The State motto of Alabama, Audemus Nostra Jura Defendere, or “We dare to defend our rights” has been in place since 1939. The title of this article, Audemus Victoriam in “Coniurationi Latinae” Pertinere, or “We dare to seek victory at Latin Convention” came within my mind in about twenty seconds. Nevertheless, despite the hastiness of my thoughts, they are true! We sought, and obtained, victory in several fields.
At Latin Convention, one can compete in many different events. For example, there are a plethora of athletic competitions that one may choose to partake in, like the Discus Throw, Lyles Sprint, and Carthage Relay. If Athletics are not your forte, there are many academic events to shine in. Those academic events were where the students of Bob Jones shone the brightest.
In the Cartamen (Scholar’s Bowl) tournament, the Bob Jones team (Eric Joy, Alex Hayes, Lily Harper, and Thalia Carlson) progressed to the Semifinals, only losing to defending champions ASFA in a hotly contested match. On the performance, Eric Joy had this to say:
“We were close. We had the lead halfway through and then those several close misses killed us. At least we did better than last year, I suppose.”
Luckily, Bob Jones was blessed with more victories in the Academic Olympiad: a series of tests among other challenges designed to determine who is the biggest Latin nerd in History, Olympic History, Grammar, Mythology, and Vocabulary. Of the five tests, Bob Jones took home an award in four of them! In addition, we had someone win a “main event” award for the first time! Those awards are as follows:
Eric Joy – 1st Place Advanced History
Lily Harper – Mythology Bee Champion (First time in school history), 2nd Place Advanced Olympic History, 2nd Place Advanced Grammar, 2nd Place Advanced Mythology
Alex Hayes – 1st Place Advanced Grammar
Lily was relieved in winning the Mythology Bee, saying “It makes up for the fact I got second place in three tests.”
This was a great time for everyone involved, and we aim for the same success or higher l in the 2026 iteration of the Convention!
