By Warren Coleman ’18
Your average Academic Challenge tournament starts at around 7:00 AM on a Saturday. You splash your face with water, brush your teeth, and throw on some jeans and a sweatshirt, while you wonder why you signed up for something that drags you out of your bed on the weekend. Shaking off the sleep, you rustle downstairs and grab a breakfast bar, snatch your car keys, and shuffle out of the door and into your car.
As you pull into the guest parking lot at University School at 7:30 AM, your mouth is already starting to water in anticipation of the Dunkin’ Donuts—not to mention the Special K protein shakes—that Mr. Gallagher so graciously provided for you and your team.
While on the bus ride, you gorge yourself on donuts and get pumped. Upon arrival at the tournament site, you and your team disembark and scope out the competition, as you walk inside.
Announcements are made and instructions are given, and soon you find yourself in the classroom where the first round of competition will be held. As your team chooses which side to sit on, you shift your gaze to the entrance as the opposing team enters. The first round is about to start.
All too soon after the other team sits down, the first question is read. The first few sentences of the question sound familiar, and you wonder if you’ve had this question before. After a few sentences in, however, you realize what this question wants. Putting the pieces together, you realize why the question sounds familiar: it has to do with the French Revolution, which you did in class last week! You figure out the answer and with the speed of a cheetah you press your thumb down on the buzzer and the satisfying “BEEP” of the buzzer interrupts the thoughts of everyone else. Your heart is pumping as the reader of the question looks towards you in anticipation; you give your answer, and start to remember why you got up at 7:00 AM. Congratulations are given by your teammates, you send a prayer to Mr. Aliazzi thanking him for his teachings, and the reader gives you your bonus questions for getting the main question right.
The rest of the round goes on like this, with each team battling for every point. Questions are asked about topics touched upon in many of your school courses, such as AP Chemistry, world literature, Ancient Roman mythology, current events, and math. Though you don’t know every question that is asked, your teammates are able to fill in for what you are unable to do; your teammates have a special chemistry, which helps you triumph over the other team in a close match, and as you shake your opponents’ hands, you can’t help but think that this tournament is going to be a good one.
At the end of the 2014-2015 academic year, the University School Academic Challenge team competed in Chicago at the national Academic Challenge tournament. Led by team captain Nathan Fakult, the team competed against some tough teams and performed respectfully. This year, with the loss of Nathan Fakult—a veteran player who covered most science and math questions—the current team was tasked with replacing the valuable leader. This year’s captain, Liam O’ Toole—whose strengths are Greek and Roman mythology as well as many other subjects—stepped up to the challenge and filled the role of Nathan Fakult as both a leader and a valuable player. With the leadership of Liam, this year’s team has been led to some impressive victories, such as a 7th place finish at an Olmsted Falls tournament, where many other tough teams showed up and competed. Liam claims that this year’s team’s successes can be attributed to its “tight-knit and fluid” qualities, stemming from a smaller and more dedicated team. We can only expect more great things from this year’s team, so keep an eye out for what will happen next.
If you would like to join the Academic Challenge team, no prerequisites are needed. If you are interested in learning more about the team, speak to seniors Liam O’ Toole and Brian Lettrich, junior Gabe Cohen, sophomore Warren Coleman, or coaches Mr. Gallagher and Dr. O’Neil. The Academic Challenge team meets Tuesdays and Thursdays in Mrs. Fazio’s room next to the English Department offices, and meets from 3:30 to 5:00. Practices are a fun way to introduce yourself to Academic Challenge, so feel free to join in on one!
