Reach For The Top

A small trip down memory lane....

In 1982 and 1983, I was part of the Reach for the Top team for my high school, Ballenas Secondary School. It was a fun intellectual and teaming experience.

Reach for the Top was / is a knowledge quiz show which had teams of top high school students from across the country compete for top school in Canada.

In 1982, as the only Grade 11 student, I was a "spare" on the school team. In 1983, I was one of 4 Grade 12 students to make the team. We practiced twice a week for months leading up to the show, using a very simple home-made quiz contest buzzer system to practice with. I recall the field trip to CBC Vancouver fondly. CBC gave us accommodations at the adjacent Sandman Hotel. I remember an elevator ride deep below ground to the studios, a short powder-puff of make-up, and instructions of how behave during the taping, including clapping when the "applause" light was lit. We lost our first and only game,... it was close, 185 - 175, or something like that.

Reach for the Top debuted on CBC Vancouver in 1961 as a television quiz game for high school students, modeled on the British television series "Top of the Form", and was an intant success. By 1966, 23 TV stations in all 10 provinces were carrying the show, with about 600 schools taking part. Terry Garner was CBC Vancouver's original host. Programs across Canada had different emcees, but it was Garner's show that was used as a training model for other CBC hosts. One of whom was a young Alex Trebeck, quizmaster for the Toronto program from 1969-1973, now host of Jeopardy!. Garner was replaced as host in 1982 by Eric Dwyer, and Reach for the Top was cancelled by the CBC in 1985.

Reach for the Top has continued to evolve outside of the CBC, primarily within the Candian Learning Television and Knowledge Network broadcasts. It continues be shown on several private and public networks. In 1985, the "SchoolReach" program was established, without the glare of television lights, is played by thousands of students, with its top teams invited to play "Reach for the Top" on television.

See www.reachforthetop.com and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reach_for_the_Top.