By Dan Hust
MONTICELLO — March 2, 2001 – After two snow delays earlier in the month, the Senior division of SCIL (Sullivan County Interacademic League) resumed its regular season with Round 4 at the Monticello Neighborhood Facility on Wednesday.
As usual, teams of 9th-12th grade students from all of Sullivan County’s public schools gathered to set their minds to difficult problems, but due to the nature of this particular meet, the proceedings were unusually quiet.
The challenge put forth to the students was to (1) complete brain-twisting puzzles, (2) compete in two rounds of Quiz Bowl, (3) test their knowledge of various academic disciplines by circulating through several stations, and (4) be the “last man standing” in a question-and-answer elimination contest.
All-in-all, it was a rather quiet affair – but otherwise typical SCIL. In a meet called “Quizzical Quandary,” the questions, as usual, were sometimes remarkably difficult.
“The National Bureau of Standards guarantees uniform measurements. In what government department is the National Bureau of Standards?” (Answer: Commerce Dept.)
“Which North Asian city is the coldest capital in the world based on an average temperature?” (Answer: Ulan Bator, Mongolia)
“Which British queen of the Iceni led a revolt against the Romans in A.D. 61?” (Answer: Boadicea)
Don’t be chagrined if you didn’t figure those out. Out of more than 100 questions asked in total, a good number stumped the SCILers as well – though the questions are all based on what is taught in the average public school classroom.
“The best teams got about 20 questions right,” explained SCIL coach Pete Weinman, who designed this round with Harriet Luben and Christine Acevedo.
Those “best teams” were led by Sullivan West/Delaware Valley, which won this round with a perfect score of 200 points. Following them were Fallsburg with 196 points, Tri-Valley with 190, Liberty with 189 and Monticello with 162.
The overall scores for the top five teams this SCIL season show a close race that could easily shift in the final two rounds yet to come.
In order, they are:
• Liberty – 737 points
• SW/DV – 731 points
• Fallsburg – 727 points
• Tri-Valley – 727 points
• Monticello – 701 points
The next SCIL-Senior meet is scheduled for March 30, but naturally its content and location are secret.
The next SCIL-Junior (7th and 8th grades) meet is actually happening today at the Monticello Neighborhood Facility and is geared toward following directions in the world of work. Look for a story and photo on that meet in the Democrat next week.