The Mississippi School for the Deaf (MSD) will host the Gallaudet University Southern Regional Academic Bowl for Deaf and Hard of Hearing High School Students Thursday, February 21st-Sunday, February 24th.
Eighteen teams from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Texas, Virginia and Washington, D.C., along with two transfer teams, California and Missouri, will compete for the chance to attend the National Academic Bowl at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. on April 11th -14th.
Gallaudet University established the Academic Bowl for deaf and hard of hearing high school students in 1997 with the goal of promoting academic competition among school teams, and to foster academic excellence and achievement among deaf and hard of hearing students across the country.
The competition consists of a question and answer game of general knowledge and quick recall. Questions are drawn from the following categories: social studies, language and literature, science and technology, mathematics, arts and entertainment, deaf studies, current events, potpourri, pop culture, leisure and sports.
“The Academic Bowl competition creates a wonderful positive environment for deaf and hard of hearing students where they can stretch their brains, meet like-minded peers from all over the nation, and learn about the only deaf university in the world – Gallaudet University,” said Samantha Beaver, coordinator of youth programs. “Students work hard all year, at times even sacrificing their free time in the summer to study and prepare for their upcoming competitions. Seeing players create unbreakable bonds with other players, increase in self-confidence, and discover their identities is truly the best thing about this competition.”
Gallaudet hosts four regional competitions with up to 20 teams per event. The top four teams from each region are automatically invited to the national competition. The two winners of the consolation bracket will take the wild card test. The top four scoring wild card teams out of the 10 wild card teams will then be invited to the national competition.
“It is an honor to host the 2019 Academic Competition for the Southern Region,” said MSD Superintendent Wendy Rogers. “As a veteran host of the event, we are looking forward to having another excellent competition.”
The Midwest Regional competition will be held at the Kansas School for the Deaf February 14th-17th; the West Regional competition will be held at Phoenix Day School for the Deaf March 1st-4th; and the East Regional competition will be held at Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf March 8th-11th.
