This being my first presentation at the community level, I was a little afraid that nobody would show up. I had run it at my workplace a couple of times and it was generally liked, but at those times I had access to the audience to explain beforehand what this was about. But now, I could not predict how people would take to this idea based on only a small paragraph in the schedule. I was hoping for the best.
Turns out people did show up. My team and I had to explain the game a few times, and a very few people even left the room after hearing us because they weren't interested in playing a SQL game. But fortunately, most people stayed and participated, and I dare say even enjoyed the experience. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my team of judges/experts/technical support who helped me run the event and improve it way beyond my original idea: Gabe F, Ed S, Patrick B, Adam P, John G, John S, Mark R, Kathy K.
The winning team (Brad, Ranjith, Marc) received a $100 gift card, runners up (Gonzalo, Ryan, Sal) got $50, sponsored by Think Finance. I received some very nice feedback via the session evals:
