shout

Rock, paper, scissors--a competitive college sport? It is at Carleton. On Saturday afternoon, students faced off in fierce competition, armed only with their bare hands.

Rock, paper, scissors is serious business, explained George Kachergis '07, who put on the tournament. A good knowledge of strategy and psychology are necessary to win. Some competitors regularly commit certain logical fallacies while playing. If you learn to take advantage of the fallacies, "you can stay one step ahead of them and always win."

Rock, paper, scissors even has international tournaments. This year's tournament will be held in Toronto, Canada in November. The first prize is $7000 in Canadian dollars.

The first prize for Carleton's rock, paper, scissors tournament was somewhat smaller at $15 American. Players competed in a round-robin style, breaking up into groups of three and playing every member of their group. The three students with the most wins after the first round went on to the championship round.

When the votes were tabulated after the final round, Wain Yee '07 was declared the winner. He went home with the $15.

George Kachergis says there has been some talk of sponsoring a Carleton team to the rock, paper, scissors championships, but nothing has been done about it yet.

To learn more about RPS strategy and events, visit the website of the World RPS Society at www.worldrps.com.