CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Nearly 100 students from across West Virginia have studied for months in hopes of becoming the state’s grand prize winner of the 2017 History Bowl Championship.
The competition got underway Tuesday morning at the state Culture Center in Charleston.
Two dozen teams from 15 schools in 14 counties were in town to answer nearly 2,000 questions prepared by the state Division of Culture and History’s Archives staff.
“Culture, history, politics, current events, climate — it’s anything having to do with West Virginia,” said Matthew McGrew, coordinator of the History Bowl.
The tournament includes lightening rounds resulting in a double-elimination.
“We start out with eight rooms going simultaneously and we slower widdle it down until there’s just one left standing,” McGrew said.
Eighth grade students are required to take a West Virginia history course in school. McGrew said it’s important to learn about state history.
“You get to see how you fit into that larger, broader context of world and national history. You get to learn how Nitro was founded during World War I to support our troops there. You see how it all ties into the larger picture,” he said.
Eighth graders in public, private and home-school education programs were eligible to participate in the competition.
The winning team will be announced Tuesday afternoon.
Competitors include the following teams:
Cameron High School Team 1 (Cameron, Marshall County, Region 6)
Cameron High School Team 2 (Cameron, Marshall County, Region 6)
East Hardy Early/Middle School (Baker, Hardy County, Region 8)
Jackson Middle School Team 1 (Vienna, Wood County, Region 5)
Jackson Middle School Team 2 (Vienna, Wood County, Region 5)
Keyser Middle School (Keyser, Mineral County, Region 8)
Madison Middle School Team 1 (Madison, Boone County, Region 3)
Madison Middle School Team 2 (Madison, Boone County, Region 3)
Mountain View Elementary/ Middle School Team 1 (Union, Monroe County, Region 1)
Mountain View Elementary/Middle School Team 2 (Union, Monroe County, Region 1)
Pendleton County Middle/High School (Franklin, Pendleton County, Region 8)
Peterstown Middle School Team 1 (Peterstown, Monroe County, Region 1)
Peterstown Middle School Team 2 (Peterstown, Monroe County, Region 1)
Shady Spring Middle School Team 1 (Shady Spring, Raleigh County, Region 1)
Shady Spring Middle School Team 2 (Shady Spring, Raleigh County, Region 1)
Sissonville Middle School (Charleston, Kanawha County, Region 3)
South Middle School Team 1 (Morgantown, Monongalia County, Region 7)
South Middle School Team 2 (Morgantown, Monongalia County, Region 7)
Summers Middle School (Hinton, Summers County, Region 1)
Summersville Middle School Team 1 (Summersville, Nicholas County, Region 4)
Summersville Middle School Team 2 (Summersville, Nicholas County, Region 4)
St. Joseph Parish School (Martinsburg, Berkeley County, Region 8)
Wayne Middle School Team 1 (Wayne, Wayne County, Region 2)
Wayne Middle School Team 2 (Wayne, Wayne County, Region 2)