Answering a variety of questions that most would find beyond challenging, the team from the St. Croix Country Day School came from a 21-point deficit to successfully continue their championship reign on Monday.
Each of the six teams consisted of five members and one alternate and, while the entire team was well-versed on general knowledge questions, each member had their own specialty that allowed them to shine at this year’s annual Virgin Islands Quiz Bowl.
The televised tournament took place at the Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School on St. Thomas.
Carli Thomas correctly spelled “x-e-r-o-p-h-t-h-a-l-m-i-a” for Charlotte Amalie High School’s team, resulting in a well-deserved round of applause from an audience made up of friends and parents.
“My specialty is math, current events and history,” said Thomas. “Oh and spelling, of course,” she added.
Unfortunately the Presidential Scholars of CAHS came up short in this particular battle against Antilles School, losing 205 to 190 points.
For those wishing to play along at home, the following are actual Quiz Bowl questions that were answered correctly. Test your knowledge and check your answers at the end of this article.
1. Calculate to one significant digit the normality of a solution made by 37 grams of calcium hydroxide in 500 milliliters of water.
2. Of the 32 permanent teeth, 12 are molars, cuspids, bicuspids, canines or incisors?
3. Which American sculptor remarked,”Disparity in color, size, weight and motion is what makes a composition.”
Monday’s brackets were established earlier and set the stage for the double-elimination tournament. This year’s teams were the St. Croix Country Day School, All Saints Cathedral School, Antilles School, Charlotte Amalie High School, Ivanna Eudora Kean High School and St. Croix Central High School.
Each round of the two-day event consisted of a wide variety of questions that included math, history, geography and current events. The second round allowed the teams to confer while having each team captain respond. The third was a timed 60-second lightning round.
Finally a “stump the experts” round allowed for higher points being awarded for the most difficult of the day’s questions. Like any other competitive sport, congratulatory high-fives and fist bumps among team members kept the energy level at its maximum throughout the afternoon.
Antilles bested Country Day 205 to 190 in Game 9, forcing a 10th and final game in order to determine this year’s champion. Antilles’ School qualified for the final showdown having had only one loss in the tournament.
The final game was hosted by quiz master Sam Topp who, at times, inserted folksy humor to break the tension amongst the competitors.
Tied at 45 apiece after the first round, Antilles’ led 110-60 at the end of the second round. Country Day selected Ben Franklin as its topic for the timed round, while Antilles’ went with the topic of 2nd century A.D.
That brought the score to within 20 points entering into round four.
But it was the one-two punch of Country Day team captain Liam Marin and fellow teammate Nathan Peacock who brought it home for the win with a rapid succession of correct answers, topping Antilles 240 to 205.
This was the third year in a row for the “Guys and Girls and Guys” of Country Day and the second defeat in the final round for the Antilles Brainstormers.
St. Croix Country Day will now advance to the national competition, representing the territory in Washington, D.C., in May. The Country Day team will graduate four of its seniors in the spring which makes it anyone’s Quiz Bowl next year.
The 35th annual Virgin Islands Quiz Bowl was sponsored by the American Federation of Teachers-Local 1825 and WTJX-Channel 12. Henrietta Warner coordinates the games.
The scores for each of Monday’s games were as follows:
Game 8 – Antilles School 235, Ivan Eudora Kean 135
Game 7 – St. Croix Country Day 210, Charlotte Amalie 160
Game 9 – Antilles School 230, Charlotte Amalie 180
Game 10 – Antilles School 205, St. Croix Country Day 190
Game 11 – Antilles School 205, St. Croix Country Day 240
Answers to our Quiz Bowl questions;
Answer 1 – 2.
Answer 2 – molars
Answer 3 – Alexander Calder
