16 NH HIGH SCHOOL ACADEMIC TEAMS COMPETE IN 30th SEASON OF NHPTV’S GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE

(DURHAM, February 4, 2014) — [Q:] What NH high school quiz show will start celebrating its 30th season this week? [A:] Granite State Challenge!Get ready for the premiere of the 30th season of GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE on Saturday, February 8th at 6 p.m. on NHPTV PRIME, as Portsmouth Christian Academy takes on Concord High School. New Hampshire Public Television’s quiz show for academic superstars has high school teams from all over New Hampshire competing for brainy bragging rights!Hosted in its first year by Tom Bergeron, the series premiered on January 30th, 1984. This high school quiz show has seen some of the best and brightest New Hampshire students going head-to-head in a competition that tests not only their academic knowledge, but their ability to think quickly and keep their composure under pressure. Over the 30 years of GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE, 4,320 kids have played in 838 games and answered nearly 101,000 questions.In the fall, 52 New Hampshire high school teams competed to make the final roster of 16 teams. The first round of games this season have the following teams facing off:2/8 Concord High School vs. Portsmouth Christian Academy (Dover)2/15 Academy of Science and Design (Nashua) vs. Kennett High School (N. Conway)2/22 Bow High School vs. Bedford High School3/1 Bishop Guertin High School (Nashua) vs. Merrimack High School3/8 Hanover High School vs. Pinkerton Academy (Derry)3/15 Dover High School vs. Salem High School3/22 Fall Mountain High School (Langdon) vs. Keene High School3/29 Newfound Regional High School (Bristol) vs. Plymouth High SchoolLook for exciting new angles to the games this season, including an interactive, online quiz version of GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE where individuals can take the Challenge and play against each other in real time. Also, for a second year, there’s a Granite State vs. Bay State match between the winners of the GRANITE STATE SUPERCHALLENGE and the WGBH Boston High School Quiz Show. It takes a winning combination of knowledge, teamwork, grace under pressure, and a quick buzzer reflex to play GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE. The game requires quick recall of facts in math, science, social studies, language arts and fine arts, as well as knowledge of current events, entertainment, sports, and regional topics. Host Jim Jeannotte poses the Challenge questions to the teams; co-host Lori Warriner goes behind-the-scenes to interview them. The winning team receives $1,000, a trophy and a Granite State Challenge 2014 champion banner for their school. The runner-up school receives $500 and a trophy.GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE is generously funded by lead sponsor Unitil, a provider of natural gas and electricity to customers in New England. Additional funding is provided by NEA NH, D.F. Richard, Markem-Imaje, Heinemann, Pax World Funds, and Measured Progress. The GSC 2014 champion banner for the winning school was donated by the NHHEAF Network Organizations."Unitil is incredibly proud to support Granite State Challenge as it shines the spotlight on New Hampshire's brightest young scholars," said Carol Valianti, Unitil's vice president of communications and public affairs. "The brainpower demonstrated by these students is impressive and we wish all the teams lots of luck in the season ahead!" The 30th season of GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE premieres February 8th at 6 p.m., with multiple airdates on NHPTV PRIME and NHPTV EXPLORE. All games can be watched online at http://video.nhptv.org, on YouTube or iTunes. Online GSC quizzes help keep students and audiences involved in the game. www.nhptv.org/gsc

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