Granite State Challenge

and came on the air in 1983. [http://www.nhptv.org/product/gsc/about.asp NHPTV Productions: Twenty Years of Granite State Challenge, Retrieved November 1, 2006] ]

Description

High schools from around the state compete against each other to win bragging rights and grant money for their school. In its first season it was hosted by current Dancing With The Stars host Tom Bergeron. [ [http://www.newhampshire.com/nh-people/tom-bergeron-biography.aspx Tom Bergeron's Biography at www.newhampshire.com, Retrieved on November 1, 2006] ] Currently it is hosted by Jim Jeannotte. The co-host is Tim Estiloz, who interviews the contestants. Prior co-hosts include John Herman [ [http://www.johnherman.org/television_radio.html johnherman.com, Retrieved November 1, 2006] ] , and Alison MacNair (former host of NHPTV's NH Outlook). The competition features 32 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 championship game, called the Superchallenge, is a live 1-hour broadcast with extended categories and more questions. [http://www.nhptv.org/product/gsc/ NHPTV Productions: Granite State Challenge, Retrieved November 1, 2006] ] Since 1995, part of the funding for Granite State Challenge comes from proceeds of the New Hampshire Lottery Commission. [ [http://www.nhlottery.org/about-us/meeting_detail.asp?MID=178&erra=minutes NH Lottery Commission November 7, 2005 Meeting Minutes, Retrieved November 1, 2006] ] 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.

The second quarter uses 10-point toss-ups followed by a choice of three bonus sets. There are three questions in a bonus set, worth 5 points each, and teams may confer on bonuses.

The third quarter is the show's lightning round. 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 or (rarely) either one 10-part question such as a "put these in order" question or a series of questions totaling 10 parts. Each correct answer is worth 10 points, with a 10-point bonus for going 10-for-10.

The fourth quarter is a final round of 10-point toss-ups.

The winning team advances in a season-long tournament. In the final, titled "Granite State Super Challenge," 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.

Past champions

This is a list of past GSC winners since 1983. [http://www.nhptv.org/product/gsc/pastwinners.asp NHPTV Productions: Past GSC SuperChallenge Champions, Retrieved November 1, 2006] ]

*1983-84 Londonderry def. Laconia
*1984-85 Phillips Exeter Academy def. Hollis
*1985-86 St. Thomas def. Winnisquam
*1986-87 Bishop Guertin def. Merrimack
*1987-88 Winnisquam def. Hollis
*1988-89 Alvirne def. Pinkerton
*1989-90 Laconia def. Woodsville
*1990-91 Hanover def. John Stark
*1991-92 Portsmouth def. Dover
*1992-93 Winnisquam def. John Stark
*1993-94 Alvirne def. Kearsarge
*1994-95 Laconia def. Keene
*1995-96 Plymouth def. Woodsville
*1996-97 Keene def. Oyster River
*1997-98 Salem def. Derryfield
*1998-99 Oyster River def. Profile
*1999-2000 Kearsarge def. Derryfield
*2000-01 Oyster River def. Trinity
*2001-02 Salem def. Winnisquam
*2002-03 Hanover def. Winnacunnet
*2003-04 Winnisquam def. Trinity
*2004-05 Alvirne def. Inter-Lakes
*2005-06 Manchester West def. Winnacunnet
*2006-07 Hanover def. Derryfield
*2007-08 John Stark def. Winnacunnet

imilar competitions

Numerous other high-school quiz shows formatted similar to this one air on stations throughout the nation. These include:

*A version hosted by Eric Boyd, known simply as "Challenge!" which airs on KEDT in southern Texas.
*High Q, on numerous stations throughout the nation.

The program also bears some similarities to the long-running British quiz program "University Challenge".

References

External links

* [http://www.nhptv.org/gsc New Hampshire Public Television's Granite State Challenge]