Manatee County is home to some new National Champs!

For the first time in State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota’s (SCF) history, the SCF Brain Bowl won the 2015 National Community College Championship Tournament held Feb. 27-28 in Atlanta, GA.

The SCF Brain Bowl Fire team, beat out Valencia College in the final competition at the National Academic Quiz Tournaments (NAQT) championship tournament.

It’s a Trivial Pursuit/Jeopardy type competition, where teams work together to answer a variety of questions on subjects from literature, music, sports to fine arts.

“We studied every single day for the past six months and practiced with each other maybe three times a week for four hours each day,” said Naim Chowdhury, 25, a member of the Brain Bowl Fire team.

After placing fifth in the national championship last year, the group decided to step it up and work throughout the summer, studying and planning how to be successful in this year’s season.

“I personally like to read the encyclopedia,” Chowdhury. “It seems kind of silly. I go to Wikipedia, and then we go a little deeper than that.  We try to find out as much as we can about a single topic so that no one else has access to it but us.”

Despite their win, these students say they’re not your typical brainiacs. Two thirds of the students didn’t get a traditional high school diploma. 

Chowdhury entered SCF with a GED and plans to attend New College of Florida in the fall. And, two of the team members are SCF Collegiate School students and are simultaneously earning a high school diploma and completing their first two years of college.

“We are so proud of our Brain Bowl team,” said SCF President Dr. Carol Probstfeld, who attended the Championship Tournament to cheer on the team. “Their success is due to their determination and hard work, and it couldn’t be more well deserved.”

Team member, Michael Moore, said although all are very intelligent, it takes more than this to win.

“It’s just like anything, success does not come easy,” said Moore.  “You don’t stumble into doing something great or easy.  You have to work for it.”

The team’s coach, Christina Swyer, explains that they like the students who are the know-it-all’s.

“I want the person who every time the teacher says something in class, like what is the capital of Florida, they don’t just say Tallahassee,” said Dwyer, who is also an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at SCF.  “They then say well actually do you know it was this city and then it moved to Tallahassee and then it was this.”

For winning the National Championship, each team member is getting a ring.

SCF, which also competes in the Florida College System Activities Association (FSCAA) Brain Bowl league, plans to continue the winning streak when the SCF Fire and Ice teams compete at the FSCAA state tournament at Pasco-Hernando State College March 12-14, after they placed first and third, respectively, at the West Central Regional Tournament in February.
 
Sample Question 1

This work related that its main official had once been required to “walk among the people” and perhaps present “a recital of some sort.”  A receptacle used in this work was purportedly made of pieces of previous boxes, and for the rest of the year, was kept in Mr. Graves’ barn.  One possible reason for the title event is provided by Old Man Warner, who says that an old saying relates that when it is held “in June, corn can be heavy soon,” hinting at a pagan agricultural ritual behind it.  This story ends with Tessie Hutchinson being stoned to death.  FTP, name this short story by Shirley Jackson.
 
Answer:
“The Lottery”
 
Sample Question 2
Muswell Hill and Bushey Heath are high points in this city that is home to the river islands of Chiswick Eyot and Eel Pie.  The Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy is 125 miles north of this city.  A structure suspending a river in this city was recently given a thirteen ton addition.  That addition to the Tower Bridge consisted of five identical metal shapes.  Home to Wembley Stadium, FTP, name this European city which hosted the 1908, 1948, and 2012 Olympic Games.
 
Answer:
London
 
Sample Question 3
The splitting of the spectral lines of atoms due to these fields is known as the Stark effect, which is analogous to the Zeeman effect for magnetic fields.  Name these fields that are produced by stationary charges.
 
Answer:
Electric Fields