Transcription
And academic initiatives. Welcome to the 2025 Marine Corps Junior ROC National Academic Championship. [Applause] My name is Dave Bicowski and it is my honor to serve as the moderator for this championship match between these two very fine teams here today.
Yesterday, eight Marine Corps teams faced off in five matches of competition and then four advanced to playoff rounds today. And now we are down to these final two here to represent the Marine Corps later today in the joint service championship. We'll begin the introductions first with the blue buzzers from Round Rock, Texas, Round Rock High School. [Applause] Round Rock entered the playoffs as the number three seed and they come into this match with a record of five wins and one loss. This is their third appearance at JAB and their first time appearing in the finals. They finished fourth in 2013.
Their opponents with the white buzzers from Little Rock, Arkansas Catholic High School. Catholic High School went 6-0, 5-0 yesterday, and a playoff win as the number one seed earlier today. This is their fourth appearance at JAB. They were Marine Corps champions in 2017 and 2021. By the way, Round Rock's single loss came yesterday in in the middle of the day in round five, 250 to 2:30 against this Catholic team. So, you can be sure that this rematch is going to be a good one.
Teams, before we begin, we're going to start with a buzzer check and a mic check. So, if we could start closest to me and working our way across the stage, please buzz in and using your push-to-talk mic, give your name and what year in school you're going to be. [Music] Kushal Joligam, rising senior. Na Swaminathan, rising junior. Sylvia rising junior. Ehan Chakshi, rising sophomore. Andrew Smith, rising senior. Harrison Brooks, rising senior. Zack Greenway, rising senior. Will Garmin, rising senior.
Again, congratulations to both of these teams. Teams, before we begin, do you have any questions for me? Seeing none, we begin as always with the first quarter. The first quarter consists of eight tossup questions worth 10 points each. Teams, hands on your buzzers. Good luck. Here is tossup question number one.
In 1952, this country's last king was toppled by the free officers movement. This country's air force was destroyed at the start of the six-day war, which began when it restricted shipping in the Straits of Tiran. Gamal Abdel Nasser led for 10 points. What country's nationalization of the Suez Canal? Round Rock: Egypt. Correct. 10 points.
Number two. This god who possesses a sense of hearing so acute that he can hear grass growing is sometimes called Gulantani due to his golden teeth. This god will signal the beginning of Ragnarok by blowing his Gjallarhorn. For 10 points, name this Norse god, the guardian of the rainbow bridge Bifrost. That is Round Rock: Bald. That is incorrect. 5 seconds to ring in. Catholic. Catholic: Heimdall. Heimdall is correct for 10 points and both teams are on the board early.
Number three. This man was the first of his country's leaders to be born after its independence. In March 2025, this leader tried to fire Ronen Bar, who leads the security service, Shin Bet, for investigating ties between this man's government and Qatar. For 10 points, name this Israeli prime minister. Round Rock: Netanyahu. Yes, Benjamin Netanyahu is correct.
Number four. It is disputed whether this animal is distinct from Gobi fossils of Tarbosaurus bataar. In 1990, a nearly complete skeleton of this animal was found in South Dakota by Sue Hendrickson. This theropod T-Rex, that's correct for 10 points.
Number five. This author fictionalized himself as Jack Duluoz in novels such as Doctor Sax and Big Sur. He created the pseudonyms Carlo Marx, Old Bull Lee, and Dean Moriarty to represent his friends in a novel in which he appears as Sal Paradise. For 10 points, name this Beat Generation author of On the Road. Any takers? Time. That is Jack Kerouac.
Number six. A reduction in this rate correlates to a rise in wages on the Phillips curve. A participation rate determines the denominator used to calculate this rate, which may stem from structural or frictional factors. Catholic: Unemployment. Yes, good buzz. 10 points.
Number seven. Aside from Hawaii, this is the only US state to include one of the decade volcanoes. One of this state's mountains is circled by the Wonderland Trail and is referred to by members of the Puyallup tribe as Tacoma. Mount Rainier is in Round Rock: Washington. In Washington. Good for 10 points.
Number eight, final tossup of the first quarter. These shapes are placed edge to edge in the Spiral of Theodorus. The ratios between side lengths of these shapes can be used to define the sine, cosine. Round Rock: Triangles. More specific, please. Right. Triangles. That's what we're looking for. Good for 10 points.
