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KAAC Partners with University of the Cumberlands
January 4, 2012
KAAC Executive Director John Bennett announced today that the University of the Cumberlands will partner with KAAC to sponsor five High School Governor’s Cup Regional sites in February 2012. The sponsorship includes Governor’s Cup Regions 9, 11, 12, 13 and 14, which encompass Northern, Central and Southeastern Kentucky.
According to University of the Cumberlands President Dr. Jim Taylor, “University of the Cumberlands is excited about partnering with the Kentucky Association for Academic Competition to sponsor regional Governor’s Cup competitions. We wish the best to all competitors. Like KAAC, our goal each day is to support young people in their pursuit of academic achievement.”
Located in Williamsburg, Kentucky, University of the Cumberlands is an institution of regional distinction, which currently offers four undergraduate degrees in more than 40 major fields of study; nine pre-professional programs; seven graduate degrees, including a doctorate and six master’s degrees; certifications in education; and online programs.
High School Regional Governor’s Cup is scheduled for February 14th and 18. For a complete listing of competition pairings and host sites, visit http://www.kaac.com .
For more information about University of the Cumberlands, visit http://www.ucumberlands.edu.
Carr Joins Ranks of KAAC Quick Recall Trainers
Rick Carr from Walton, KY has been selected as a KAAC Quick Recall trainer.
Rick was an academic team member at Lincoln Elementary School in Dayton, and at Campbell County High School. He graduated from Northern Kentucky University with a B.S. in Mathematics Education, going on to teach and coach at Trimble County High School from 2003 to 2007. Carr worked as a stock broker for the next few years, recently resigning his position to start his own company. Carr is Commissioner of the Northern Kentucky Academic League.
“I am looking forward to working with coaches throughout the state in being better prepared for KAAC competitions,” Carr stated.
Carr has been married to his wife, Megan, for eight years. Together they have two sons, Michael (4) and Alexander (almost 2), and a cat named Pythagoras (Pi for short).
History Bowl Founder to Award Twelve $250 Grants
UPDATE: Congratulations to Adair County High School, Shelby County Middle School and Daviess County Middle School for winning $250 grants.
-Editor’s note: National History Bee and Bowl founder David Madden recently announced that his charitable trust will award twelve $250 grants to academic team programs across the nation. Here is his announcement:
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Hi Everyone,
I am pleased to announce that the David Madden Fund for World Betterment will be offering 12 $250 grants to quizbowl teams throughout the country. Here’s how this is going to work:
Q.: Why are you doing this?
A.: After I was on Jeopardy in 2005, I donated a considerable amount of my winnings to a charitable giving fund. I got the immediate tax break, but did not have to specify how the money was to be donated. These grants are designed to help encourage the growth and development of quizbowl throughout the USA. Any benefit to the National History Bee and Bowl is purely incidental. In fact, I am insisting that this money is NOT TO BE SPENT on any NHBB tournament or travel to or from such.
Q.: Who can apply for this?
A.: Any high school or middle school team in the USA that can process a donation through an IRS recognized non-profit is eligible for this grant. No distinction will be made between public, private, or parochial schools. The only qualification is that you send the name of a non-profit and their IRS tax number to me at director at historybowl dot com by Friday, October 28 at 8pm Eastern time. For many public schools, this is something like “Random Name High School Educational Foundation” or “Random City Educational Foundation.” Coaches and captains – talk to your school’s administration to see what might work for your school. I will post all of those schools who apply in the second post of this thread. The only other requirement is that schools have something tangible in mind that they would like to spend the money on, but I do NOT want to know what this is until AFTER you have been notified that you have won. This money is not meant to be put away in a “general fund” indefinitely.
Grants can only be made to IRS-qualified public charities. These are organizations that are described in Section 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(1), (a)(2) or (a)(3) of the Code and applicable regulations and IRS authority, or are private operating foundations as described in Section 4942(j)(3) of the Code and applicable regulations and IRS authority.
Q.: How will the determination be made?
A.: At Hunter College High School’s tournament on October 29, some other attending coach will watch me write all the names of schools that have applied on an index card. These will be folded in half and placed into an opaque trash bag. The bag will be shaken vigorously by someone other than me. A third and blindfolded person will then reach in and withdraw 12 index cards and hand them one by one to the bagshaker who will orally announce the identities of the schools. As you can tell, I intend this to be done in a fair and systematic manner.
Q.: What can we spend the money on?
A.: Whatever your team deems appropriate, as long as it is quizbowl related and does NOT involve the National History Bee and Bowl. This could include a new buzzer system, money to cover travel expenses, tournament registrations, etc. In the interest of full transparency, though, schools that win are required to submit notification of what they intend to spend the money on AFTER they have been notified they have won. Don’t tell me before. Those ideas will be posted in the second post of this thread. Again, schools need to have an idea to spend it on something though, and that something cannot be on a “college scholarship for team members” or “a pizza party” or something stupid and irrelevant.
Q.: When will we be notified if we’ve won?
A.: Winning schools will be notified by email on the evening of October 29. Winning schools will be posted here that same evening.
Q.: When will the grants come through?
A.: I will submit the grants to Fidelity by October 31. They typically take 3-6 days to be approved. The money will then be sent to the IRS non-profit by the end of November. Do not plan on having the money to use for any November tournaments.
Q.: Anything else?
A.: Nope, that’s it! Oh, I continue to work ahead with the idea for a national donation site for quiz bowl teams. ETA, sometime next spring or summer. I will keep you all posted. Good luck and I hope to hear from you soon! Remember, I need the name of a foundation/IRS-recognized non-profit that you know can accept a donation on your team’s behalf before I can accept your team’s application.
Adair Finishes Third in National History Bowl
Adair County High School Academic Team finished 3rd in the nation out of a field of 72 teams from across the country in the first ever National History Bowl Saturday, April 16, in Washington D.C. The Preliminary rounds were held at various historically significant locations all across D.C. throughout the day while the Top 16 Finals were hosted by The Newseum. The team was undefeated through all rounds of competition before reaching the Championship Semi-Final match. The competition was a four-quarter format for each match featuring toss-up rounds, toss-up and bonus rounds, and a speed-based lightning round. Competing Adair County High School team members were Luke Maupin, Jake Leibeck, Ryan Montgomery, and Eddie Franklin.
In addition, Luke Maupin advanced to Finals competition in the first ever National History Bee held on Sunday, April 17. Maupin was the number two seed after Preliminary competition, going undefeated and earning the maximum eight questions per round in each of the morning rounds. The unique Bee format featured eight scheduled rounds featuring eight different historical eras. In each round, different groupings of eight competitors were seated around a moderator with 30 questions per round representing the historical era of the round. Students earned a point for each question they answered in the round. If a player earned eight total points in any particular round, that student would then be removed after his/her eighth question answered and bonus points were then awarded based on how early into the set of 30 this maximum was reached.
Dunbar’s Kahloon Reaches Jeopardy Semifinals
Congratulations to P. L. Dunbar’s Idrees Kahloon, captain of the Dunbar academic team, who won $10,000 in theJeopardy! Teen Tournament.
Idrees won his first round match but was defeated in the semifinals.
