF member, he has contributed to an ACF tournament each year since 2018. As a mentor, his judicious advice has guided a whole generation of quizbowl. As a theorist, he has made a lasting mark on the questions we play, especially themed questions and common links in the humanities. As a technologist, he’s given us a helpful playtesting bot and slick visual displays of buzzpoint statistics. And as a player, he’s one of the very very best. For these myriad accomplishments and more, Jordan is truly deserving of this award.
Starting a few years ago, ACF has empowered a committee of former Carper winners who are also ACF members to select a second winner each year. This year, in a tie vote, the committee recognizes Kyle Haddad-Fonda and Selene Koo.
Kyle Haddad-Fonda is one of the few quizbowlers who has made a lasting mark as a player and organizer in multiple countries. After a high school career in the Seattle area that culminated in an HSNCT final for the ages, he quickly set about modernizing the Harvard club. Despite setbacks that included getting locked into a game room whose emergency door had been painted shut, Kyle’s evenhanded leadership helped turn Harvard from an afterthought into one of the most active programs in the country. After embarking to England for a graduate program at Oxford, Kyle became a key early figure in the ongoing British quizbowl boom, organizing events (including promoting the Oxford Inter-Collegiate Quiz and reviving the British Student Quiz Championships) and directing tournaments. To this day, Kyle edits NAQT’s high school sets for Asian audiences, helping quizbowl’s spread on a third continent. We’re pleased to be recognizing Kyle for all he’s done to promote the game.
Selene Koo is one of quizbowl’s all-time great champions. In four years starting in 2007, she won six out of eight national titles and helped Chicago become one of the most formidable science teams ever. In 2011, she stepped into Chicago’s top scorer role and led the team to a third-place finish at ICT and a high top-bracket finish at Nationals (whose final placement stats are lost); she also won her second Chicago Open that year. As an editor, Selene worked on circuit events (particularly ACF Fall, J.S. Mill, EFT, and Sack of Antwerp), and served for many years as a biochem editor for NAQT’s college events, a role she retains in an advisory capacity through her husband, Seth Teitler. The history of college quizbowl would be incomplete without recognizing Selene as one of the most fearsome science players and greatest winners the game has ever seen.
ACF is thrilled to recognize Jordan, Kyle, and Selene for their distinguished careers! Please join me in congratulating them!