Reach for the Top facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Reach for the Top
Final moments of an episode of the Montreal version of Reach for the Top, as aired on CBMT-6 in the late 1970s
Genre	Game show
Directed by	Paul Russell
Presented by	Ryan Vickers
Country of origin	Canada
Original language(s)	English
Release
Original network	CBUT (1961–1966) CBC (1966–1985)
Original release	1961 (1961) – 1985 (1985)

Reach for the Top (also called Reach) is a fun quiz competition for high school students in Canada. It tests how much students know about different subjects. Long ago, it was a popular game show shown across Canada on the CBC TV channel.

Today, you can watch the games online on Reach for the Top's official YouTube channel. Teams get to the national rounds by winning smaller tournaments. These are held in high schools all over Canada during the year. These school-level games are known as Schoolreach.

History of Reach for the Top

The TV show Reach for the Top first aired in 1961. It was shown on CBC Television in Vancouver, British Columbia. The show was inspired by a British quiz show called Top of the Form. In the very first year, a team from three high schools in Burnaby, British Columbia won all the prizes.

The first national Reach for the Top tournament happened in 1965. It was won by Vincent Massey Collegiate Institute from Etobicoke, Ontario. The show was filmed in different places across Canada. The big national championships were held in Montreal, Quebec. In 1968, the CBC and BBC worked together on a show called Trans-World Top Team. In this show, teams from the United Kingdom played against teams from Canada.

Many famous people have been part of Reach for the Top. Alex Trebek, who later hosted Jeopardy!, hosted the Toronto version for several years. Other hosts included Jan Tennant and Terry Garner. Shelagh Rogers, who later became a host for CBC Radio, was a contestant on the show. Bill Guest hosted the National Finals on CBC from 1969 to 1985.

The CBC stopped showing Reach for the Top in 1985. But the competition didn't stop! It kept going thanks to a company called Reach for the Top Inc. Some local TV stations, like CFPL-TV in London, Ontario, continued to show the games. From 2000 to 2008, the national finals were shown on Canadian Learning Television.

In 1985, Sandy Stewart started Reach for the Top Inc. This private company worked with Paulus Productions Inc. to create Schoolreach. Schoolreach is an in-school version of Reach for the Top. Schools can sign up for it across Canada. Schoolreach games are played monthly, leading up to a district final each spring. The winners then go to provincial finals. The provincial winners then compete in the national championship.

In 1995, Sandy and Pat Stewart retired. Paul Russell and Robert Jeffrey took over Reach for the Top and Schoolreach.

The CBC later created a similar show called SmartAsk. It ran for three seasons. From 1973 to 1997, the CBC's French language network, Radio-Canada, had a show called Génies en herbe. This was the French version of Reach for the Top.

Since 2014, the national finals of Reach for the Top are uploaded to their official YouTube channel. This means more people can watch the exciting competitions!

How the Game Works

A game of Reach for the Top has different types of questions. There are "snappers" that start and end each round. Any of the four players on either team can answer these. There are also "Who am I?" or "What am I?" questions. "Shootout" questions are also open to any player.

"Relay" questions are for only one team. "Assigned" questions are for just one player. Most questions are worth ten points. Some can be worth up to forty points. If a player answers incorrectly, points are not taken away. But the question then goes to the other team.

Each game has three rounds. There are one-minute breaks between rounds. Since 2009–2010, each game has 86 questions. If there's a tie, there are four sudden-death tiebreaker questions. Players can answer a question before it's fully read. If they guess correctly, they don't get extra points.

The competition has three main levels:

• Regional Level: High school teams play against each other locally. The winners move on.
• Provincial Level: Winners from the regional level compete.
• National Level: Provincial champions play to become the national champions!

Some areas also have "Intermediate" level competitions. These questions are easier. They help younger players get experience. Intermediate champions do not go to the national finals.

