2nd Ahoghill Company Section travelled to Cookstown for the opening round of this year’s national Masterteam competition.
Twenty-two companies from around Ireland had entered this year’s competition, with Round 1 split into three group.
2nd Ahoghill were in Group 2 which was hosted by 1st Cookstown, and included 1st Granshaw, 4th Newtownabbey B, 1st Ardstraw, 1st Armagh and 1st Broughshane. 1st Charlemont were unable to attend as originally planned.
The quiz was overseen by Ian McCullough of 1st Moneymore, with Colin Barnes and James Thompson of 1st Cookstown keeping score.
A summary of the rounds can be found below-
Round 1 – The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe (Chapters 1-4)
Round 2 – Sport
Round 3 – Bible Knowledge (Matthew Chapters 1-4)
Round 4 – Blockbusters
Round 5 – Dingbats (Picture Round)
Round 6 – General Knowledge
Round 7 – Colours
Round 8 – What year?
Round 9 – Science and Nature
Round 10 – Capital Cities (Picture Round)
The boys started well with an opening score of eight out of ten in the first round of questions. However a difficult sports round returned a disappointing single point. The boys redeemed themselves with a 9.5 in the Bible Knowledge round followed by 8 points in round four’s Blockbusters, bringing them up to third place.
The team performed reasonably well in the remaining rounds, but too many points were dropped and they were unable to catch leaders 1st Broughshane. A final score of 62.5 points left 2nd Ahoghill in third place.
The top team from each group progress automatically, followed by the five highest scores from the remaining teams. This means progression is still possible but seems unlikely judging by previous year’s Round 1 scores.
Despite being treated to refreshments by our hosts after the quiz, we still made our customary stop for food on the way home. This time visiting McDonalds in Cookstown.
Many thanks to 1st Cookstown for their warm welcome and refreshments. And congratulation to 1st Broughshane for topping the group.
| Company | Total |
|---|---|
| 1st Broughshane | 66 |
| 1st Ardstraw | 64.5 |
| 1st Cookstown | 64.5 |
| 2nd Ahoghill | 62.5 |
| 1st Granshaw | 61 |
| 4th Newtownabbey B | 58 |
| 1st Armagh | 54.5 |
Update 14/11/19: We have been informed that we have progressed to the Irish Finals on 22nd February, and will face 4th Newtownabbey A, 100th Belfast, 1st Broughshane, 1st Ardstraw, 1st Cookstown, 1st Ballymoney and 1st Greenisland.
