Plymouth Rotary Club
P.O. Box 156
Plymouth, IN 46563-0156
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:Philip Blessman, Tournament Director
E-MAIL:
PHONE:312-519-9554
DATE: December 18, 2009
Fort Wayne Northrop High School wins Buzzer System
The Fort Wayne Northrop High School Quizbowl team is the happy recipient of one deluxe buzzer system donated by the Plymouth Rotary Club, Matt’s Buzzers, Eberly Investment Management of Argos, and Buzzersystems.com. Northrop was the winner of a raffle among all participating schools in the February 6 Rotary Northern Indiana Quizbowl Championship at Ancilla College which will feature thirty different high schools including Fort Wayne Northrop, Fort Wayne South Side, and Garrett High Schools.
Northrop Guidance Counselor Cleve Million, Quizbowl Captain Cecelia Nguyen, Quizbowl Coach Christine Binns, and Plymouth Rotary Club member Phil Blessman try out Northrop’s new buzzer system, valued at $575.
Teams will compete in the Northern Indiana Championship, which is free for participating schools, for over $10,000 of cash and other prizes.Tournament organizer Jessica Oliver, past president of the Plymouth Rotary Club explains, “We just want to reward our hard-working students by providing them with a fun way to show off what they know. And they get free pizza as well!”
Schools will be competing for a variety of prizes, including two copies of the 32-volume 2010 Encyclopaedia Britannica, valued at $1495. All students at the two winning schools will also receive one year of online access to the Encyclopedia, a $69.95 value.
In order to even the playing field for the smaller schools, the competition will be divided into two classes: Class AA: Large Public and Private Schools; Class A: Small Public Schools. Cash prizes of $500, $300, and $100 will be awarded to the top three schools in each category. The winning teams will also receive a copy of the thirty-two volume 2010 edition of Encyclopaedia Brittanica (MSRP $1495) and one year of free access for all students at their schools to Britannica Online (MSRP $69.95), courtesy of Encyclopaedia Britannica! Additional prizes to raffle off to ALL participating schools include a buzzer system valued at over $500 for a school not currently in possession of a system, dinners for entire teams at local restaurants, and a five-day Carnival cruise for two valued at $1500 awarded to one participating team coach!
Asked about the tournament, Plymouth Rotary Club member and Tournament Director Phil Blessman said, “The club is excited to see broad participation from schools all across Northern Indiana. As Rotarians, we aim to serve our local communities, and we know how important our high schools are to the very sense of community we are trying to foster. We feel this is a wonderful opportunity to put the spotlight on some our schools’ strongest students. Quizbowl gives them the chance to compete as a team, allowing them to experience teamwork and the thrill of competition as they would on an athletic team.”
Quizbowl is an interscholastic team competition which pits two teams of four players against each other to answer questions from all fields, including literature, history, science, mathematics, the arts, and current events. Currently, sixty-six of the three hundred high schools in Indiana field quizbowl teams with the number increasing every year.
For more information on the tournament, please go to More information about quizbowl or the tournament can also be requested by e-mailing .