This program is brought to you in part by the Erika Lewis Endowment Fund.

Tonight on Varsity Quiz, it's Team Betancourt... (cheers and applause) taking on Team Krafve.

This is the Blue League All-Star Match on Varsity Quiz!

(crashing sound) ♪♪♪ (Nate Tannenbaum) Hello.

Welcome to the 53rd season of Varsity Quiz.

We've got the best and brightest high school students matching wits in this unique academic competition.

We hope you know by now there are two Varsity Quiz leagues in each season's competition.

Tonight we're saluting the young men and women of the Blue League with this year's All-Star match featuring superstars from some of the 23 Blue League schools that competed this year.

The students have been randomly assigned to two different teams, and this All-Star match is a little different than our regular season matches.

We have four timed rounds of 20 toss-up questions.

Each question in this lighthearted match is worth five points.

Let's go ahead and meet our first round of players starting with Team Betancourt.

Now students, as you introduce yourself please tell us your name, what grade you're in and what school you go to.

Team Betancourt, we'll start with Carolina.

-Hello, my name is Carolina.

I'm a 12th grader at Desert Pines High School.

-I'm Gian, and I'm an 11th grader at Mojave High School.

-Hi.

I'm Nate, and I'm an 11th grader at Silverado High School.

-I'm Josue, and I'm a 12th grader at A-Tech.

-The coach for Team Betancourt, Johnny Nguyen from A-Tech.

That's Team Betancourt for round one.

Good job, you guys.

Let's meet our players from Team Krafve.

-Hi.

I'm Jackie, and I'm a 12th grader at A-Tech.

-Hi.

My name is Emmanuel.

I'm in 12th grade, and I go to Calvary Chapel.

-Hi.

My name is Daisy.

I'm a 12th grader at Las Vegas High School.

-Hi.

I'm Emma.

I'm a 12th grader at Durango High School.

-The coach for Team Krafve, Julie Meservey from Arbor View.

Ladies and gentlemen, that is Team Krafve.

All right.

Just to remind our students, please speak loudly and clearly so the judges can hear and understand your answers.

Now, the microphones definitely hear you loud and clear for the viewers, but the judges need to be able to hear you on the other side of the studio.

Also, please wait until you're recognized before answering, and as a reminder, no student on either team will be allowed to buzz in until the entire question has been read.

Ready?

Let's play Varsity Quiz.

This actress voiced a toy tiger in Toy Story 4 as well as being inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest TV career for a female actress.

Name this actress who passed away just shy of 100 years old.

Team Betancourt, Nate: Betty White.

Yes.

Next question.

The COVID vaccine works differently than other vaccines.

What makes this vaccine different from other common vaccines?

Team B, Josue: It's mRNA.

Yes.

Name the architect who designed the Kennedy Presidential Library as well as the Louvre Pyramid.

(bell chimes, time expires) I think that's after the fact.

The answer is I.M.

Pei.

Next question.

The dynamic duo of Sean Spencer and Burton "Gus" Guster were featured in what TV comedy drama show?

Team Krafve, Jackie: Psych.

Yes.

Zimbabwe was formerly known as what country?

Team B, Nate: Rhodesia.

Yes.

Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik share hosting duties for what popular TV show?

Team K, Jackie: Jeopardy.

Yes.

If somebody didn't know that, we'd have a problem.

All right.

Hey, if you're using the weft or warp methods, what are you doing?

Team K, Jackie: Dancing.

No.

After the fact?

Okay.

Team B, Carolina: Editing.

No.

You are knitting.

No knitters in the group today.

Next question.

The term "starboard" refers to which side of a ship?

Team K, Jackie: The front.

Incorrect.

Team B, Nate: The left.

That's incorrect.

It's the right side.

According to the Greek myth, Titans Cronus and Rhea had three sons: Zeus, Poseidon and who else?

Team B, Carolina: Hades.

Yes.

The Crusades were a series of religious wars started primarily to secure control of holy sites considered sacred by which two religious groups?

Team B, Nate: Christianity and Islam.

Can we accept that?

Yes.

The recent destruction of a candle factory by a violent tornado killed eight people in what state?

Team K, Jackie: Kansas.

Incorrect.

Team B, Carolina: Michigan.

No.

It was Kentucky.

Name the longest and strongest bone in the human body.

Team K, Daisy: The femur.

