Jeopardy! Teachers Tournament facts for kids
The Jeopardy! Teachers Tournament is a special competition on the famous American television game show Jeopardy! It brings together full-time teachers from kindergarten all the way up to twelfth grade. This tournament started in 2011 and has been held every year since. It usually happens during special TV viewing periods in November, February, or May. In 2020, it was held a bit later, from May 25 to June 5, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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How the Tournament Works
The Teachers Tournament uses the same exciting 10-game setup as other big Jeopardy! tournaments, like the Tournament of Champions and the Teen Tournament.
The first five games are called the quarterfinals. In these games, fifteen teachers play in groups of three. The winner of each of these five games moves on to the semifinals. Four more players with the highest scores among those who didn't win also get to move on. These are called "wild card" players.
Next, the nine semifinalists compete in three more games. The three winners from these games then go to the two-day finals. In the finals, the scores from both games are added together to find the champion. Everyone starts with $0 in each game.
Prizes for Teachers
Cash Prizes
The teacher who wins the tournament gets a big prize of $100,000! The second-place winner receives $50,000, and the third-place winner gets $25,000. Teachers who make it to the semifinals but don't win take home $10,000. Even teachers who are eliminated in the first round (quarterfinals) still get $5,000.
Tournament of Champions Spot
Besides the cash prize, the winner of the Teachers Tournament also gets an automatic spot in the next Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions. This is a special event where the best players from different seasons compete.
So far, two Teachers Tournament winners have made it to the finals of the Tournament of Champions: Colby Burnett in 2013 and Francois Barcomb in 2019. Colby Burnett was the only one of them to win the entire Tournament of Champions. Jason Sterlacci, who won in 2016, also made it to the semifinals of the Tournament of Champions.
Colby Burnett was also invited to another special event called the Jeopardy! Battle of the Decades in 2014, where he reached the semifinals. In 2019, he was a team captain in the All-Star games. His team finished in third place. Jennifer Giles, the 2015 winner, also competed in the All-Star games.
List of Participants
Here is a list of the finalists, semifinalists, and quarterfinalists from each Jeopardy! Teachers Tournament:
| Finalists | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
|---|---|---|
| Season 27 (May 2–13, 2011) | ||
| Winner: Charles Temple 1st runner-up: Lori Kissell 2nd runner-up: Larry DeMoss |
Kathy Casavant Dan Crosby Matt Polazzo Elisabeth Raab John Shoe Charley Tinkham |
Grafton Brown Catherine Carson Judd Hess Caitlin Millat Viki Radden Sally Umbach |
| Season 28 (February 15–28, 2012) | ||
| Winner: Patrick Quinn 1st runner-up: Brooks Humphreys 2nd runner-up: Justin Hofstetter |
Leslie Decker Lisa Johnston Nate Rice Mary Ann Stanley Kathryn Wendling Catherine Whitten |
John Botti Brad Brown Jessica Dell'Era Steven Evenhouse Elissa Hoffman Pian Wong |
| Season 29 (November 7–20, 2012) | ||
| Winner: Colby Burnett 1st runner-up: Michael Farabaugh 2nd runner-up: Kate Wilson |
Whitney Collins Marcia Edmundson John Hines Drew Joanides Brenton Montie Marion Penning |
Tina Baybay-Bykov Robin Cheney Francesca Leibowitz Diana North Chris Pae Terry Parker |
| Season 30 (November 11–22, 2013) | ||
| Winner: John Pearson 1st runner-up: Mary Beth Hammerstrom 2nd runner-up: Becky Giardina |
Eli Barrieau Anne Baxter Patrick Dillon Maryanne Lewell Katie Moriarty Timothy Shuker-Haines |
Cathy Bloedorn James Brown Karen Cafaro Kati Sorenson Michael Townes Rico Vazquez |
| Season 31 (February 2–13, 2015) | ||
| Winner: Jennifer Giles 1st runner-up: Cathy Farrell 2nd runner-up: Adam Elkana-Hale |
Mary Bayer Lydia Cuffman Eric Hack Kate La Rivière-Ganger Erin McLaughlin Colin O'Grady |
Tracy Alexander Chris Grinvalds Martha Jackson Michael Jones MaryLou McKenna Jay Singleton |
| Season 32 (May 2–13, 2016) with its second week at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., presented by Farmers Insurance | ||
| Winner: Jason Sterlacci 1st runner-up: Kaberi Chakrabarty 2nd runner-up: Jill Gilbert |
Peter Buchholz Lauren Gilmore Cory Harris Bill Knuth Chris Tempro Nicole Throckmorton |
Greg Greenzweig Hannah Krug Dianne Lee Ian Miller Tenaya Snider Terrie Trebilcock |
| Season 33 (May 8–19, 2017) presented by Farmers Insurance | ||
| Winner: David Clemmons 1st runner-up: Nan Cohen 2nd runner-up: Mary Parker |
Gail Ansheles Michael Camp Holly Cannon Sara Holub Susannah Nichols Eduardo Sevilla |
George Deane Lindsey Henry Dennis McDonald Stephanie Mitchell Graham Toben Cody Vest |
| Season 34 (May 7–18, 2018) presented by Farmers Insurance | ||
| Winner: Larry Martin 1st runner-up: Claire Bishop 2nd runner-up: Steve Mond |
Jake Allen Erika Eason Scott Montanaro Rachel Niegelberg Katherine Saxby Judy Tymkiw |
Beth Binder Lee DiGeorge Indi Ekanayake Bob Julian Mary Alice Korth Ranjani Sheshadri |
| Season 35 (May 6–17, 2019) presented by Amazon Alexa | ||
| Winner: Francois Barcomb 1st runner-up: Conor Quinn 2nd runner-up: Sara DelVillano |
Matthew Bunch Trevor Crowell Joe Rengstorf Julia Rosinski Bailey Dave Rowswell Benjamin Schwartz |
Tara Baxter Alexandra Bicks Vicki Leibeck-Owsley Mariah Minges Klusman Melissa Okey Ellie Walsh |
| Season 36 (May 25-June 5, 2020) | ||
| Winner: Ben Henri 1st runner-up: Meggie Kwait 2nd runner-up: Will Satterwhite |
Amanda Baltimore Jenna Hall Jong Ho Kim Katie LaBarge Sam Matson Lauren Schneider Lipton |
Peter Gouveia Ivory Johnson Matt Joyal Anne Pulju Allison Thomas Mary Kate Trausch |
Did you know that some contestants found love on the show? Catherine Whitten and Justin Hofstetter, who competed in February 2012, were the first pair of contestants to get married! They tied the knot on January 24, 2015. Maryanne Lewell and Michael Townes, from the 2013 tournament, were the second pair to marry. They got married in Canada in August 2017.
Also, Mary Parker and Cody Vest were the first two teachers in the tournament who taught at the same school.
Images for kids
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Griffin Award
See also
In Spanish: Anexo:Torneos y acontecimientos de Jeopardy! para niños
