European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 27, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Giessen academic beat the brains out of the Competition by Jimi Jones education writ Erevin Steinman s answer came just As timekeeper Garreth Price called  the audience cheered because that final Correct answer meant the team from Giessen High school Germany which had prevailed throughout most of the hotly contested Competition had come from behind to tie the last brain bowl game at 95. That sent Giessen and opponent Gen. H h. Arnold High school of Wiesbaden Germany Back to the buzzers for a tie breaker that ended about 15 minutes later in a Roar from the audience hugs Between teams and a final 165-115 Victory for Giessen in the 12th annual interscholastic academic games at Vilseck High school in Germany. The path to the no. 1 spot had some tense moments for the winners like the comeback that began when they trailed by 30 Points in the final game but they finished with an undefeated two Day record of 6-0. I never in my wildest dream thought that we would get to first place said Giessen Captain Kevin Steinman who was making his second appearance in the annual brain boggling tournament. But i guess that s really what sve came  last year i had no idea what to expect said Steinman a senior who was first to Buzz on Many of the challenging questions. We were Able to size up the teams eventually but we had no idea what constituted a Good team or a bad  Giessen entered the Competition with cautious Confidence Steinman said after the departure of several academically Strong seniors from last year s opposing teams. We thought we had a fair shot of doing Well but we did t want to get overconfident he said at a reception after the games. He said he thought the level of play declined from last year with teams losing dominant senior players like Ramstein High s Kerry Kartchner and Heidelberg s Alex Bueno Edwards the standout competitor who led his team to Victory last year. We wanted to beat Heidelberg because they won last year said Joey Kushner the Giessen team s math wizard. Everyone wanted to hit on  i m really relieved added Kushner a Sophomore who also competed last year. It was really tense up there the Competition was pretty Strong especially the Many High Giessen s Kevin Steinman reacts with disappointment after missing a question As teammates from left Maria Miller Danny Kirkhum and Joey Kushner Grin and Bear h. Moderator /.d. Hopkins passes a question card to judges for a ruling on an answer which was eventually disallowed.  is photos by Ken George last game where we   the brain bowl patterned after the one time to game show College bowl pitted about 100 ninth through 12th-graders from 20 department of defense dependents schools from Germany against each other in a fierce two Day contest that challenged students knowledge of subjects such As. Mathematics science and history. Five member teams were made up of a student from each of the four grades and an alternate. There had to be one student from each Grade in the first round of play. Teams earned 1.0 Points for each correctly answered question and an additional five Points for bonuses. As with Many programs in Dodds the academic games Drew smaller numbers of participants this year with. The extensive withdrawal of . Forces from Europe. The draw Down has taken with it More than 30 schools and 40,000 pupils in Germany alone. Three schools Augsburg Berlin and Karlsruhe All declined to participate this year because of shrinking enrolments said organizer Pat Wolf of Vilseck. Jacob Gothia Captain of Wiesbaden s second place team said his team suffered last year because of student losses associated with the draw Down. We did t have a really Strong team and did t do nearly As Well said Gothia a Junior. We had to build a team last year because of the  although everyone likes to win and the top spot would have been Nice second place was a pleasant Surprise to say the least said Gothia. I was pleased at the Way our team handled the Competition he said. We really came together As a team As opposed to other teams made up mainly of one person answering All the  his team he said had a Good mixture Good balance of students and knowledge from each  Steinman and Heidelberg s team Captain Megan Flanagan were named most valuable players. Heidelberg which won the 1992-93 school year Competition for the first time in the game s 12-year history was this year s third place Winner. Steinman was a bit reserved about being named map. I m really excited that we won As a team he said. But this map thing i Don t think i really deserve it Joey Kushner gave me so much help. Just knowing that he was there i could t Call myself map. I think we provided a balance of knowledge and All the teammates  Wurzburg High school which won the 1986-87 contest in Berlin took Home fourth place honors the same As last year. Bamberg High school took fifth while Frankfurt was sixth. The former we Brucken High school lost this year to draw Down remains the Only school to have captured the title More than once taking the very first bowl in the 198283 school year and for three consecutive years starting with 1987-88. The Competition was started at bad Kreuz Nach High school by a former Dodds teacher Sandy Riggins who founded the event with the belief that academic Competition should rank alongside sports. Perhaps for As Long As there have been schools the academically talented have often been looked upon As Dull  today s students say that perception has t completely changed. However the games allow Bright students to escape to a setting where being smart is considered somewhat acceptable. The Competition comes second to the friendships that i have with the people involved in this said Steinman. I can count 10 to 15 close friends that i have met either in other academic programs sports or just around Giessen. They Are All Here in a Nice atmosphere where it s comfortable to be smart not like at school where sometimes you need to be not so smart. These friendships Foster a comfortable atmosphere that allows us to  when they Are Here and All competing it makes them feel More self assured with a likeness to one another Wolf said. When there is Only one of two in school they feel like an  some people frown on Competition but considering How much of our society is based upon competing it s natural Wolf said. A lot of times kids Don t have the Chance to Shine so this is a Chance for them to be competitive and to win. It s definitely a Challenge and a plus for  this Marks the second year that Giessen sponsor and math teacher Patsy love who seemed to be floating around the reception has coached the team. Teams often practice during lunch periods for the grueling Competition. I should be very tired but i m not love boasted. I feel great they did magnificently she said of her competitors. They have never come this far. I m so proud of All of  other members of the winning team Are Danny Kirkhum the Junior Jason Barnaby the Giessen Captain Steinman gets a congratulatory hug Tom Wiesbaden s Jacob Gothia at the conclusion of the Tovery be round. Freshman and Maria Miller the late addition pith Grade alternate. Ironically the Giessen team was the last to arrive at Vilseck and nearly did t make it at All. The Van that was supposed to bring us never showed up said Kushner. We had some really bad moments love added. They kept saying this is an Omen we re not going to do Well " but Lov predicted we d be sitting there at the end of the finals going was t it a Good thing that Maria s parents brought us else we would t have won Kushner said. It turned out she was  i kept saying this is an Omen but a Good Omen love said. And in the end there was one More Good development she said. There is a Van outside waiting for  scorekeepers Erin Connolly and Jason Luke applaud the finalists As they finish regulation play in a dead heat. Bowl Sampler Here is a sampling of questions that students answered Over a two Day period during the annual brain  1. Where should natural oils be stored to prevent rancidity. Bonus what happens to grains if they Are overcooked 2. Who was the first person appointed and approved for the supreme court by president Clinton Bonus whose position on the court did she fill 3. How Many sides does a regular polygon have if each Interior Angle is 170 degrees 4. How Many four letter permutations can be made from the letters of the word work Bonus the front of the Athens Parthenon is shaped like a special rectangle the measure of whose sides is always in the ratio of about 1 to 1.618. What kind of rectangle is it 5. Which planet takes 248 Earth years to go around the Sun answers 1. Refrigerator Bonus they become Sticky. 2. Ruth Bader Ginsburg Bonus Byron White s 3. 36 sides 4. 24 Bonus Golden 5. Pluto the stars and stripes Thi stars and stripes 21 20 Thi stars and stripes saturday november 27,1993