Yes, it is.

Good job.

Here we go.

In the original story, the title character turns to seafoam after being unwilling to kill her prince; name this fairy tale.

Team B, Carolina: The Little Mermaid.

Yes.

All right.

Former long-serving Nevada U.S.

Senator Harry Reid died January 4.

What small Nevada town was he from?

Team B, Nate: Laughlin.

No.

We've already had one from Betancourt.

Team K, Daisy: Mesquite.

No.

He's from Searchlight.

Next question.

Which droid has appeared in all nine Star Wars movies?

Team K, Emmanuel: R2D2.

Yes.

We would have also taken C3PO.

After the Battle of Marathon, how far did Pheidippides run to announce the victory?

Team B, Nate: 21 miles.

Incorrect.

Team K, Emma: 26 miles.

Yes.

In which state are both Promontory Point and the Bonneville Salt Flats located?

Team B, Gian: Rhode Island.

No.

Team K, Emma: Utah.

Yes.

If you order chips in an English restaurant, what's the American equivalent?

Team B, Nate: Fries.

Yes.

Come on, man, bring me some fries.

Bring me some chips.

Name the American author whose first book was The Autobiography of Malcolm X but is more famously known for the novel Roots.

(bell chimes, time expires) Out of time.

We were looking for Alex Haley.

And speaking of out of time, that's it for our first round.

Now, if you're wondering where did these team names come from, what is Team Betancourt, well, Team Betancourt is named for Carlos Betancourt.

He coached VQ teams for 16 years.

He's a moderator for both Jr.

Varsity Quiz and Varsity Quiz.

He's one of the inaugural members of the Varsity Quiz Hall of Fame.

He retired 10 years ago, but he is still involved.

Carlos continues to volunteer his time for both Jr.

Varsity Quiz and Varsity Quiz.

So that's Team Betancourt.

Team Krafve honors the memory of Dick Krafve.

Dick was a member of the Kiwanis Club of Las Vegas, the honorary Varsity Quiz head judge and man, he judged matches twice a week for 32 years.

He's also an inaugural member of the Varsity Quiz Hall of Fame as well as a member of the CCSD Hall of Fame.

Our next round is coming right up.

(crashing sound) The score as we go into round two of our All-Star match, Team Betancourt with 35 points to Team Krafve's 30 points.

Let's go ahead and meet our new players for this round.

We'll start with Team Betancourt.

Hi, Jessica.

-Hi.

I'm Jessica, and I'm a 12th grader at Spring Valley High School.

-I'm Isaac.

I'm a 10th grader at Moapa Valley High School.

-Hi.

I'm Jenna.

I'm a 12th grader at Desert Oasis High School.

-Hi.

I'm Tristan.

I'm a 12th grader at Desert Oasis High School.

-Wonderful.

Thanks, Team Betancourt.

Let's meet our players for Team Krafve.

Brayden.

-Hi.

I'm Brayden.

I'm a junior at Arbor View High School.

-I'm Tyler.

I'm a senior at Mojave High School.

-I'm Alyssa.

I'm a senior at Silverado High School.

-I'm Regan.

I'm a senior at Southwest CTA.

-All right.

Well, let's go ahead and get started with round two, and 4-1/2 minutes starts now.

Graceland was the home of what iconic singer?

Team B, Isaac: Scotland.

Incorrect.

And that was the buzzer.

Graceland was the home of Elvis Presley.

Next question.

In what city would you find William F. Cody's grave and a U.S. mint?

Team K, Brayden: Pennsylvania.

Incorrect.

Team B, Isaac: Denver, Colorado.

Yes, it's Denver.

Give the name of the piano-playing canine from the Muppets.

(bell chimes, time expires) Oh, how quickly we forget.

Don't you remember Rolf?

Next question.

The new Wheel of Time series on Amazon Prime is based on the fantasy novels of which author?

Team B, Isaac: J.K. Rowling.

Incorrect.

(bell chimes, time expires) Robert Jordan.

Next question: F = M times A is the equation for which-- Team K, Brayden: Net force.

Incorrect.

--for which of Newton's laws?

Team B, Tristan: Second law.

Yes.

What three-word term is used to identify the line along which offensive and defensive teams face each other in American football?

Team K, Regan: Line of scrimmage.

Yes.

In August of 2018, the social media platform called Musical.ly was merged with another popular platform known by what name?

