The 2007 Inter-Form Quiz Final was held on Thursday, May 3. This was the culmination of three months of competition among seventeen (17) teams consisting of all five (5) Grade 9 classes, six (6) of eight Grade 10, and six (6) of seven Grade 11 classes.
At the beginning of the competition, each form teacher received a package which included an official entry form, a list of the subject areas and the rules governing the competition. Each class was asked to pick a team of four (4) persons as well as two (2) reserves. Each boy in each participating class was asked to contribute $50 which would go towards providing trophies, medals and other prizes. As an incentive to motivate weaker classes to participate and to get all the students to support their class financially, a cake was promised to each class that paid its full entry fee. This saw a drastic increase in entries over last year’s competition when only three (3) of the seven (7) Grade 11 classes entered.
The Grade 9 classes played each other once and 3 points were awarded to the winning team of each match. At the end of this the two teams with the most points were automatic finalists. This year there was a three-way tie for second place so there were play-off matches. At the end of this 9 Miller and 9 Gibson advanced to the Grand finals. The Grades 10 & 11 classes were organized into two zones and the winner of each zone advanced to the finals. All science classes were placed in the same zone while the arts/business/technical classes were placed in the other zone. This format was decided on some years ago when the non-science classes complained that they did not have a chance to get to the finals when they were forced to meet the science classes early. This year Grades 10 & 11 Gibson (science classes) advanced to the finals where they met Grades 10 & 11 Francis (business classes) respectively.
The Grand Finals were held in the A/V Room at 3:00 p.m. when all three (3) final matches were played. The quizmaster for the afternoon was Mr. Jeffrey H. Foreman, former Head boy and Schools’ Challenge Quiz captain. The event was well attended by students and teachers who were there to support their teams. At the end of the matches 9 Miller, 10 Gibson & 11 Gibson emerged victorious. This was followed by a very lengthy but exciting presentation ceremony where the teams received their prizes. The winners received many prizes including trophies, Flexcards from Digicel, meal tickets from Mother’s, movie passes from Palace Amusement Company, novels and dictionaries from Kingston Bookshop, scientific calculators donated by a member of staff, and gift baskets put together by the organizer which included sodas provided by Pepsi and sweets from Plyen Ltd. Runner-up teams received silver medals, novels and gift baskets, including four (4) donated by Tastee Ltd., while third-place teams received bronze medals and novels. Cakes were also donated by K.C. stalwarts including Mrs. Rosemarie Allen, Mrs. Dawn Hamilton, Mr. Hamlyn Pagon, Mr. Leaford Grant and Mr. Wayne Fairclough. Two cakes were also bought from the funds collected.
Only some teams were able to receive cakes because to date nine (9) of the seventeen classes still have entry fees outstanding amounting to $7,013.00. These negligent classes even include eventual winners of the competition who received all their prizes nonetheless. Where the distribution of cakes was concerned, preference was given to teams who paid their full entry fee despite where they finished in the competition, in accordance with the agreement made at the beginning of the competition.
This competition is totally managed by the organizer which is proving to be very difficult as each year it is a challenge to get financial support from the boys and prizes from the private sector. She has built up a relationship with the companies listed above as they have been supporting the competition for the past four (4) years.
It is hoped that the competition will continue as most if not all members of the Schools’ Challenge Quiz Team each year have played Inter-Form Quiz.
