Granite State Challenge

Granite State Challenge is an American television quizbowl game show that airs on New Hampshire Public Television and began in 1983.[1]

Description

High schools from around the state compete against each other to win "brainy bragging rights" and grant money for their school. The first season of the program was hosted by Tom Bergeron (now of America's Funniest Home Videos and Dancing with the Stars fame), one of Bergeron's first jobs appearing on television. Starting in the second season and continuing to today, Jim Jeannotte took over hosting duties. Co-host Lori Warriner interviews the team members, coaches, and school administration. Prior co-hosts include Tim Estiloz, John Herman,[2] and Alison MacNair (former host of NHPTV's NH Outlook). The competition features 16 teams in a single elimination tournament competing in half-hour shows that are pretaped over a few weeks and air through the broadcast season. The program previously selected 32 teams to compete on the televised rounds based on state geography and recent appearances; however, after a year-long hiatus, the program required interested teams to complete a written test, with the top-scoring sixteen teams earning spots. The championship game, called the Superchallenge, is a 1-hour show with extended categories and more questions.[3] Since 1995, part of the funding for Granite State Challenge comes from proceeds of the New Hampshire Lottery Commission.[4] Beginning in 2008, each episode is available to view on YouTube and to download at no charge on iTunes.

Rules

The game is played by two teams of four, and uses a four-quarter format. All four quarters are played to a time limit.

The first quarter is a round of toss-up questions worth 10 points each. In the 30th season, one 30-point toss-up based on the year 1984 is included.

The second quarter uses 10-point toss-ups with a chance an fifteen bonus points when a team provides a correct answer on the toss-up. A team chooses a bonus set out of three provided and answers three 5-point questions.

The third quarter is the show's "60-second" round. In the 30th season, the teams' alternates (if any) participate in this round only. The trailing team gets the first choice of three categories, and the leading team picks from the remaining two. Each team gets 60 seconds to answer either 10 questions with each question worth 10 points. A 10-point bonus is awarded for answering all questions correctly.

The fourth quarter is a final round of 10-point toss-ups. In the 30th season, 10 points are deducted should a team provide an incorrect answer.

The winning team advances in a season-long tournament. In the final, titled "Granite State SuperChallenge," there are seven rounds: the first, fifth, and seventh are toss-up rounds, the second and fourth rounds are toss-ups followed by bonuses, and the third and sixth rounds are the 60-second lightning rounds.

30th Season (2013-2014)

The 30th season again started with the Super Sunday Qualifying Event, where 48 teams came to Plymouth State University. 52 teams vied for 14 spots on a 94-question exam. The teams ranked 15 through 18 completed in two play-in matches to round off the top sixteen. The top sixteen teams televised in the 30th season are:

In the opening round (Round of 16), there are 8 match-ups. The winners of aired episodes are bolded:

Second round

Semi finals

Granite State Super Challenge

Pinkerton then went on to defeat the champion from Massachusetts in the 2nd annual Governor's Cup

29th Season (2012-2013)

Below lists the 15 bouts including the regular season and SuperChallenge of the 29th season detailing the competing teams, air date, winner (italicized), and scores.

Round of 16

February 10: Coe-Brown (160) v. Hanover (310)

February 17: Kingswood Regional (255) v. Winnacunnet (125)

February 24: Bow (230) v. Portsmouth Christian (255)

March 3: Bishop Brady (185) v. Keene (285)

March 10: Mascoma Valley (135) v. Pinkerton Academy (175)'

March 17: Manchester Central (325) v. Oyster River (185)

March 24: John Stark (110) v. Plymouth Regional (310)

March 31: Bedford (200) v. Nashua North (180)

Quarterfinals

April 7: Hanover (225) v. Kingswood Regional (180)

April 14: Keene (360) v. Portsmouth Christian (210)

April 21: Manchester Central (300) v. Pinkerton Academy (170)

April 28: Bedford (245) v. Plymouth Regional (290)

Semifinals

May 5: Hanover (375) v. Keene (280)[5]

May 12: Manchester Central (275) v. Plymouth Regional (325)[6]

Superchallenge

May 19: Hanover (515) v. Plymouth Regional (535)[7]

Statistics

Highest Scoring Regular Season Round

1. Hanover (375)

2. Keene (360)

3. Plymouth Regional, Manchester Central (tie) (325)

5. Portsmouth Christian, Kingswood Regional (tie) (255)

7. Bedford (245)

8. Bow (230)

9. Oyster River, Bishop Brady (tie) (185)

11. Nashua North (180)

12. Pinkerton (175)

13. Coe-Brown (160)

14. Mascoma Valley (135)

15. Winnacunnet (125)

16. John Stark (110)

Cumulative Score in Regular Season

1. Plymouth Regional, Keene (925)

3. Hanover (910)

4. Manchester Central (900)

5. Portsmouth Christian (465)

6. Bedford (445)

7. Kingswood Regional (435)

8. Pinkerton (345)

9. Bow (230)

10. Oyster River, Bishop Brady (tie) (185)

12. Nashua North (180)

13. Coe-Brown (160)

14. Mascoma Valley (135)

15. Winnacunnet (125)

16. John Stark (110)

The four semifinalist teams were the only teams in the season to end a regular season round with a highest score over 300 points.

Past Champions

This is a list of past GSC winners since 1983.[8]

Schools with Multiple Titles:

Three Titles Apiece

Two Titles Apiece

References

  1. ↑ NHPTV Productions: Twenty Years of Granite State Challenge, Retrieved November 1, 2006
  2. ↑ johnherman.com, Retrieved November 1, 2006
  3. ↑ NHPTV Productions: Granite State Challenge, Retrieved November 1, 2006
  4. ↑ NH Lottery Commission November 7, 2005 Meeting Minutes, Retrieved November 1, 2006
  5. ↑ http://www.nhptv.org/pressroom/release_detail.asp?hp_id=1455
  6. ↑ http://www.nhptv.org/pressroom/release_detail.asp?hp_id=1457
  7. ↑ http://www.nhptv.org/pressroom/release_detail.asp?hp_id=1461
  8. ↑ NHPTV Productions: Past GSC SuperChallenge Champions, Retrieved November 1, 2006

External links