Team K, Brayden: Tik Tok.

Everybody's on the Tik Tok.

Don't y'all have Tik Toks?

No, I don't either.

What's the temperature that paper burns at in Ray Bradbury's famous novella?

Team K, Brayden: 451 degrees Fahrenheit.

Yes, Fahrenheit 451.

In which wood do Winnie the Pooh and his friends live?

Team B, Isaac: Wood of the hogs.

No.

Did he get in?

Okay.

Team K, Tyler: The redwoods.

No.

Come on, Pooh people.

It's the Hundred-Acre Wood.

You're not Winnie the Pooh people?

Oh...

The Naismith Trophy is awarded to individuals who excel in which college sport?

Team B, Isaac: Basketball.

Oh, can we take that?

Okay, we'll let you have that one.

All right.

It's an All-Star game.

Jodie Whitaker is currently famous for playing which traditionally male time-traveling character for the BBC?

Team B, Jenna: The doctor from Doctor Who.

Yes, Doctor Who.

Name the capital of West Virginia.

Team B, Isaac: Charleston.

Yes.

Which decade inspires the nostalgia that's present in the novel and the film Ready Player One?

Team K, Brayden: 2040.

Incorrect.

Team B, Jenna: The 1980s.

It is the 1980s.

It's nostalgia, yes.

So the NFL is honoring which former coach of the then-Oakland Raiders and legendary broadcaster who recently died at the age of 85?

Team K, Brayden: John Madden.

Yes.

So if you were to visit a haberdashery, what would you be shopping for?

Team B, Isaac: Clothes.

I think we need to be more specific.

Team K, Alyssa: Shoes.

Incorrect.

We were looking for men's clothing.

I thought somebody was going say you're shopping for haberdashers.

Next question.

There are 11 official languages recognized in South Africa.

Can you name two of them?

Team B, Isaac: English and Dutch.

I don't think we can accept that.

Team K, Brayden: English and Afrikaaner.

I think we can accept that.

There's also Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu.

Thank you.

Charlie Brooker is best known as the writer and creator of which popular science fiction anthology series on Netflix?

Team K, Brayden: Stranger Things.

No.

Team B, Isaac: Twilight Zone.

No.

Nobody watches Black Mirror?

Oh come on, man, that's a killer show.

Well, we are out of time.

Let's find out who's ahead.

(crashing sound) Well, you know they're All-Stars when the score going into round three is really close.

Team Betancourt with 65 to Team Krafve's 55.

But we're doing something different here.

Now, we started this a couple of years ago in the All-Star match.

This is a round of competition where the players are mostly not students, but rather coaches or other grownups associated with Varsity Quiz.

So players, as you introduce yourselves, please tell us the team you coach or what school you're from.

Let's start with Team Betancourt.

-My name is Geri Barnish, and I am the Southwest CTA coach for Varsity Quiz.

-Thank you.

-I'm Corey Brown.

I'm the coach of the Desert Oasis team.

-I'm Juliana.

I'm a senior at Southwest CTA.

-I'm Joey.

I'm a senior at Bishop Gorman.

-All right.

Good luck, Team Betancourt.

Let's meet our players for Team Krafve.

-My name is Sarah Moore, and I'm a coach at Mojave High School.

-I'm Corwyn Evans-Klock, Coach EK, from Mojave High School.

-I'm Debra Hogue, and I'm the coach for Rancho.

-I'm Iain McMurray.

I'm a junior from Moapa Valley.

-All right.

Well, let's go ahead and get going here with our coaches round of the Varsity Quiz All-Star match, and 4-1/2 minutes starts now.

An Australian court recently overturned a ruling that allowed which professional tennis player to stay in the country where he was hoping to compete in the Australian Open, even though he's unvaccinated against COVID-19?

Team K, Sarah: Djokovic.

Yes.

Name the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor.

Team K, Deborah: Poitier.

Yes.

Which 2006 documentary features a former vice president warning of the dangers of global warming.

Team B, Corey: An Inconvenient Truth.

That's correct.

Good job, Coach.

Which person was the first to orbit the Earth?

Team B, Corey: Yuri Gagarin.

Yes.

All right, coaches racking them up now.

Which company recently confirmed that it's no longer supporting the operating systems for its once-popular phone device?

Team K, Corwyn: Nokia.

No.

Come on, Coach EK.

