Hello Alteryx Community!!
We are @kat and @NicoleJohnson! Back in 2018, we took the Grand Prix by storm and made it the year for women solvers, taking the Grand Prix Champion title home at both Inspire Europe and Inspire North America!! We are excited to answer any questions you have today around our Grand Prix experiences: how we prepared for the race, what the competition was like, our favorite tools to use, best songs on our playlists that got us pumped up... whatever you want to know!!
And if you’re interested in competing in the Alteryx Grand Prix (you should!!), check out this blog post about registering for Grand Prix 2021!
We’ll be online for the next hour (10-11am PST) to answer alllll your questions - just leave a comment below! Ready... Set... Go!
Cheers!
Kat & Nicole
PHOTO: Kat & Nicole after Kat's Grand Prix victory in London (along with pit crew extraordinaire, Dan Hare!)
@LaurenU - "What was your motivation to register?"
I think I had run out of Weekly Challenges and needed something else fun to do 🙂 Really though, I had done prelims a few times before, just for kicks, and I never expected to actually make it to the big stage - I was just doing the prelims for fun because it was entertaining to try to solve the challenges in a time crunch! Also, fun fact, I technically *didn't* make it past the prelims for 2018... but because one of the top 3 wasn't able to attend, I ended up coming in as a backup... so I guess that just goes to show that it ain't over till it's over! And even if you aren't on stage, it's still super fun to challenge yourself to see how fast you can go.
@NicoleJohnson both of your performances were inspirational!
I didn't plan to take part in the Grand Prix until just before. I was doing all the weekly challenges and loving them. At some point I realised that I was in the Top 10. I kept going and finished them all.
So at some point I decided to just give the Grand Prix a shot. To be honest I figured I'd just see what the prelims are like - never figured I'd get through them. Passing them gave me the confidence to take part.
Still remember that moment @CailinS called me at work to tell me I was in... 🤩
@kat - I'm curious if there was a moment when you thought you weren't going to make it... and/or was there a moment when you knew you were going to win?? 🙂
I think I mostly remember being surprised I had finished the third round - it was like I was on auto-pilot at the end there, the focus was so intense!
@NicoleJohnson I remember getting the first question and thinking, OK, I can do this. Just motored through and ignored everything else.
Then in the second (and final round) it got a bit tricky. I remember seeing my answer and thinking it was totally wrong. That's when @ShaanM waved the flag and I was all like 'Whaaaaat?!'
Basically, everything after that was a blur. It took a good couple of minutes to register that I'd won where I was just giving all kinds of answers 😂
How about you?
@kat @NicoleJohnson Will either of you return to the stage to go for the championship one more time? Or come back to the stage as a pit crew?
@NicoleJohnson and @kat ,
as a partner I'm not allowed to compete (that's the only reason. Honest.) Do you think we should be allowed to compete or would you keep it just for customers?
How about a separate partner event?
I'd gladly be a pit crew (if anyone's recruiting, give me a shout 😁), but I think for now that's where it ends 🙂
Hey @NicoleJohnson and @kat!
Very important question: How incredible did you feel the morning after you won? Maybe you ordered a room service mimosa and started the day off with a dance party? Maybe you were too excited to even sleep?
Would love to hear some behind the scenes details!
@kat - my experience was so similar! I felt like I crushed the first round - solved it in like 6 minutes or something - and then alllll went down hill during Round 2 haha. Round 3 I was so mad that I didn't finish Round 2, I just hunkered down, renewed my focus, and tuned out EVERYTHING else. When I finally got it, I had a split second to be surprised... just long enough to notice Matt next to me had his flag waving at the same time!! Nothing like a photo finish and having to go back stage for instant replay to keep your heart racing for a few minutes 🙂
Let's be honest, I'm still not entirely sure what happened... I agree, it's all a blur!