By Aidan Chin
On Saturday, May 15th, our Reach for the Top team attended the Ontario Provincials tournament. This is an incredibly important event for our school as this is the first time St. Augustine has made it to the provincial level! They were up against fierce competition, including teams which have regularly made it to the National Finals.
The tournament, which was held through Zoom, was plagued by technical difficulties and internet issues, delaying the competition by two hours. This left the players a little off their rhythm for the first practice round against TMS, a school which also advanced to provincials from York Region.
The first game was against Martingrove Collegiate. During the games’ three rounds, St. Augustine was able to effectively answer questions on mobile games, hip-hop and basketball, portmenteaus and Islam. Player Aidan Chin was also able to secure a 20 point question on bamboo. However, Martingrove was able to edge ahead. St. Augustine took a loss of 300 to 460 points, one of the highest scoring games the team had ever played.
In between rounds, the players were able to talk with other teams, coaches and organizers, and even play some quick trivia minigames. The conversation ranged from Minecraft to the pandemic to The International Phonetic Alphabet.
The second game was against London Central. This game was also littered with small issues, like spotty internet and chatty opponents. After categories about Bismuth, flowers, and a surprise guess of “Mount Kenya” from Peter Katsevelos, the team was defeated, taking a loss of 170 to 390 points.
Game 3 was against our York Region counterpart, TMS. Although St. Augustine was quick on their buzzer, thanks in part to the aptly titled “keyboard king” Valanti Koukodimos, TMS was able to get many 30-40 point questions, ending the game 380 for TMS to 210 for St. A’s.
The fourth game saw the St. Augustine team exhausted from a losing streak, as they were pitted against Abbey Park. Although Thomas Dimitriopolous was able to secure a 30-point “Who Am I?” about Brian Mulroney, the low morale definitely didn’t help the team. The Titans suffered their biggest loss, with a score of 620 for APHS to 90 for St. Augustine.
After an extensive day of trivia, the team needed to secure a win to boost everyone’s mood. The team lineup that won the final game of regionals, consisting of Valanti, Thomas, Aidan and Taran, were up to the buzzers against Frederick Banting Secondary School. Through categories about the French Revolution, silent things, hard-to-spell last names, and a great 30-pointer on the Quran, the team was quick with the spacebar and fast with their trivia knowledge. In the end, St. Augustine was able to secure a victory against FBSS, with a score of 370 to 260!
Overall, St. Augustine placed ninth in all of Ontario, with 1140 points after challenges were included. Congratulations to the Grade 11s and 12s who played in the tournament this year: Haywood Cheung, Peter Katsevelos, Andy Li, Chloe Chan, Aidan Chin, Taran Dhoofar, Thomas Dimitriopolous, and Valanti Koukodimos, the team captain! A special thank you to our incredible coaches Mr. Nazareth and (the always organized) Ms. Iorio!
Titan Times 