Hills West Quiz Bowl 2011

This is the 20th year in a row that and the Brainstormers club have hosted this annual tournament. There were 65 different teams; each team was comprised of four students. Forty schools competed from all over the metro area--public and private schools. 

James Diver, a social studies teacher at HS West, is one of the advisors, along with HS West math teacher, Evan Romano.

Through the years, Hills West Brainstormers have competed in nationwide academic competitions ,winning numerous accolades. Math teacher Alan Blayne, who retired last year, was their former advisor who started this competition. He was so passionate about this club, that even though he turned over the reins to Diver and Romano this year, he still attended the Quiz Bowl, Diver said.

Hills West doesn't compete in this tournament--one of the biggest--but hosts it and reads the questions. Here are two of the sample questions with their answer:

Question: One character in this novel calls the rain "hard on loving," while another, who believes he has syphillis and calls the protagonist "baby," is named Rinaldi.  That protagonist is Frederic Henry, an ambulance driver who loves Catherine Barkley in what Ernest Hemingway novel?  

Answer:  A Farewell to Arms 

Question: Artemis Corona, an oval feature on this planet, may be the Solar System's largest volcano.  The planet exhibits retrograde rotation, and its dense atmosphere of carbon dioxide causes a runaway greenhouse effect.  Name this planet, called Earth's twin, the second from the sun.  

Answer:  Venus 

Diver said that 75 HS West students volunteered at the event, along with a dozen Brainstormers. 

Diver said that their are eight rounds: four preliminary rounds, where the 65 teams get whittled down to 32. They then go down to 16 teams, then 8, then 4, before they come up with a winner. 

This year’s first place winner was Kellenberg  Memorial High School from Uniondale. Second place went to White Plains High School from Westchester, and there was a tie for third place between Long Island’s North Babylon High School and Livingston High School from New Jersey. 

They started at 8 a.m. on a cold wintry Saturday morning and didn't end till 8 p.m.

"There is an incredible amount of passion and enthusiasm here," Diver said. "If these kids are winning, they want to stay till it's over. It was a great event. A really awesome day."