Team B, Geri: BlackBerry.

Yes.

We all had BlackBerrys, didn't we?

They were so hip at the time.

Nevada was what number state to enter the Union?

Team K, Debra: 37.

No.

Team B, Joey: 36.

Yes.

See?

A student showed you up.

Here we go.

Okay, you know the song Bad Boys by Inner Circle?

Of course it's better known for being the theme song to what long-running reality TV show?

Team K, Debra: COPS.

There, you got yourself back.

There we go.

In what city would you find Powell's City of Books, the largest independent bookstore in the United States?

Team B, Corey: Portland, Oregon.

Yes.

Have you been there?

-Yes, this past summer actually.

-I have not been.

I really want to go.

Is it cool?

-It's really cool.

It's like five stories.

-There you go.

Okay.

Bauxite ore is mined so it can be processed into what metal?

Team K, Coach EK: Aluminum.

Yes.

From 1920 until 1943, JRR Tolkien wrote letters to children from whom?

Team K, Coach EK: Gandalf.

No.

Team B, Coach Corey: Bilbo Baggins.

No.

He pretended he was Father Christmas.

He was answering Christmas letters.

Okay.

Which word derived from Latin for "before the war" describes houses built prior to the U.S. Civil War?

Team K, Coach Debra: Antebellum.

Yes.

Kathryn Bigelow was the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director for what 2009 movie?

Team K, Coach Hogue: The Hurt Locker.

Yes.

Give the French phrase for "allow to do" that designates the doctrine of governmental noninterference.

Team K, Coach EK: "Laissez-passie."

Oh, not quite.

Team B, Coach Corey: Laissez-faire.

That's what I'm talking about.

All right.

Which composer scored such iconic movies as Jaws, Jurassic Park and Star Wars?

Team B, Joey: Oh my gosh, the name just left my mind.

-You just blanked, all right.

Team K, Iain: John Williams.

Yes.

You knew that one, Joey.

Okay.

What product advertises itself as 20 Mule Team, reminiscent of the method by which it was originally transported out of Death Valley?

Team B, Geri: Borax.

Yes.

They still make that, you know.

Okay, here.

Which '90s sitcom followed a group of aliens who come to Earth to learn about our planet and its customs?

Its title is a euphemism for Earth.

Team K, Coach Hogue: Third Rock from the Sun.

Yes.

Wasn't that a great show?

Oh, man, you gotta check that one out.

What name is given to the remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia?

Team K, Coach EK: The Outback.

G'day, mate, you're right.

What common name for a household substance has a chemical name of sodium bicarbonate.

Team B, Coach Barnish: Baking soda.

-Pardon me?

-Baking soda.

-Yes, it sure is.

All right.

In the movie Casino, which real Las Vegas casino was the fictional Tangiers modeled after?

Team K, Coach EK: The Aladdin.

No.

Team B, Coach Brown: The Sahara.

No.

It was the Stardust because the DeNiro character was representing Lefty Rosenthal.

Hey, we want to take a moment to thank the Kiwanis Club of Las Vegas.

They have really helped us out providing judges for the in-school competitions.

We appreciate the Kiwanis Club of Las Vegas and their more than a half century of dedication to Varsity Quiz.

We salute all of their fine work in the community as well.

And a moment please for a shout-out to the staff and leadership of the Clark County School District's Student Activities Department.

They coordinate every step of Varsity Quiz from early in the school year all the way to the championships and here at the All-Star match.

We've got one more round go.

(crashing sound) I love it when we have a close match.

The score going into our final round, Team Betancourt with 105 points to Team Krafve's 100.

Wow!

We are back to all student players, so we'll start with Team Betancourt again.

Tell us your name, your grade and what school you go to starting with Harley.

-Hi.

I'm Harley.

I'm a senior at Durango.

-I'm Isis.

I am a junior from Rancho High School.

-I'm Zach.

I'm a senior at Arbor View High School.

-I'm Dylan.

I'm an 11th grader at Calvary Chapel Christian School.

-All right.

Thanks, Team Betancourt.

Let's meet our players for Team Krafve.

-I'm Catherine.

I'm a senior at Spring Valley High School.

-I'm Brian.

I'm a junior at Rancho High School.

-I'm Tammy, and I'm a junior from Rancho High School.

-I'm Ethan, and I'm a senior from Desert Pines High School.

