On Sunday, January 26, the DHS quiz show team travelled up to WGBH studios in Boston for the beginning of competition.  Their journey, however, did not begin here.  This competition was months in the making.

The selection process began before the actual school year began.  The roster was finalized with six total members, four of whom would be competing with two alternates.  The all-senior trivia moguls consisted of Samuel Steed, Ribhu Sengupta, Austin Williams, and Jacob Pereira, with alternates Nicholas Chesney and Christian Machado.

Qualification began in October. The four starting competitors made the trip to WGBH studios to compete with 95 other teams across the state.  Administered a qualification examination, the Dartmouth team faired successfully, qualifying with 15 others to appear on High School Quiz Show.  It was the second time in four years that Dartmouth would be represented in such a show.

Their success as of late is a testament to the hard work of the coaches, math teachers Don York and Gary Lauer.

“After three years on the team and two as its captain, it was great to finally get on the show,” said senior Sam Steed. “I’ve had a lot of great experiences and learned a lot as part of the quiz show team.”

The six-member team, with a select number of fans, departed Dartmouth in the early morning of the 26th. “The few fans who did show up were nice and loud,” said senior Jacob Pereira.

Arriving at the studios, the six competitors and two coaches were ushered into a large room for preparations to be made.

There they got make-up applied and microphones attached to their shirts.  For most of the members, it was their first time for make-up put on and to be filmed. “They put make-up on us. That wasn’t something I was expecting,” said Steed.

Nonetheless, it seemed as though all of the members controlled their nerves successfully before the taping.

Arlington High School, the competing team, arrived shortly after and received the same treatment.  In the preceding moments to broadcast, Arlington was observed performing a pregame ritual.  To the tune of epic music, four members took athletic knees while the fifth recited Shakespeare’s Henry V.  It was an impressive show of events, but the Dartmouth team was far from intimidated.

“We knew the questions pretty well, but it’s the buzzer that wins the game,” said Pereira. “It was an interesting experience to say the least.”

All the members of the Arlington team wore snap-back hats and suits, a variation of styles, which gave the Dartmouth team a variation of opinions regarding what to expect.

Soon after both teams walked out onto the stage for the actual competition.  Unfortunately, the details of the competition cannot be revealed as of yet.  In order to find out how the Dartmouth quiz show team faired, watch the show that will air on March 29 on WGBH.

Competitor Ribhu Sengupta said, “It was a great experience to see how game shows like this work. WGBH was an awesome host and provided a great learning experience.”

Upon finality of game play, both teams were escorted back to the preparatory room to receive a welcome bag of goodies.  In it the members and coaches of Dartmouth received High School Quiz Show shirts, which were worn as one on the following Wednesday at school.  The Dartmouth team represented our town with pride and dignity in Boston.