LDS Church College Pesega completed an undefeated season in Samoa’s 2013 Battle of the Minds by winning the national championship against Samoa Adventist College in a nationally televised final match. In doing so, they became one of only two teams in the event's 8-year history to win back-to-back championships.
The competition is similar to the Quiz Bowls or College Bowls held in other countries. The teams answer questions in front of live audiences on topics including chemistry, biology, geography, math, physics, accounting, language (English and Samoan), history, and general knowledge.
Matches were held each Saturday in a 7-week long competition that began with teams from 10 colleges (high schools) vying for top honors. The semi-finals and finals were held on the campus of the National University of Samoa.
Weeks before the competition began the students began staying after school with faculty coaches to study and prepare. Looking back on all the work, Pesega team member Sophya Moors, said, “It was challenging to self-study and to prepare for each game. When we played, and then won, we got rid of doubts. It was good to work together as a team."
Ramoni Afualo, who specializes in the sciences, said, “The hardest part (of the competition) was trying to calm yourself. Your emotions are overflowing and you feel at war inside.” When asked how he dealt with this he said, “You have to be mentally prepared when the game is going to start.” When asked what he enjoyed the most from the experience he said, “Over the past seven weeks my confidence and friendships have grown.”
Each team consists of six students (three players and three backups) and is coached by teachers from the school. In the finals, the Pesega players were Penina Wilson, Sophya Moors, and Ramoni Afualo; with Kerita Laurenson, Rauinia Vaaula, and Ann Laban as backups. The faculty leaders were Senerita Fuiava, Jenny Lauano, and Kalena Segi. During the season, each student participated as one of the players in a match.
In the previous week, the LDS school had to pull off a dramatic come-from-behind finish to defeat Robert Louis Stevenson School in a tightly contested match and advance to the finals.
The final match against Samoa Adventist College began with the Toss-Up Round where the team pressing the buzzer first gets first chance to answer the question. One example: “Which of the following is a component in DNA, RNA, ATP, some proteins, and bone tissue: potassium, iron, sodium or phosphorus?” At the end of the round the score was tied 35-35.
The tie breaker was, “How many seats are there in the Samoan Parliament?” Pesega buzzed first and correctly answered, “49”, giving them the edge, 40-35.
In the Blind Categories round, each team is quizzed on four different subject areas, blindly chosen by the team in the lead. One question was: “Determine the acceleration of a car that starts at rest and takes 5.21 seconds to travel 100 meters.” Here Pesega pulled ahead, 65-35.
The outcome was still in doubt because a lot of points can be scored in the Lightning Round. Here, the team in the lead leaves the room while the other tries to answer as many questions as possible in a given amount of time. The team then returns, not knowing what the score is, and does the same thing. Pesega seemed comfortable under the pressure and when the score was revealed, they had triumphed: 115 to 65.
Although Adventist College lost in the finals, they have much to be proud of since this is their first year in the competiton.
This was also the first year for the team from LDS Church College Vaiola. Since they are located on the island of Savaii they had to travel weekly by boat to participate. New to the competition, they lost their first two matches in the round robin phase of the tournament. At this point they seemed to gain confidence and went on to defeat perennial power St. Joseph’s College and eventual semi-finalist Robert Lewis Stevenson School. The two victories were not enough to qualify them for the semi-finals but may give them a confidence boost for next year.
The Vaiola team consisted of Tyrone Taleni, Hemani Alalatou, Iokopo Faleatua, Mavanatua Tiatia, Jocinta Vui, and Maryanntea Togagae. Their faculty leaders were Deutzia Seumanutafa and Lise Taleni.
Teacher Lise Taleni said, “I enjoyed all of it and learned a lot. This experience will help us next time.”
When asked what he liked best, Iakopo Faleatua said, “Meeting new people and being on TV.” Mavanatua Tiatia added, “I liked making friends with the other schools.”
Both LDS Church College Pesega and LDS Church College Vaiola are administered and operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
For more information about the competition, see this article in the Samoa Observer: http://www.samoaobserver.ws/education/7309-defending-champions-do-it-again
