Academic Challenge is a high school version of Quiz bowl that was aired on WEWS in Cleveland, Ohio from 1964 to 1999 and has been aired again from 2003 to the present. It was based on It's Academic in Washington, D.C.; the two shows are now produced by the same company and follow the same game format.
The show is noted for its many errors – a recent major gaffe being the question "Who called chess a waste of intellectual energy?" (December 31, 2005), to which the proffered correct answer was "Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" – the actual correct answer was Raymond Chandler.
The major difference in the championship format is that It's Academic uses a playoff method, while Academic Challenge simply invites the three highest-scoring schools for a championship game, though the Cleveland show experimented with playoffs during the late 1990s.
It has won several awards, including the Emmy for "best regularly scheduled children/youth program by the Cleveland Regional Emmy chapter."
The final results for 2006 saw Garfield Heights High School and Mentor High School tie with 670 points and Copley High School in 3rd with 655 points. The final show aired on June 17th and saw Copley win the championship, with Garfield Heights 2nd and Mentor 3rd.
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