Types of Questions You'll Find

• Snappers: These questions start and end every round. They are called "snapstarts" and "snapouts." They can be about anything. Four snappers begin the first three rounds. They also end the first two. To end the third round and the game, there are usually 10-12 snappers. Tiebreaker questions are also snappers.
• Open Questions: Both teams can answer these questions. Open questions come in sets of two, three, or four. They are all about the same topic. Each correct answer is worth 10 points. There is no penalty for a wrong answer. Audio and visual questions follow these same rules.
• Team Questions: This is a set of questions worth 40 points in total. Both teams can try to answer the first question, called a "scramble." The team that answers the scramble first gets to answer the next three questions. The other team cannot. If no one answers the scramble, the rest of the questions are open to both teams.
• Who/What/Where/What Word am I? Questions: The goal is to guess a person, place, thing, or word. The reader gives clues one by one. After each clue, both teams can guess. If both teams are wrong, another clue is read. This continues until the fourth and final clue. If no one guesses correctly, no points are given. For "What Word am I?" questions, you get up to four quotes with a missing word. If you guess correctly after one clue, you get 40 points. Each clue after that reduces the points by 10.
• Chain Snappers: These are like regular snappers. But each question's answer is linked to the answer of the question before it. They usually come in groups of 6. They can replace a snapper set to end a round.
• Assigned Questions: There are eight assigned questions in a set, four for each team. A question is given to one person. If they can't answer it, their opponent (sitting across from them) gets a chance. Players cannot talk to their teammates when answering an assigned question.
• Relay Questions: Each team gets four questions, one team at a time. The first three questions are worth 10 points each. The last question is worth 20 points. If a team answers incorrectly, they lose the rest of their questions in that relay. Teammates can talk to each other for these questions.
• 20-point Special: A correct answer here earns 20 points. Some 20-point specials need more than one answer. Others are just harder than the usual 10-point questions.
• Shootout Questions: Shootouts have 12 snappers. Both teams can answer. If a player answers correctly, they cannot answer any more questions in that shootout. This means all four team members must answer a question. A team gets 40 points if all four members answer correctly before the other team. This ends the shootout. If neither team gets four correct answers, no points are given. Players cannot prompt or talk to teammates during a shootout.
• List Questions: Both teams can answer these. They are worth up to 50 points. The reader gives a theme, like "Chemical elements." Then they ask for five items related to that theme, like "the first five elements of the periodic table." Teams take turns answering. If a team gives a wrong answer or repeats one, the other team gets to name the rest of the items.

Who Can Play?

To play Reach for the Top, students must be "continuously enrolled in a secondary school". This means they must be attending high school. Players must also be 19 years old or younger at the start of the school year. There are no rules about the language of the school or if the school must be in Canada. Most teams come from English-speaking schools in provinces with established leagues.

In Quebec, some students go to "colleges" after high school. The first year of college in Quebec is like Grade 12 in other provinces. So, students in their first year of Quebec college are usually allowed to play.

Amazing Teams and Players

In 1978, Vincent Massey Collegiate Institute became the first high school to win the National Championship twice. They played against Richview Collegiate Institute. A future Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, was on the Richview team! Vincent Massey Collegiate won that game easily.

University of Toronto Schools (UTS) from Toronto, Ontario, has a fantastic record. In 2003, they were the first school to win back-to-back national titles. In 2012, they became the first to win three times. They won again in 2013, making it four wins! In 2018, UTS won for a record fifth time.

In 2016, Kennebecasis Valley High School in Quispamsis, New Brunswick, won their third championship. They had also won in 2010 and 2011. Lisgar Collegiate Institute in Ottawa, Ontario, became the third three-time winner in 2017. They had won in 2015 and 2008.

Other schools that have won the championship twice include:

• Cobequid Educational Centre in Truro, Nova Scotia (1981 and 2005)
• St. George's School in Vancouver, British Columbia (1991 and 2004)
• Saunders Secondary School in London, Ontario (1992 and 1996)
• Gloucester High School in Ottawa, Ontario (1998 and 2001)
• London Central Secondary School in London, Ontario (2007 and 2009)
• Glebe Collegiate Institute in Ottawa, Ontario (2021 and 2022)

In 1990, Memorial High School from Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia, beat a top American team. They won against Collegiate School from Richmond, Virginia.

Lorne Jenken High School in Barrhead, Alberta, won in 1973. They were called "the series' most successful competitors" in 1985.

St. George's High School in Vancouver, British Columbia, went to the national finals almost every year from 1989 to 2007. They were national champions in 1991 and 2004.

National Champions List

Here is a list of the national champions of Reach for the Top since it started in 1965. This list comes from their official website.

Famous People from Reach for the Top

Many people who played or hosted Reach for the Top became well-known later on.

• Lucie Edwards, a Canadian diplomat
• Bill Guest, a TV host
• Stephen Harper, a former Prime Minister of Canada
• Tom Harrington, a Canadian journalist
• Bill Hastings, a Chief Justice in Kiribati
• Mark McDowell, a Canadian diplomat
• Shelagh Rogers, a Canadian journalist
• Nicole Stamp, a Canadian journalist
• Jan Tennant, a TV host
• Alex Trebek, a famous TV host
• Andrew Unger, a Canadian author

See Also

• List of academic knowledge competitions
• College Bowl, a quiz show for college students in America
• Academic games
• MathCounts
• SmartAsk, another CBC TV show that came from Reach
• Schools' Challenge, the UK national school quiz
• Génies en herbe, the French-language school quiz in Canada
• University Challenge, a quiz show for university students in the UK