Reach for the Top

Reach for the Top is a Canadian game show in which high school students participate in trivia tournaments. The non-televised tournaments held at high schools throughout Canada during the year are known as Schoolreach; both are commonly referred to simply as "Reach".

Related Topics:
Canadian - Game show - Trivia

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The televised Reach for the Top series was first shown on CBC in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1961, based on the BBC series Top Of The Form. The first national Reach for the Top tournament took place in 1965, and was won by the Vincent Massey Collegiate Institute from Etobicoke, Ontario. In 1968 a short-lived Trans-World Top Team series was created by the CBC and BBC, in which teams from the United Kingdom played teams from Canada.

Related Topics:
CBC - Vancouver, British Columbia - 1961 - BBC - Etobicoke, Ontario - 1968 - United Kingdom

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The CBC stopped airing Reach for the Top in 1984, but it continues to be shown on private networks. Currently, the national championship is shown on Canadian Learning Television, hosted by Daniel Richler. Games at the provincial level are broadcast on stations unique to their respective provinces, among them Ontario's on TVOntario (produced and directed by Sidney M. Cohen), British Columbia's on the Knowledge Network, and Alberta's on . Local tournaments may air on private television stations, or on cable television community access channels.

Related Topics:
1984 - Canadian Learning Television - Daniel Richler - Ontario's - TVOntario - Sidney M. Cohen - British Columbia's - Knowledge Network - Alberta's - Cable television

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In 1985, the Schoolreach program was established. Schoolreach is organized among the different school boards in Canada, and monthly tournaments are played, culminating in a district final each spring. The winner in each district participates in the provincial finals (often, but not always, televised), and the provincial winner competes in the televised national championship.

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Some districts also have "Intermediate" level competitions, where the questions are written with a lower level of difficulty to provide experience to new, younger players. Intermediate level champions do not move on to national finals.

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Alex Trebek, better known as the host of Jeopardy!, hosted the national championship from 1969 to 1973. Shelagh Rogers, later a host for CBC Radio, was a contestant on the original broadcasts of the show.

Related Topics:
Alex Trebek - Jeopardy! - 1969 - 1973 - Shelagh Rogers - CBC Radio

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CBC revived the format in the program Smart Ask which was cancelled in 2004. From 1973 to 1997 the French language division of the CBC, Société Radio-Canada, aired a program called Génies en herbe, ("Budding Geniuses"), which was the French language equivalent of Reach for the Top. Competitions continued after the cancellation of the program, and teams from other francophone countries around the world often participated.

Related Topics:
Smart Ask - 2004 - French language - Génies en herbe

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In Canadian universities, Quiz Bowl is the dominant form of trivia competition, often played by those who participated in Schoolreach and Reach For The Top in high school.

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