Online Quiz Night: A Cyberspace Smash
Quick! How many teams competed in Quiz Night? (36)
How many players were on those teams? (207)
What did they do? (Had a ton of fun, won plenty of prizes, raised money for the Staples boys soccer program.)
Last night’s 15th annual Quiz Night marked a first. Instead of gathering in the school cafeteria, COVID forced everyone online. Teams could gather together in one home, or apart. Most of the varsity, reserve and freshman players met in someone’s home; many of their parents and relatives played in their own homes. Competitors checked in from as far as London (where it was early morning).
A creative, hard-working committee made the event special. There were raffles, meal deals with local restaurants, and of course raffle prizes.
Sandro Moreno was the digital guru. He harnessed a software program with an algorithm that rewarded both the number of correct answers per team, and the speed with which questions were answered.
Through 6 rounds of 8 questions each — with a heart-racing 10 seconds per question — the 3 dozen teams battled.
At the end, O’Dell’s Basement — which actually met not in the freshman coach’s home, but consisted of varsity and reserve players Kyle Ambrose, Ethan Cukier, Steve Divino, Ben Douglas, Alex Laskin and Hunter Smith — finished first.
They were trailed closely by Edalone (varsity players and their friends Jacob Greenberger, Jackson Hochhauser, Spencer Levine, Derek Sale, Caleb Tobias and Max Udell) and Team Da Vinki (freshmen Santi Alfageme, Avery Mueller, Eli Rosenkranz, Jeremy Rosenkranz, Ryan Schuster, Arthur Skatoff and Chase Watkins, plus Ethan Wambrose).
Max Udell — a former soccer player now on the Staples lacrosse team, whose father Andy starred on the Wreckers’ 1988 FCIAC champion squad — won a prize basket for the most number of correct answers in the shortest time.
2020 has been a strange year for Staples soccer. Despite its different format, Quiz Night provided a bit of normalcy. And plenty of contributions for the program, which will pay for everything from coaching stipends, videography, winter futsal, livestreaming and field maintenance, to the freshman team’s dance program.
Congratulations to the winners. Thanks to all who played. And huge props to the organizers: Sandro Moreno, Brett Adams, Lindsay Blaivas, Carolyn Caney, Drew Douglas, Joanna Douglas, Mary Foster, Nicole Laskin, Peter Levine, Lori Pulichino, Padma Priyamani and Chandy Smith.
PS: If you missed your chance to contribute to the program — or want to send additional funds — just Venmo @StaplesBoysSoccer, or send a check (“Staples Boys Soccer”) to Douglas, 4 Salem Road, Westport, CT 06880.
The winners! (From left): Hunter Smith, Alex Laskin, Ben Douglas, Kyle Ambrose, Ethan Cukier, Steven Divino.
The war room: where the magic happened.
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