Draw ensures Trans Tasman trophy stays in Victoria
One evening recently the students gathered, one group sitting in East Gippsland and the other a couple of thousand kilometres away in New Zealand, to lock horns in the annual Trans Tasman Challenge and the right to take home the Pat Farry Memorial Trophy Cup.
The videoconference link up with Otago University Medical School students provided teams the opportunity to observe, and to pick up any added advantages (aka study, also aka as cheating) during the 25 questions quiz.
The challenge opened with the New Zealand students, in a change from the traditional Haka, singing something resembling their National Anthem! East Gippsland students followed with a rendition of a clever variation of the Australian National Anthem written by David Campbell.
Scores ran evenly throughout the first two rounds with the third round of “beat the buzzer” seeing some rather questionable tactics! In the end an amiable draw was agreed upon thus ensuring the Cup remains in Australia for another year.
The Trans Tasman Challenge is an important event on the East Gippsland Regional Clinical School calendar and has become a tradition which continues to foster the friendly rivalry between ANZAC nations.