Throwback Thursday is all about recalling a point in the past that resonates with overclockers who have been around for a while, usually pinpointing a pivotal moment in history that hopefully provides a welcome touch of nostalgia. This Thursday we recall a day in June 2014 when the Rookie and Novice Leagues were introduced on HWBOT.

Rookie and Novice leagues have in the last two years become two of the most important segments of the Overclocking community. Just a quick look at the numbers on HWBOT tells us that more than 20% percent of all HWBOT members belong to the Rookie and Novice leagues. Contests like the Rookie Rumble and Novice Nimble mean there is a place were non-sub zero overclockers can compete on a level playing field, but most importantly they also act as a nursery where overclockers can get their first taste of competitive OC action before progressing further up the food chain.

Back in June of 2014 however, the expansion of the HWBOT league system to include these two new categories of overclocker was for many, a step into the unknown. The Rookie Rumble, largely through interaction with the XTU benchmark, had already started attracting solid numbers of new comers, but the creation of Rookie and Novice Leagues was motivated by a desire to further integrate these new overclockers into the OC community. Almost exactly two years ago on June 24th 2014, this is what Massman had to say:

“When we launched XTU back in June last year, we had no idea the amount of new overclockers would be as high as it is. Especially for the new overclockers we organized the Rookie Rumble competition series. The Rookie Rumble is a simple overclocking competition featuring three easy benchmarks: XTU, SuperPI and HWBOT Prime. The goal of the competition is straight-forward: we want to familiarize the new overclockers with the overclocking eco-system.”

“The Rookie Rumble competitions are very successful. The fourth edition of the Rookie Rumble brought together almost 350 overclockers in competition. That is amazing for a three-week event! The next step for the Rookies is evidently to start participating in the HWBOT Leagues.”

Read the full post from June 2014 here.