Ten teams clashed, and one walked away victorious in an annual Quiz Bowl held in Mount Airy.
The 10 teams included all five traditional high schools in Surry County and teams from Alleghany High School, South Stokes High School and the Surry, Stokes and Yadkin Early Colleges.
They met at the Andy Griffith Playhouse in Mount Airy bright and early Saturday morning to take part in the decades’ long tradition known as Quiz Bowl.
Teams sent four representatives to the stage at a time to take on another school’s contingent of four in a series of questions covering a number of subject matters ranging from history to the arts. Teams were scored based on how many questions they answered correctly, and the points-value of questions corresponded with the level of difficulty.
They competed on a head-to-head basis, working their ways through the 10-team, double elimination bracket.
Homer Dearmin, King’s city manager, served as the event’s moderator and said the contingents sent by each school were filled with tomorrow’s success stories.
“The Quiz Bowl represents the best and brightest of our young people,” said Dearmin.
Dearmin took part in the event throughout his high school years at East Surry High School. He went on to be a judge for seven years and has moderated the event for the past three years.
“We have some great students who take part and some great sponsors,” added Dearmin. “It really is a worthwhile effort.”
Though many students and teams showed an exceptional knowledge of the many categories covered by questions, it was the contingent from Surry Central which rose above all others.
The team did not suffer a single defeat as it made its way through the bracket. Eventually, the Surry Central students would finish on top of the team from Elkin High School by a score of 125-85.
Quiz Bowl is sponsored by the Northwestern Regional Library, which consists of libraries in Alleghany, Stokes, Surry and Yadkin Counties.
Joan Sherif, the library system’s director, said the Quiz Bowl has been taking place for more than 30 years, and she noted the library system is happy to have hosted the competition for so many years.
“It gives us the opportunity to work more closely with the schools and the community throughout the region,” said Sherif. “It is very rewarding to work with these students. We never get tired of it.”
The team from Surry Central, consisting of Daniel Alvarez, Seth Buie, Jackson Gates, Brandon Norman, Austin Poplin and Daniela Rodriguez and sponsored by Melissa Venable, solidified its spot in the state Quiz Bowl with its win on Saturday. That competition will be held on April 29 in Lee County.
