DULUTH — Outside the Infinite Energy Arena Thursday afternoon, teenagers were riding carnival rides, eating snow cones and playing a variety of games including bowling with oversized bowling balls and pins. Inside the arena, the first evening of Forward Conference began with a version of “The Dating Game,” on stage in which a student questioned prospective dates he could not see. That was followed by a jousting competition in which representatives from four “tribes” began a competition that will last throughout the weekend.