Crook County Middle School to host Battle of the Books tourney

PRINEVILLE, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The 2020 Central Oregon Regional Middle School and High School Oregon Battle of the Books tournament will take place Saturday at Crook County Middle School.

Registration of teams and training for volunteers start at 8 a.m. and matches begin at 9 a.m.

Teams from Crook, Deschutes, Harney, Jefferson and Wheeler counties in the sixth through eighth grade and high school divisions will compete. The top teams in each division will move on to compete at the state OBOB finals on April 4 at Chemeketa Community College in Salem.

At the regional Battle of the Books tournament, 19 middle school and six high school teams will participate in a round robin, quiz bowl-style competition.

Crook County Middle School hosts this event, which CCMS librarian Kris Jones and CCMS language arts teacher Cally Modin have organized. Students in each division read up to 16 books and answer questions on the content of those books written by volunteer teams of teachers, librarians and others.

This OBOB season at CCMS, 30 students formed seven teams. The winning team, “Burnin Books,” made up of team captain Dylanne Smith, Natalia Crass, Tanner Joyce and Justin Mitchell, will compete in the regional tournament. 

Jones noted, “This is a tremendous opportunity for our community to host this regional event and spotlight a wonderful program.”

Participation in the competition fosters a love of reading in students and can generate much excitement about academic achievement. The program continues to grow each year to the point now where thousands of students participate at the school level in this important literary enterprise.

In many schools, the final school team is selected in a competition held in front of the entire student body, so the reach of the program extends beyond just participating team members. The positive image of reading created by the Battle of the Books has incalculable effects on attitudes toward reading of a large number of area students.

For more information, visit Oregon Battle of the Books, http://www.oregonbattleofthebooks.org.