-All right, students.

We have 4-1/2 minutes for this final round starting now.

In binomial nomenclature, a living thing's scientific name is composed of which two taxonomic levels?

Team K, Brian: Genus and species.

Yes.

The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado was the inspiration for the setting in which novel by Stephen King?

Team B, Zach: The Shining.

Yes.

Scary, huh?

The "Hallelujah Chorus" is the final chorus in Messiah by which iconic composer?

(bell chimes, time expires) No classical music fans?

George Fredrich Handel.

Originating in the Netherlands, what game involves two long jump ropes turning in opposite directions that are jumped by one or more players simultaneously?

Team B, Isis: Double Dutch.

Yes.

Have you ever done that?

-No.

-No, that's crazy.

I don't know how they do that.

Next question.

What's the interior angle measure of any triangle?

Team K, Brian: 180.

See, that's a math question.

You guys got that.

Next question.

Patrizia Reggiani, an Italian socialite, was convicted in a highly publicized trial hiring a hitman to kill her former husband who was the heir to what fashion empire?

Team K, Catherine: Versace.

No.

You're on the right track, though.

Team B, Dylan: Gucci.

It's the Gucci.

That's the one that Lady Gaga is in.

You got to see that movie.

No?

All right.

Digoxin is a cardiac drug derived from which plant?

(bell chimes, time expires) Yes, we're getting pretty deep into the woods on that one, it's foxglove.

This may never come up ever again.

Next question.

Dios de los Muertos features prominently in what animated Disney movie?

Team B, Harley: Coco.

Yes.

I haven't seen that.

Is it a good movie?

-It's good.

-All right.

Benedict Arnold, a major general in the Continental Army, was foiled in an attempt to surrender what fort to the British?

Team K, Brian: Ticonderoga.

No.

(bell chimes, time expires) He was trying to give them West Point.

Okay.

If a musical piece has a time signature of 4/4, a quarter note gets how many-- Team K, Tammy: One beat.

Yes, there you go.

Do you play an instrument, tammy?

-Yes.

-What do you play?

-The saxophone.

-All right, keep it up.

Here we go.

Name the award that's given annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values.

Team B, Zach: The Coretta Scott King Award.

Yes.

Good job.

All right.

If you're suffering from whiplash, what part of your body is affected?

Team B, Dylan: The brain.

No.

Team K, Brian: The neck.

Yes, the neck.

It's whiplash.

You know, it's painful.

During the attack at Pearl Harbor, which battleship was the only one to get underway during the attack and almost make it out of the harbor?

Team K, Brian: USS Nevada.

Yes.

Name the American rock band whose 2019 album From The Fires won the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Rock Album.

Come on, rock people.

Oh, you're killing me.

(bell chimes, time expires) Greta Van Fleet.

Zero recognition.

All right.

Give the term for the thick-walled part of a bird's stomach for grinding food.

(bell chimes, time expires) Oh, man.

It's the gizzard.

Besides Las Vegas, name one of two locations of other installations of Meow Wolf.

Team B, Harley: San Francisco.

No.

Team K, Catherine: Los Angeles.

No.

There's one in Denver and one in Santa Fe.

Have you guys been to Area 15?

That Meow Wolf is crazy.

You gotta check it out.

Name the ditch of water that surrounds medieval castles.

Team B, Isis: Moat.

Yes.

In the Magical Beasts-- can I go ahead and finish?

In the Magical Beasts trilogy of movies set in the world of Harry Potter, who plays Professor Dumbledore?

Team B, Zach: Jude Law.

Yes.

All right, we're out of time.

Let's find out who won the All-Star match.

(crashing sound) The final score of the Blue League All-Star Match, Team Betancourt takes it with 140 points to Team Krafve's 125.

Congrats to Team Betancourt, champions of the Blue League All-Stars.

Give it up for both teams!

(cheers and applause) So awesome to see all of these bright young men and women.

Before we go, we are so grateful to all the people who make Varsity Quiz the success that it is.

We're talking about all the coaches, the teachers and of course the students.

But how about some love for their parents?

Students, give your parents a round of applause.

(applause) We hope to see you next week when we start the road to the Silver League championship.

We'll have the first of our four quarterfinal matches when Foothill takes on the Meadows.

Thank you for watching Varsity Quiz on Vegas PBS.

♪♪♪