Best of three in extra time!
As if things weren’t tense enough with the imminent Euros’ Semi-Final between England and The Netherlands, 2024’s Geo-Bee final came down to extra-time with a run-off between three competitors who had tied for first place! But before we get to the results…
Wednesday July 10 dawned a bit cloudy but with the mercury at a luscious 20 degrees: our finalists sniffed the air as they stepped out of their homes and knew that it was just the day for a Geo-Bee final. They stepped through the school gates and recognised that only one of them would leave as the victor. Enormous pressure for anyone, let alone our young finalists.
After a gruelling day full of mainly non-Geographical subjects and other irrelevant things to attend to, the clock finally ticked around to 3:15 pm. Kick off.
Seated in Open Tech with a flock of over 6 spell-bound spectators, nearly 50 finalists from Years 7-10 battled their Geographical wits: country identification, obscure capital cities, unrecognisable national flags, the religious beliefs of different countries, random Geo factoids, delightful dingbats, and extraordinary natural wonders. Anyone claiming the top three spots were certainly going to be earning their place in history.
At the end of a thrilling Geo-Bee, the room was shocked to find that the outstanding top score of 30/36 had been shared by no less than 3 students: Jakub L (Year 8), Dylan R (Year 10) and Tommy M (Year 8).
A tie-break was decided. Faced with a political map of Asia, but no country names included, Mr Donaldson would point at a country and the finalist-finalists had to be first to raise their hand and correctly identify the country in a first to three.
It was a convincing victory: Tommy M swept the tie-break, maintaining his momentum as 2023’s Year 7 champion, into 2024’s overall Magna Champion! Brilliant stuff and very well deserved. It was a matter of milliseconds, however. Jakub and Dylan’s hands were only just behind Tommy’s in reaching for the sky. Following their tie-break, the final results were settled:
- 1st: Tommy M (Year 8)
- 2nd: Jakub L (Year 8)
- 3rd: Dylan R (Year 10)
Well done to our champions, and to all our finalists – a fantastic effort!
For those seeking to go one-better next year, the training and look-cover-write-check will begin now. For Tommy, it’s his title to defend. Who will be victorious in 2025? We look forward to seeing you then!
Mr Donaldson