User:Bdsmith/Reach

This page is being used to list various aspects of Reach for the Top, a Canadian high school competition similar to quizbowl and other academic events.

First, my biases. I was a junior member of a team that won the national championship. It is something that I will still list on my "claims to fame". That being said, in my later years of high school and once in university playing quizbowl, I have become increasingly disappointed with Reach on a variety of issues. Some of it was bad experiences at the local level, other times it was problems with the whole institution.

After a small editing flare-up on the Reach Wikipedia page, what some people deemed to be a "controversy" was not so in my eyes. I decided to set this up to put things in perspective: does Reach have a good enough track record to suggest that "controversies" are just mistakes or misunderstandings, or are there problems?

On this page, please feel free to add positive and negative aspects of Reach. Please do not delete other views unless you are certain that there is factual inaccuracy. Some statements are obvious ("Reach has Canadian content"), while others will need references for proof.

Appeal

 * Reach for the Top has a long history in Canada, dating back to 1961. It has decades of experience for building up its brand and familiarity
 * Reach for the Top attracts over 600 schools each year. Proportionally, this is one of the best participation rates for a national high school buzzer competition in the world
 * Reach's Canadian content is suitable for quizzing Canadian teams
 * Reach has outlasted other (televised) quiz competitions in Canada, such as Génies en herbe, SmartAsk, and the Canadian versions of most American game shows.
 * The name "Reach for the Top" is recognizable to many Canadians because of its widespread activity and history on the CBC.

Competition

 * The (regional)/provincial/national progression level provides a natural means of progressing through the ranks, without creating a burden on lower-ranked teams to travel great distances for a single tournament
 * The "provincial winners" arrangement at nationals gives representation from all parts of Canada and increases teams' exposure to other parts of the country
 * Most competitions can be held in classrooms, and require no special rooms or equipment other than buzzer lockout systems

Content and Format

 * Questions are printed in order and in sequence. There is no need to flip to different pages for different questions, and very rarely is there a need to skip over questions.  This layout is excellent for new readers and for maintaining a quick flow in the game.
 * Most classroom competition uses a set number of questions. This gives players knowledge beforehand of how many points are available, and reduces the stress on readers to finish within a time limit.
 * Questions cover a wide range of topics relevant to material learned in schools, such as literature, history, geography, science, and math. Most answers are within the scope of what would be taught by grade 12.
 * There are different methods of asking questions, such as "snappers" or "team questions". These different methods emphasize different ways of remembering a fact - quick recall, group collaboration, deeper knowledge, etc. - rather than having a game testing only one type of knowledge recall.

Positive events

 * Reach for the Top offers useful prizes - such as electronics, books, or travel tickets - to winners in addition to a trophy or medal.
 * Some universities, such as the University of Western Ontario (c. 1990s), the University of Waterloo (c. late 1990s), and Dalhousie University (present) have offered scholarships for top Reach performers.
 * Reach subsidizes a trip to Nationals for provincial winners, freeing up resources for the team to afford sightseeing or other activities.
 * Success in Reach for the Top usually leads to positive exposure for a school through the media, which is particularly pronounced for schools in smaller cities or in regions with poorer demographics.
 * Reach for the Top employs past players to write questions, organize events, and take on leadership roles.