The fifteenth annual Wright State University Lake Campus Junior Scholastic Bowl will be held on Friday, May 2, at the campus. Twenty area junior high school teams will participate in the double elimination competition. All matches are open to the public.
Junior high schools participating in this year's competition include Antwerp, Celina, Coldwater, Continental, Crestview, Defiance, Ft. Recovery, Holy Rosary (St. Marys), Houston, Lincolnview, Marion Local, New Knoxville, Parkway, Paulding, Paulding Home Educators, St. Henry, St. Joseph (Wapakoneta), St. Marys McBroom, Tinora, and Van Wert Middle School.
The Junior Scholastic Bowl was instituted in 1989 when Eldon Wetter, Lake Campus' Coordinator of Pre-College Programs and Senior Scholastic Bowl Coordinator, decided he "wanted to get the junior high schools involved in scholastic competition. We approached the 16 schools in Auglaize, Mercer, and Van Wert counties first. Only four schools participated in the first competition; by the next year we had 16 teams competing. Now the number of teams competing is 20 from six to eight counties," Wetter says.
Preliminary rounds will begin at 10:30 a.m. Questions, which cover the areas of math/science, social science, and arts/literature, will be asked in alternating order until the final bell is rung at the end of the 15-minute rounds. At the midpoint of each round, timing is halted and substitutions may be made in the teams. The competition follows a double elimination format. In semi-final rounds that begin at approximately 2:50 p.m., four final teams participate, and two teams remain for the final match at 4:05 p.m. In these semi-final and final rounds, a buzzer system for recognition is utilized rather than the alternating question format of preliminary rounds.
Assisting with the competition in the capacity of scorers, student and room assistants, room captains, timers, judges, and moderators who ask the questions, are gifted or curriculum coordinators and faculty advisors from area schools, and faculty, staff, and students from the Lake Campus.
Medals and plaques will be provided by the Western Ohio Educational Foundation (WOEF). The winning team members and their school will receive plaques. The runner-up school will receive a plaque, and runner-up team members will receive individual medals. Every participant will receive a certificate.
"This junior high group will amaze you with how they conduct themselves, what they know, and with their ability to answer some of the questions we ask them," says Wetter. For more information regarding the Junior High Scholastic Bowl, contact Wetter at 419-586-0344 or 1-800-237-1477, extension 8344.
