TASHA C. BARTCH ‘06 (left) wins a Simpsons board game by singing “My name is Tasha and I didn’t pass the test. I feel really dumb ’cause I go to Harvard.” Along with hundreds of students, Bartch competed for a spot on “Jeopardy! College Championship.”

More than 1,000 students crowded into Loker Commons yesterday afternoon to test whether their Harvard education had prepared them for the ultimate intellectual trivia challenge: the “Jeopardy! College Championship.”

Many in the mass of eager would-be contestants staked out a spot in Loker a few hours before the 10-question trivia quiz, which would determine who had the knowledge to move on to the national competition.

A few hours later, some dreams were dashed as the sea was whittled down to 150 candidates who went on for a second round of questioning.

Out of 30 candidates who participated in a mock version of “Jeopardy!” last night, only one lucky student—whose name will be announced this morning—will go on to compete with 14 other contestants in the national competition at Yale on Oct. 3.

Contestant Coordinator Maggie Speak said she would not select students for their abilities to memorize an almanac, but for a certain star quality.

“People often forget that “Jeopardy!” is a game,” she said. “It’s not just knowing the info, but having fun, too.”

But Speak said she deliberately chose to recruit a Harvard contestant—in addition to a Yalie and 13 other college students—to make sure the show isn’t all fun and games.

Looking out over a sea of students in Loker, Speak said the show would play up the Harvard-Yale rivalry while giving the Yalies home court advantage.

Undergraduate Council President Rohit Chopra ’04 spearheaded the plan to bring a quiz show to Harvard and started sending letters to various television shows in July

He said the show was Harvard’s opportunity to beat that infamous—and inferior—New Haven institution on a national stage.

“We will show everyone that we can take on Yale on ‘Jeopardy!’ and then beat them again on the football field,” he said.

Loker teemed with contestants and rubberneckers yesterday afternoon, as Harvard students fought for the coveted buzzer spot that many had fantasized about since childhood.

“I guarantee a Harvard victory,” said Aaron S. Byrd ’05, who eagerly crossed back and forth from the Loker doors to the testing room entrance, too wired to wait in line. “I watch ‘Jeopardy!’ every day. I have seen at least 500 episodes.”

C.J. Santullo ’06 said he dreams of beating out his classmates—and one-upping the host himself.

“When I was little, my parents asked me what I wanted to be, and I said, ‘Alex Trebek.’ The closer I get to him, the better chance I have of stealing his job,” he said.