by
Keith Strange
Staff Reporter
Mount Airy News
Keith Strange | The News
Teams from North Surry High School and Surry Central High School faced off at the annual Quiz Bowl Saturday during the early rounds.
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Rather than sleeping in Saturday morning, a group of students from eight area schools converged on the Andy Griffith Playhouse to the annual Quiz Bowl.
This year, following what moderator Brack Llewelyn called the “Battle of Dobson,” Surry Central High School beat Surry Early College 155 — 75 to take home top honors.
This year the eight teams competing include East Surry High School, North Surry High School, Surry Central High School, Surry Early College, Elkin High School, Stokes Early College, South Stokes High School and Yadkin Early College.
According to Quiz Bowl spokeswoman Joan Sherif, the academic competition started in the area in 1980 and has continued for nearly three decades. It is a single-elimination competition between high school teams who compete in subjects including language, social studies, arts, science and current events.
Each match pits two high school teams against each other to earn the most correct answers and points. Sherif said Quiz Bowl is sponsored by the 13 libraries of the Northwestern Regional Library in Alleghany, Stokes, Surry and Yadkin counties as well as the Elkin Friends of the Library and Mount Airy Friends of the Library.
The annual academic competition between high school teams consists of three rounds. Questions in the first round are 10 points, questions count 20 points each in the second round and 30 points in the third. Participants can consult among themselves for answers in the second and third rounds.
The competition, which was originally scheduled for January but was postponed due to the weather, began through a random drawing, pitting Stokes Early College against Yadkin Early College.
Sherif said the competition has been running for nearly three decades.
“We have a tradition going on here today that’s older than any of the contestants, and probably older than some of the teachers,” she said to the laughter of the crowd.
By the second round of the single elimination competition, the teams had been whittled down to four teams, with Surry County heavily represented: Stokes Early College, Surry Central High School, East Surry High School and Surry Early College.
Questions ranged from identifying the person most recently elected North Carolina governor to more scientific, such as how degrees Kelvin are converted to degrees Celsius, and by the final round the two remaining teams were Surry Central and Surry Early College.
Stokes Early College was eliminated in the semi-final round by Surry Central High School with a score of 160-10. The second competition in the semi-finals pitted East Surry High School against Surry Early College, and ended with the Early College defeating the high school 125-75.
Sherif said she hopes to see the competition continue well into the future.
“It’s been a lively, fun program. We really do look forward to the quiz bowl and seeing what the students do. They are fantastic,” said Sherif. She said Surry Central was the winning team last year in a close match with Elkin High School who was the runner up.
Sherif said over the years she has seen participants such as East Surry High School English teacher Terry Collins come full circle and return as sponsors for academic teams. She said another supporter of the competition is Pilot Mountain Town Manager Homer Dearmin.
“That’s what makes it exciting,” continued Sherif. “Mount Airy and the playhouse are such a good place to have this event. The theater adds so much and participants love to go downtown after the quiz bowl and eat, shop and just walk around. You see the generations of those involved. There has been an active tradition with this, and it’s been fun to see. We even have a traveling trophy that moves between the schools that win.”
Reach Keith Strange at kstrange@civitasmedia.com or 719-1929.
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