The first-ever Apostolic Bible Quizzing National Tournament (ABQNT) in Tulsa, Oklahoma was a resounding success.  The intense competition was driven by many of the top teams in both junior and senior quizzing today.  From the first interrupted question to the final trophy presented in front of 1,700 cheering young people, the tournament at the Green Country Event Center was the place to be.

The junior division was lead by the undefeated team from Lake Charles, LA whose captain, Elle Simmons was both the Junior Quizzer of the Year and the tournament’s highest scorer.  Giving this all-girl team an exceedingly close run in the final quiz was the all-boy team from Buford, GA.  This nail-biter final quiz came down to the final question, a 2-part cross-reference question which was expertly interrupted, completed and answered by Elle Simmons to clinch the quiz, the tournament and the title of Apostolic Bible Quizzing National Junior Champion.  An astonishing fact revealed in the awards ceremony was that Elle, up until the championship quiz, failed to MISS A SINGLE QUESTION during the entire tournament.

Leading up to this quiz was a procession of stellar quizzes participated in by a variety of quality teams from all over our nation. Congratulations to the two fine teams from Durham, NC, and Carmi, IL, who along with Lake Charles and Buford claimed their spots in the top four.

The frequent medal ceremonies were climaxed by two special medals given to Austin Goodman from Sacramento, CA, and Elle Simmons from Lake Charles, LA.  The newly-introduced platinum medals were a VERY difficult medal to acquire as the qualifications were a perfect quiz with no misses and scoring over 130 points (representing ~80% of the possible points for a junior quizzer; seniors would need to score over 160 points).

Special thanks is due to Bro. Mark Green the junior quizmaster for overseeing this division’s quizzing with the considerable help of Bro. Barber and Bro. Reece as judges and Sis. Barber as scorekeeper.

In the senior division things were also lively as was evident to anyone viewing the final three quizzes.  Friday morning left us with the final four teams: Lake Charles, LA; Columbus, IN; Concord 1, CA and Alto, TX.  The trophy round began with Lake Charles and Columbus facing off, Columbus having won three consecutive quizzes for the opportunity.  Again tension was high as the scores mounted and mounted.  As Lake Charles’ Hillary Simmons, the soon-to-be-crowned Senior Quizzer of the Year hit the last question of the quiz the nervous hush filling the room was immediately replaced with a roar when “that is correct” was announced.  It was a tie . . . the quiz was now in overtime.

The quiz teetered in the balance for the next three questions until Caleb Streeval, who tied for the tournament’s high-scoring award, snatched the last of the overtime questions to clinch the win for Columbus.  The nerve-ridden crowd sighed with relief and the tension finally lessened... but not for long.

To the astonishment of officials, quizzers and contestants, the next quiz between Columbus and Concord also ended its 20-question stretch in a tie.  Once again Columbus came through in the overtime and prevailed to face the undefeated team from Alto, TX in the championship quiz.

It was indeed a match-up.  Two well-matched brother and sister teams, each well-studied and thoroughly tutored in the subtleties of quizzing, faced off for what turned out to be the last quiz of the tournament.

Columbus had won five consecutive quizzes to arrive at this moment and were “on a roll”, but Jordan (the runner-up Quizzer of the Year) and Andrea Grindle (who tied with Caleb Streeval for the highest scorer) from Alto, quizzing with the same measured, cool-headed style which had served them so well to this point overcame and became the first-ever Senior Apostolic Bible Quizzing National Champions.

Sincere appreciation is extended to Bro. Phillip Booker who quizmastered the senior division along with the capable help of judges Bro. Ryder and Bro. Meaderds and scorekeeper Sis. Ryder.

The award ceremony held just prior to the Friday evening service at the PEAK Youth Conference was amazing as nearly two thousand people roared their approval for these gifted young people.

The first-ever ABQNT is now history, but the future is bright.  It will only get bigger and better from here.  So we invite you to join us next year for another exciting time at the Worldwide Pentecostal Fellowship’s Apostolic Bible Quizzing National Tournament.