CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A new academic quiz competition for West Virginia high school students will showcase dozens of students in the coming weeks.
West Virginia Senate President Craig Blair, State Board of Education President Miller Hall, State Superintendent of Schools W. Clayton Burch and West Virginia’s Chancellor of Higher Education Sarah Armstrong Tucker announced the new Academic Showdown during a press conference at the State Capitol Wednesday.
“We have our best and brightest. We need to showcase them just like we showcase student-athletes,” Blair said, who has been credited with the idea for the competition.
The West Virginia Academic Showdown is a head-to-head competition between West Virginia high school teams, and a partnership among the West Virginia Department of Education, the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, West Virginia Public Broadcasting, and the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture, and History, a release said.
Burch said 29 teams from 19 schools are participating as part of the inaugural year. He added 25 more teams want to participate in 2023.
Competition questions cover literature, math, history, science, geography, fine arts, religion/mythology, social science, philosophy, current events, pop culture and general knowledge. Schools may create teams of four students from Grades 9 – 12 with an optional fifth team member who serves as an alternate. Twenty-nine (29) teams from 19 schools are participating as part of the inaugural year.
The program begins Jan. 15, at Marshall University as the first of five regional matches. Other regional matches include:
Jan. 22, Region 5 at Shepherd University, Frank Arts Center
Jan. 29, Region 4 at West Virginia University, Mountainlair Ballrooms
Feb. 12, Region 3 at Concord University, Alexander Fine Arts Building, Main Auditorium
Feb. 19, Region 2 West Virginia State University, Fannin S. Belcher Theatre, Davis Fine Arts Center
March 25, Championship at West Virginia Culture Center
“It is always important to celebrate the achievements of our scholars similar to how we celebrate the student-athlete,” Blair said in a release. “These youngsters have committed themselves to academic excellence and are eager to engage in the intellectual sparring that the Showdown offers. We are excited to give the teams a platform to compete at this level.”
Tucker said that universities will host the regionals to bring the state’s top scholars and family members to campus allowing them to explore college offerings and student life more closely.
“We’re so thrilled that higher education had the opportunity to be part of this unprecedented new program, and I know that each of our inaugural host universities plan to roll-out exceptional regional events for the teams,” said Tucker in a release.
“I can’t imagine a better way to showcase our colleges and universities to academic stand-outs from across the state. This is a shining example of how K-12 and higher education continue to work together to support students in reaching their fullest potential.”
The West Virginia Academic Showdown utilizes official National Academic Quiz Tournaments questions for all regional and championship matches. Because the competitions will be held in succession, questions may be repeated at multiple sites, therefore, recordings will not be permitted during the events.