Hundreds Compete at National Bible Bowl Tourney

By Staff

 

“Team 1″ from Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, Kentucky, won the National Bible Bowl double-elimination tournament held July 1-4 at the Marriott Marquis in Atlanta, Georgia.

Other team winners included the squad from Central Christian Church in Ocala, Florida, which won the Beginner Bowl contest, and test-takers from Central Christian Church in Kissimmee, Florida, who scored highest on the Team Written Test. (A more complete list of team and individual winners is at the end.)

In addition to the quizzes and tests, evening sessions at the national tournament featured lively worship and compelling speaking. Offerings exceeded $15,000 and will help fund the national program. Also, Christian institutions held a college fair and provided breakfast items.

The national tournament now includes games played in a round-robin format before the start of the double-elimination tournament. Since participating teams could not play all of the 112 teams there, they were broken up into “pods” of 11 or 12 teams each. This allowed every team to play more games. New this year was a “Challenger Bracket” for those who did not make the top 48 of the double elimination.

The national tournament now includes a Quote Bee. Much like the National Spelling Bee, the player stands at a podium, in front of a crowd of people, and is given a verse from the text to quote. Players must quote the verse, word for word. There are 200 “Memory Verses” used for the first six rounds. Starting in Round 7 players can be asked any verse from the year”s entire text””this year it was John,

1 and 2 Peter, and 1, 2, and 3 John.

The Beginner Bible Bowl, now in its ninth year, is for third- through fifth-graders. The tournament format is the same, but covers a two-day period instead of four. Forty-eight teams competed.

The 2009 National Tournament will take place in Indianapolis, Indiana, and will include an alumni tournament””a reunion, of sorts. For more information about the alumni tournament or starting a Bible Bowl program, go to www.biblebowl.net.

Here is a list of this year”s top finishers:

 

Double Elimination

1. Southeast Christian (Team 1), Louisville, KY

2. First Christian, Kissimmee, FL

3. Towne South Church of Christ, Elizabeth City, NC

4. First Christian, Washington, MO

5. Austin/Meadow Park, Rochester, MN

6. Valley View Christian (Team 2), Dallas, TX

7. First Church of Christ, Xenia, OH

8. Worthington (OH) Christian

 

Team Written Test

1. First Christian, Kissimmee, FL

2. Stony Point Christian, Kansas City, KS

Individual Written Test

1. Christian Kelley, Southeast Christian, Louisville, KY

2. (tie) Ruth Aase, Austin/Meadow Park, Rochester, MN

2. (tie) Kelsey Curran, First Christian, Washington, MO

Quote Bee

1. Cody Quitter, First Christian, Xenia, OH

2. Breanna Hayes, Valley View Christian, Dallas, TX

Beginner Bowl

1. Central Christian, Ocala, FL

2. Southeast Christian (Team 3), Louisville, KY

3. Winchester-Tollesboro, KY

4. First Christian, Kernersville, NC