That is the end of the first quarter. Our official scorekeeper, Jeremy Singer, has confirmed the score as shown. Round Rock 50, Catholic 20. We move on now to the second quarter of the match. The second quarter is the tossup bonus round. There are four tossups in this quarter. A correct answer to a tossup gives a team 10 points and the first opportunity at a three-part bonus totaling 30 points. Missed bonus parts bounce back to the other team, who then have an opportunity to steal those points on that bonus part with a correct answer. Teams, hands on your buzzers for this first tossup question of quarter number two.
A division of this institution put the Winston Red Diamond on display in April 2025. Its newest facility devoted to African-American history and culture moved to its current location in 2016. For 10 points, Catholic: Smithsonian, right here in DC. Good for 10 points and a bonus coming your way. Moraines are piles of debris formed by these objects. For 10 points each, first name these massive slow-moving bodies of ice. Glaciers. Correct. Number two. A prominent moraine forms where the Teram Shere and Siachen glaciers merge in this mountain range. Its highest peak is K2. Your answer please. Atlas Mountains. That's incorrect. Chance to steal for Round Rock. The Himalayas. Also incorrect. The Karakoram Range is what we're going for there. Back over to Catholic for part three. Glaciers carve these U-shaped depressions, typically found at the head of a glacial valley. One of these in Wyoming is named for the Towers. Lake. Uh, say that one more time, please. Lake. That is incorrect. Chance to steal for Round Rock. Crater. Also incorrect. Cirques are what they're called, or Cirque of the Towers is the specific one described there. You get 10 points on the first part, Catholic, for glaciers.
And we move ahead to tossup question number two. A codetta is included at the end of this poetic form's caudate variant. This poetic form typically includes a turn, sometimes called a volta, due to this form's Italian origins. Petrarch and Shakespeare developed namesake examples. Catholic: Sonnet. Correct. 10 points. And another bonus coming your way.
One name for this feature is Mosi-oa-Tunya, which translates as the smoke that thunders. For 10 points each, first, the Songwe Gorge is just downstream from what mighty waterfall on the Zambezi River? Victoria Falls. Correct. Next part. Victoria Falls lies on the border between Zambia and this country whose capital is Harare. Your answer please. Zimbabwe. That is correct. And finally, the Zambezi River empties into the Indian Ocean in this country whose capital is Maputo. A channel named for this country separates Madagascar from mainland Africa. Tanzania. Incorrect. Chance to steal for Round Rock. Mozambique. Mozambique is correct. 20 points earned by Catholic on the bonus. 10 points stolen by Round Rock on the bonus.
And we're ready to move ahead to tossup question number three. Pencil and paper ready, teams. Marco needs to know what time in the evening is exactly 500 minutes after 1:00 p.m. Since there are 60 minutes in each hour. Uh, that is Round Rock: 9:20 p.m. That is correct for 10 points. Bonus coming your way.
For 10 points each, answer the following about clothing during the French Revolution. First, this faction of mostly poor radical revolutionaries was named for not wearing fashionable knee-length breeches. Sans-culottes. Yes, that's correct. Number two, opponents of the monarchy often wore these three colors together to mimic the revolutionary flag. We need all three answers on this one. Red, white, blue. You got it. And finally, this British-born supporter of the revolution caused an outrage in 1791 by declining to wear a patriotic cockade ribbon. He wrote The Age of Reason and Common Sense. Answer, please. Locke. Incorrect. Chance to steal for Catholic. Thomas Paine is correct for 10 points on the steal. 20 points earned by Round Rock on the bonus.
And teams, this is the final tossup of this quarter. This composer depicted Roma people singing joyfully while they work at blacksmithing in his Anvil Chorus. The courtesan Violetta dies at the end of an opera by this man whose title translates as the fallen woman. For 10 points, name this Italian operatic composer of Il Trovatore and La Traviata. Round Rock: Puccini. That is incorrect. 5 seconds to ring in. Catholic: Henry Purcell. Uh, you do need to ring in. Yes, Catholic. Henry Purcell. Uh, that's incorrect. Verdi is the answer we're looking for on that one. So no bonus for either team here and that is the halfway point of the match. Score has been confirmed. A very close game, as we expected. Round Rock 90, Catholic 80.
We go to the third quarter now. We'll give the buzzer system a little bit of a break. The third quarter is the category round. The team trailing at this point in the match chooses one of the three categories available for themselves. There are 10 questions in each category and they belong to the team and only that team. Each part is worth 10 points and then after the first category is played, the other team will make a selection from the remaining two categories. So one category will not be used.
