It’s like the Olympics but for… Microsoft?
To all our spreadsheet lovers and aspiring accountants, this one’s for you! Microsoft hosts an international Excel spreadsheet championship (because of course, it does).
The Microsoft Office Special World Championship is a global competition that tests its contestants’ skills on Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
In the third and second place, both winners can win up to $1,500 and $3,500 respectively, alongside a medal and a winner’s certificate. However, no reward compares to the top prize. In first place, the prize includes a trophy, a medal, a certificate and a whopping $7,000!
The Competition
The competition began in the early 2000s and now hosts 100+ countries, with contestants ranging between the ages of 13-22.
According to Makeuseof.com, the competition is composed of three categories: Data Relays, Chart Gymnastics, and Formula Wrestling.
Data Relays require contestants to access and manipulate data. Chart Gymnastics requires contestants to visually represent data. Finally, Formula Wrestling requires contestants to use formulas to solve equations. The tasks are exhaustive, testing each competitor’s math time, and efficiency skills.
The format of the competition varies. Contestants can choose between 2013 or 2016 versions of Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, or Excel. Altogether, the competition offers six winners per category and version.
To qualify, contestants must pass a Microsoft Specialist Exam from one of the three categories/ versions and apply online.
Ready, Set, Graph!
Although the championship is marketed as an “Olympic” competition, it can best be understood as a competitive scholarship. That being said, some contestants still perceive it as a high-stakes endeavor (and who can blame them, the prize money is insane!)
In an interview with the New York Post, 2017’s Excel championship winner John Dumoulin shared his experience:
“Some of the foreign countries, they’ve been training for hours and hours and hours on end. When you first meet the international students, everyone’s friendly, but when they find out you’re competing against them in the same category, they get this fire in their eyes. They want to win.”
According to Aaron Osmond, the general manager of Certiport, the company running the competition, the completion hopes to spread awareness over Microsoft’s computer software to high-school and college-aged students, at a time when having these skills has become a necessary skill within the modern workplace.
One thing for sure is this, while we lie about our proficiency in Excel in our CVs, these contestants are actual geniuses.
