CHARLESTON, WV – Gov. Jim Justice spoke with nearly 100 of the state’s brightest young minds Tuesday during the 10th Annual West Virginia History Bowl championship tournament at the state Culture Center in Charleston.
“I could never congratulate you enough,” Gov. Justice said during his address to the participants. “The knowledge that you have about our state is off the charts. You should be so proud.”
The tournament featured 24 teams, each made up of four 8th grade students, from schools in 12 counties across the state. Questions ranged from a variety of state-related topics including history, government, geography, culture, heritage, literature, sports and tourism.
The field of students in the final championship tournament was whittled down from over a grand total of over 500 students that competed in qualifying tournaments this year. Students studied over 2,000 facts about West Virginia to train.
During his address, Gov. Justice praised the students’ commitment to excellence and challenged them to continue that commitment long into the future.
“Your knowledge is truly overwhelming,” Gov. Justice said. “You are all really young, but as you get older, it’s not going to get easier, it’s really and truly going to get tougher and tougher. But that’s why, in my mind at least, the good Lord made you who you are for a reason and that reason is not just to take your unbelievable intelligence and then just go hang out.
“I really believe that I’ve been so blessed that as long as the good Lord gives me breath, I’m going to keep after it and I challenge you to do the same thing,” Gov. Justice said. “You all have so much to give it’s unbelievable. You need to share it with others and use it to help others.”
Members of the championship winning team will each receive a prize of $500, while the tournament MVP will receive an additional $250 prize.