Think fast – you’ve only got five seconds.

Since 1975, high school students from around Virginia have been thinking on their feet during “Battle of the Brains,” a television quiz show that is based on quick recall of specific facts.

“Categories can be anything from U.S. presidents to pop music to physics,” says Julian Porter, a former Meadowbrook social studies teacher who came up with the game’s concept.

This year, four students each from Thomas Dale, L.C. Bird, Meadowbrook, and Matoaca high schools will be appearing on “Battle of the Brains,” facing off against 32 other schools from around central Virginia.

“Usually, three of those four schools qualify,” Porter says. “Competition has gotten really tough recently, since only 36 out of 50 schools in the area can qualify.”

Originally, Porter created “Battle of the Brains” as a fundraising project for Meadowbrook’s History Club. Whereas Meadowbrook faculty and students first faced off against one another, the game was so popular that other schools joined the competition, and three years after its establishment, “Battle of the Brains” was televised. Since then, the show’s become a staple of public television.

“Battle of the Brains” consists of two styles of rounds: the toss-up round and the category round. In toss-up rounds, team members have five seconds to answer questions, but in the category round, teams have fifty questions – broken down into five ten-question categories – that must be answered by a team captain in one minute per category.

This year, “Battle of the Brains” will also feature something new: the Alumni All-Star Game, scheduled to air in June. Past veterans of the game are invited to duke it out amongst one another in the special one-off game. “We’re trying to pick people from the past,” says Porter. “So far, we have eight adults who have been ‘Battle of the Brains’ alumni, but we’re trying to hunt more down.” (“Battle of the Brains” vets who are interested in participating in the Alumni All-Star Game in June 2009 may contact Julian Porter at JPPorter27@verizon.net.)

“‘Battle of the Brains’ is the same thing as the Olympics, in a way,” Porter says. “It’s a chance for kids to show off their schools. This shows the best of young people – really smart, good people.”

Plus, Porter adds, “Battle of the Brains” gives many students a chance to shine.

“Sports are always covered,” he says. “But these are the kids who don’t necessarily get rewarded or noticed.”

And even those who aren’t as quick on their feet as the students appearing on “Battle of the Brains” can join in the fun on the show’s website, battleofthebrains.net. “Every week, online, we have a brain teaser,” says Porter. At the end of the season, a grand prize winner will be drawn from the pool of winners for that week and be given an all-expenses-paid trip to Club Land’or in the Bahamas. The challenge is quite popular, Porter notes: “We get an awful lot of hits on our website!”

And now that the latest season of “Battle of the Brains” is gearing up to begin, Porter is quite optimistic about how it will turn out. “We’ve got some really, really good kids,” he says.

The new season of “Battle of the Brains” begins on October 6 and can be seen at 10 a.m. every Saturday through June on CBS 6. For more information, visit battleofthebrains.net.

ereel@villagepublishing.com | 751-0421

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