Catholics, since you trail, you get the first selection here from one of these three categories. And I will read them twice. Taxonomic ranks, NATO member countries, letters. Again, taxonomic ranks, NATO member countries and letters. [Music] NATO members. NATO member countries is your selection. Again, uh, no need to ring in on these. They are yours and yours alone. For 10 points each, what member of NATO is home to each of the following? Ready? Here we go. Number one, the Sagrada Familia Church. Spain. Yes. The tourist cities of Dubrovnik and Split. Poland. Uh, Croatia. The answer there. Buckingham Palace. United Kingdom. Yes, you can accept that. The Peloponnese Peninsula. Portugal. Uh, no, it's Greece. The cities of Bruges and Antwerp. Belgium. Right. Number six, the island of Surtsey produced by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Your answer please. Ireland. Iceland. The answer there. Tivoli Gardens. Answer please. France. Uh, no, that's Denmark. The Azores. Answer, please. France. Uh, that's Portugal. The majority of the Vistula River. Czech Republic. Uh, nearby Poland, the answer there. And finally, the Hagia Sophia Mosque or sometimes called Ayasofya. Turkey. You got that one right. And that is the end of your category. Four correct answers for 40 points takes you up to 120.
We go now to Round Rock. Two categories remain. Taxonomic ranks and letters. Taxonomic ranks. Okay. All right. Listen closely. The description is a little bit longer on this one at the beginning. For 10 points each, give the taxonomic rank of these groups of organisms. No answer will have a prefix and answers will repeat. For example, the answer for lagomorphs would be order. Understood? Or do you want me to repeat the instruction there? Okay, here we go. Number one, Felis catus. Species. Correct. Arthropoda or Arthropoda? Family. Uh, phylum. The answer there. Homo. Genus. Yes. Plantae or plante? Kingdom. Correct. Periphera. Class. Uh, that's a phylum. Fungi. Kingdom. Yes. Equidae or equid? Family. Yes. Primates or primates? Family. Uh, that's an order. Reptilia. Answer please. Phylum. Uh, that's a class. And finally, Salix, which contains willow trees. Genus. Uh, good guess, family. The answer on that one. And that is five correct answers taking you to 140 points. And the end of the third quarter. So the score going into the fourth quarter currently Round Rock 140, Catholic 120.
The fourth quarter consists of eight tossups worth 20 points each. Obviously, this is anyone's game. Teams, hands on your buzzers. Here we go with the first tossup of the fourth quarter. A white immigration policy named for this country was ended under Liberal Party Prime Minister Harold Holt. This country's stolen generations were children forcibly adopted from groups that practiced firestick farming and believed in the Dreaming. For 20 points, name this home of the Aboriginals. Catholic: Australia. Correct. 20 points.
Number two. In this present-day country, an AD 40 rebellion was led by the Trung sisters in the Red River Delta. The boat people of the 1970s mainly came from this country, whose long east coast includes the Gulf of Tonkin on the South China Sea. Uh, Round Rock: China. That is incorrect. I'll continue. For 20 points, what Southeast Asian country's capital is Hanoi? Catholic: Vietnam. Correct for 20 points.
Number three. Absorption of red light by this compound helps give Neptune its blue appearance. Uh, that is Round Rock: Methane. Correct. 20 points. Good buzz.
Number four. This country's Lake Sevan is home to a monastery that dates from the 9th century. This country whose ancient kingdom was the first to adopt Christianity as its official religion disputed Nagorno-Karabakh with Azerbaijan. Round Rock: Armenia. Yes. 20 points.
Number five. Thomas Jefferson called this law a firebell in the night and predicted it would eventually cause civil war. Henry Clay brokered this law, including its creation of the 36°30′ parallel. That is Round Rock: Kansas-Nebraska Act. That is incorrect. I'll continue. As a dividing line between free and slave states. A Midwestern state named for 20 points, what 1820 compromise? Catholic: Missouri Compromise. Yes. 20 points.
Number six. Minor examples of these objects include the New Hebrides and the Nazca. When these objects move apart, the resulting gap may form a rift system or Round Rock: Tectonic plates. Correct. 20 points.
Number seven. This character received a shoulder wound from a gazelle bullet during the Second Anglo-Afghan War. He becomes the roommate of an eccentric violin player who practices the Round Rock: Dr. Watson. Yes, that is correct. For 20 points.
Teams, this is the final tossup of the match. These people's tradition of mourning wars, conflicts to replace the dead, may have fueled their conquest of Algonquian groups during the Beaver Wars. Round Rock: The Iroquois. Iroquois is correct for a final 20 points.
And that is the end of the game. Our final score has been officially confirmed.