Greater Latrobe Senior High School to host national quiz competition
Elementary and middle school students from around the region will test their knowledge this weekend during a unique competition at Greater Latrobe Senior High School.
The International Academic Competition will host its Pennsylvania Winter Regional Final competition Saturday in a 10-hour event.
This is the first time the group has hosted a competition at the school, but one of its regional directors, Scott Fowler, has local ties.
“Western Pa. is a tough area for academic teams,” said Fowler, a Latrobe native. “I’m excited to host a competition in Latrobe to stir up some interest.”
The day includes students in kindergarten through eighth grade participating in history, geography and science bees. Each subject has three rounds. Students will compete against others in their age groups and are able to choose their categories of participation. Students qualify for the contest by taking an online test.
Fowler said that an average event features about 120 students. At the end of the day, the top 50% of the competitors will be invited to nationals in Arlington, Va.
Fowler began working as a regional director after being voted academic coach of the year by the organization in 2015. He suggested that the regional final be hosted locally.
“What’s great about these competitions is that there’s such a general focus on sports, or drama or music, a lot of our kids don’t fit into those circles,” Fowler said. “This is an outlet for their competitive side. It’s almost like a sporting environment but with a different brand of kid.”
International Academic Competitions was started in 2010 by Jeopardy winner David Madden. He and his wife, Nolwenn Madden act as executive directors and they expanded the competition globally in 2012.
“The benefits are really twofold,” David Madden said. “It reinforces what they’re learning in a classroom and makes learning into a game. By making a game out of it, suddenly students are much more motivated to go home and study. It motivates students to learn things they wouldn’t normally try to.”
David Madden said the questions are designed to utilize a competitor’s long-term memory.
“It’s honestly a test on everything, but it is age appropriate, so they don’t get overwhelmed,” Madden said.
Haley Daugherty is a TribLive reporter covering local politics, feature stories and Allegheny County news. A native of Pittsburgh, she lived in Alabama for six years. She joined the Trib in 2022 after graduating from Chatham University. She can be reached at hdaugherty@triblive.com.
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