Seventh and eighth graders from 12 local Junior High schools participated in the 2022 ESC Jr. High Quiz Bowl Tournament at the South Central Ohio Educational Service Center, in New Boston, on Wednesday, November 2. Participating schools included Clay, East, Green, Minford, New Boston, Northwest, Notre Dame, Portsmouth, South Webster, Valley, West, and Wheelersburg.

The Valley Jr. High Team, led by Coach Dale Foster, won the Championship, with the Runner-Up title going to the Green Jr. High Team, led by Coach Kelly Skipworth.

Each team played two matches to determine which two teams would advance to the Championship Round. The matches include questions in six categories including Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Fine Arts and Religion/Mythology. There is also a 12 question alphabet round in which all answers begin with the same letter. The matches conclude with a Lightning Round where students buzz in to answer questions from a wide variety of topics. The Valley and Green teams were undefeated in their two matches and had the most total points so they were the two teams that advanced to the Championship Round.

Dale Foster (coach for the Valley team) commented, “We would like to thank Sharee Price and the ESC for putting on such a great quiz bowl tournament. Our kids love getting to participate and they especially like getting the opportunity to compete against other schools and getting to know students from other schools. The thing I like most about this tournament is that the kids get a chance to display their talents and interact with kids from other schools. I would like to congratulate all schools for participating and especially Green for their being runners-up and their tremendous display of sportsmanship. I would like to congratulate my team for their hard work and effort on winning this year’s event. Also, thanks to the staff at Valley for being such great educators and helping all our students succeed.”

“Participating in academic competitions like this helps students build self-confidence, improve their teamwork and collaboration skills, and it increases intrinsic motivation. I am always amazed by the students’ knowledge and ability to think on their feet during competition,” said Sharee Price, ESC Gifted Services coordinator and coordinator of the event. “This year I was truly impressed with the display of good sportsmanship during the tournament, especially during the championship round.”