Colton-Pierrepont whiz kids ponder trip to Atlanta

The Colton-Pierrepont group would have to raise at least a couple of thousand dollars to make the trip to the Peach State a reality.

By MATTHEW BULTMAN

JOHNSON NEWSPAPERS

COLTON — A team of Colton whiz kids may be poised to test its skills in the deep South after proving to be among the best and brightest in the north country.

In January a pair of Colton-Pierrepont Quiz Bowl teams finished one-two in the regional tournament, qualifying both squads for a chance to compete in a national trivia challenge this May in Atlanta.

Now the two teams are waiting for their formal invitations to the Hotlanta Quiz Bowl — and a little financial help.

The group would have to raise at least a couple of thousand dollars to make the trip to the Peach State a reality, which leaders said could prove to be a difficult task.

“We would like to think that we could do it,” Colton-Pierrepont Quiz Bowl adviser and biology teacher Mark T. Lee said. “But once again, one can never be positive.”

The Quiz Bowl is based off the Public Broadcasting System’s “Whiz Quiz” program, an academic trivia challenge that pits north country schools against one another in a “Jeopardy!”-like fashion. Students are peppered with questions from history to biology to American literature, testing their knowledge in a broad range of subjects.

The top three teams in the regional competition qualified for the national tournament, Mr. Lee said, opening the possibility that two teams from Colton-Pierrepont would represent the north country in the nationwide trivia challenge.

After putting in hours of practice and preparation, it would be a shame for the students not to have a chance to compete among the best and brightest in the country because they couldn’t raise the money, Mr. Lee said.

“There would always be that disappointment, but we’re all realists, too,” he said. “This isn’t just an easy thing to accomplish — to fund something like that.”

This wouldn’t be the first time a team from Colton-Pierrepont competed in the national event. Years ago the school won an invitation to Chicago after outwitting its north country trivia neighbors.

The students didn’t fare too well in the Windy City but the experience was worth the trip, Mr. Lee said.

Now, the school is hoping to make its return to the competition. To do so, it will have to raise enough money to cover airfare and hotel accommodations for eight students and a couple of faculty advisers.

But they’re not expecting first-class flights and a stay in the Ritz-Carlton, Mr. Lee said.

“We’re not going for luxury accommodations,” Mr. Lee said. “We’re doing what we can to make it cheaper.”

Mr. Lee presented the Colton-Pierrepont Board of Education with the team’s plight last month. But ultimately, the responsibility for raising the money comes down to the students, he said.

The group is hoping a series of fundraisers may make the trip a reality. Mr. Lee said fundraising was put on hold as students were taking their Regents exams in late January.

Once the teams receive a formal invitation, the money-raising efforts are expected to kick into high gear.

“These are bright kids, motivated kids,” Mr. Lee said. “They’re the type if they want to do it, it’s very important they do a majority of the work making it happen.”