THE ARGUS QUIZ 2011

The 2011 edition of the annual Pick ‘n Pay Argus Quiz commenced on Monday 3 May. Every Monday teams from a record number of schools across the Peninsula did battle with each other. Each team consisted of 5 members (4 and a reserve). In June, just before the exams, the first round ended, and the first 36 teams on the log entered the knock-out stages in the third term. During the quiz, 5 points are awarded for each correct answer, and 3 deducted for each incorrect answer. Log points are awarded according to the position the team achieves at the end of the day’s round.

SP was represented this year by 4 teams, namely:

Team A (Grade 12s) (below l-r): Lauren de Waal, Ameerah Majiet, Chesnay Stuurman, Liam Metcalf and Ashlee Prins.

Team B (Grade 9s): Caitlyn May, Naseera Abrahams, Brandon van Reenen, Thaakier Stegman and Mischka Amod (abs. for photo).

Team C (Grade 10s): Kirstin Meiring, Nadine Prins, Umr Roomaney, Kimico Pietersen and Rabia Dalwai.

  Team D (Grade 11s):  Aashiq Parker, Jaimie-Lee Jackson, Tasneem Cassiem, Nithaam Ryklieff, and Nasneen Dalvie (abs. for photo). After the round robin stages of the 2nd term, the top 16 qualifying teams participated in the quarter-finals. Semi-finals and finals were held on 20 August at the Waterfront.

By the end of the first stage, all four teams had qualified for the knock-out stages.

The Knock-outs

The first round of the third term was a good one for SP. All four teams advanced to the quarter-final round.

The quarter-finals were also good for SP, although Team C was unfortunately knocked out. All the other teams advanced safely to the semi- finals, with Team A finishing in second place to a highly motivated and very polished Islamia College C Team, but still qualifying for the semi- finals.

The semi-finals and final

These were held on Saturday 20 August at the BMW Pavilion in the Waterfront. The gala event was hosted by radio personality Jeremy Harris and the quiz master was Gasant Abarder, Executive Editor of the Cape Argus. One of the adjudicators was SP Alumnus Peter Rhoda, managing editor of Independent Online. SP’s B Team was drawn in semi-final 1, along with Islamia C, De Kuilen and Oval North. The A and D Teams were pitted against each other, along with Muizenberg High and Bergvliet High. The A Team had reached the same stage last year, but failed to qualify for the final.

The first semi-final was a closely fought one, with Islamia again impressing. They finished first, with SP’s B Team finishing strongly to end second, and thereby qualifying for the final. In the second semi-final SP’s two teams left their opponents in their wake, both qualifying very comfortably for the final. This meant, for the first time in the history of the Pick ‘n Pay Argus Quiz, that three teams from the same school had reached the final. The excitement among the SP participants and supporters was almost palpable. But the teams still had to face the impressive Islamia team.

The format of the final was slightly different to that of the other rounds, as 60 questions would be asked, instead of 40 as in the previous rounds. The seating arrangement had Islamia on the (audience’s) left of the stage, with SP’s A and B Teams in the middle, with the D Team on the right. Whether this had any effect on the eventual outcome, with Islamia facing a confident sea of maroon and gold, we’ll never know, but they were blown away by the SP buzzers. From the start, the SP Teams answered confidently, with Islamia finding it difficult to get a finger in edgewise. At the halfway stage Team B were slightly ahead on 40 points, with Team D just behind on 37 and Team A on 35. Islamia were still in single digits. As the second half unfolded, it was impossible to try to keep track of who was in the lead, as the three SP teams seemingly took turns to answer questions. By the time the final question had been asked, only one thing was clear - the winner would come from SP. After a lengthy and tension-filled pause as prizes were handed out to all the quarter-finalists and losing semi-finalists, the results were announced: in fourth place was the team from Islamia, with 9 points; in third was Team B on 41; in second was Team D on 53; and the winners, making up for their disappointment the previous year, were Team A. Whether their points were not announced at all or actually announced and lost amidst the cheering, we’ll never know. For winning, each member of the team won R2500, with R30000 going to the school, while the members of Team D won R1500 each, with R20000 for the school, and Team B’s members each winning R1000 each, with R15000 for the school.   

(Updated 21 August 2011)