Mount Airy All-Age School wins quiz competition
Published:Wednesday | December 12, 2018 | 12:00 AMVanessa James/Gleaner Writer
Mount Airy All-Age School on Tuesday night emerged the 2018 winners of Television Jamaica's Junior Schools' Challenge Quiz (JSCQ).
The first-time victors closed the 16th season of the competition with a 33-26 win over Broughton Primary School.
The competition began with the alternate section and both teams were out of their blocks rather quickly and confidently. Broughton, however, soon took the lead in the section. Mount Airy was not far behind, and the section ended with Broughton leading 8-5.
Junior Challenge Face-off section saw one member of each of the Westmoreland teams going up against their corresponding competitor in each subject area. Neither of the teams showed signs of nerves and Broughton maintained the lead, often answering Mount Airy's questions in the event they got it incorrect. The second round ended with Broughton on 22 and Mount Airy All-Age on 19.
Final segment
It was still anybody's game after the first two rounds, but the deciding buzzer section was next. Both teams started showing signs of nerves, but it was Mount Airy All-Age that was quicker on the buzzer and dominated the final section of the competition. Mount Airy All-Age won 33 points to 26.
Tianrae Barnes, captain of the champions, said it felt great to join the ranks of winners. "My team and I are very elated and we are happy for the experience here. We expect a comfortable welcome when we get home and go back to school," Barnes shared.
The coach was very proud of his team as this is the first time they are winning the competition, but not the first time they have entered. "It has been a long, difficult road. We started preparation months ago. We worked most days per week because when matches are close, we even worked on Saturdays and Sundays. And that's why we are successful, because we have been working extremely hard."
He said this will not be the final JSCQ championship for Mount Airy All-Age, "We are going to enjoy the rest of the school term and come January, we will start preparing the B team because we don't want it to be a one-off thing. We want more victories of this type."
Marva Davis-Clark, the principal of Broughton Primary, expressed her dismay in the loss, "We are a bit disappointed because we really came here to win, but it is all good because they (Broughton Primary) are winners already," she told The Gleaner.