Non-sports competitions for adults
November 24, 2013 8:46 AM   Subscribe

I'm most productive when I'm being competitive and there's outside pressure. I'd like to find some competitions or groups to give me this opportunity.

In college I satisfied this itch with intercollegiate debate and a weekly short-form theater night called No Shame Theater. Debate was fun because it was a game you played to win, but it also had a lot of room for innovation and creativity, which I indulged in. No Shame isn't exactly a competition, but it's a theater open-mic night where you can present a five-minute play each week. People always tried to up the ante and make a better play than theirs last week, and so there was a lot of pressure to make your play the best it could be and impress the audience.

In each case, there were lots of people to answer to, and lots of people trying to out-innovate, but there were also a lot of resources to build from. I miss this! I'd love to find some group or adult competition, non-physical in nature, where I have the opportunity to both create interesting things and compete. Frequent meetings in-person a must. Chicago-based a plus.

Scav's a lot of fun but only once a year.

Magic: the Gathering is straight out.
posted by LSK to Grab Bag (3 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Maybe Toastmasters?
posted by SisterHavana at 11:08 AM on November 24, 2013


I tried to satisfy similar wishes by doing various semi-competitive gamified technical things online. From your past questions it sounded like you were open to technical things, but it fails hard on your requirement for lots of face time. You're describing exactly the type of involvement that college life is best suited for. For better or worse, once out of college most people avoid highly competitive hobbies and don't prioritize activities that need frequent attendance. The few who are usually pretty scattered geographically.

On the off chance you might like them, see if you have a nearby hackerspace or maker space, or some other kind of "community center" for people with that college mindset.
posted by Nomyte at 2:03 PM on November 24, 2013


It's not for everyone, but I scratch this itch with chess tournaments.
posted by dfan at 6:10 AM on November 25, 2013


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