American Scholastics Competition Network

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American Scholastics Competition Network (ASCN) is a high school quizbowl national championship tournament held annually in or near Chicago, Illinois. From 1987-2001, the tournament was held at Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, Illinois. From 2001-2005, the tournament was held at the Chicago-O'Hare International Airport Embassy Suites in Chicago, Illinois. ASCN is a non-profit organization based in Sioux City, Iowa. The tournament has been held annually since 1987, until 2006, when the tournament was unexpectedly canceled.

The Story of a School

When the tournament was canceled during the summer of 2006, many schools had made plans to attend. After hearing of the tournament's cancellation, many schools could not get a refund from the airlines and the hotels. One school, Minden High School, even went all the way to Chicago just to discover that the tournament was canceled. ASCN never informed this quiz bowl team of the cancellation, and Minden High had to pay several thousand more dollars to change the plane tickets to come home. The tragic side of this story is that the small town of Minden, LA had given much time, money, and support to the team. Some even gave hundreds of dollars. The Minden High quiz bowl team never again saw any of the money paid for entering the tournament. One spokesman for the team said, "One of the most horrific moments of my life was being stranded in one of the largest cities in America. The team was torn apart from this news. The tournament director never refunded any money to us. It was so unprofessional and corrupt what he did. I recommend that no one ever goes to this corrupt tournament." Now the team has qualified to go to a national competition but may not be able to go because of the debt that ASCN caused, and the money that was never refunded.

Champions Year-by-Year

1987 -- Carolina High School, Greenville, South Carolina
1988 -- Savannah High School, Savannah, Missouri
1989 -- Georgetown Day School, Washington, DC
1990 -- Eisenhower High School, Shelby Township, Michigan
1991 -- Seaholm High School, Birmingham, Michigan
1992 -- Central High School, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
1993 -- Northside High School, Fort Smith, Arkansas
1994 -- James Island High School, Charleston, South Carolina
1995 -- Edmond Memorial High School, Edmond, Oklahoma
1996 -- Edmond Memorial High School, Edmond, Oklahoma
1997 -- Walter Johnson High School, Bethesda, Maryland
1998 -- James Island High School, Charleston, South Carolina
1999 -- James Island High School, Charleston, South Carolina
2000 -- Eisenhower High School, Shelby Township, Michigan
2001 -- Northside High School, Fort Smith, Arkansas
2002 -- Irmo High School, Columbia, South Carolina
2003 -- Paul M. Dorman High School, Roebuck, South Carolina
2004 -- Paul M. Dorman High School, Roebuck, South Carolina
2005 -- Paul M. Dorman High School, Roebuck, South Carolina