From the Stevens Point Journal April 17, 2004:

Trivia bridges generation gap
It takes all ages to cover the bases, contest organizer says

By KATE GARSOMBKE
Journal staff


Carole Clure's Trivia team has evolved since she started playing in the contest 25 years ago.

It started with just her and her then-11-year-old daughter. Now, Clure's grandchildren play and her team, the Thought Police, has participants ranging from ages 5 to 62.

The Thought Police is just one of many teams that rely on Trivia players of all ages - but children especially - to answer brain-bending questions during the 54-hour contest that runs through midnight Sunday.

"If they get to answer a question if they know it, it makes them feel a part of us, a part of the team. Little by little, they're more apt to yell out an answer. I think it's important with self-esteem," said Clure, 62.

Involving children in Trivia is important not only for the future of the game, but it also helps different generations learn to work together, said Jim Oliva, the contest's organizer.

"There's so many things that separate generations. Yet, when teams of young kids get together, they realize they need some older people around. And older people, they need younger people. No team can get away with just having all one age group," he said.

And Trivia is one of the few activities that children, regardless of their ages, don't mind doing with their parents, he said.

"I know in this area guys are encouraged to go hunting with their dads during hunting season. I think Trivia is just as good as any of those things, if not better in a lot of ways," Oliva said.

Gavin Scott, 39, of YAARGH! The Curse of the Pearl Necklace, gives credit to the children on his team, who have helped them answer questions over the years. "There's five or six in the 13-year range, and they're worth their weight in gold," he said of his teammates' children.

Even though YAARGH! values its younger members, the team has a rule that no children under 9 can play. "We don't want anybody getting stepped on or out of a sleeping pattern," Scott said.

Becky Fabich, 17, of Stevens Point grew up playing Trivia with her mother, Darlene Felckowski, on the team All Ducked Up in Custer. Fabich, who enjoys playing Trivia with her family, envisions having her own team some day.

"It's just fun. We all sit around and tell jokes. I sleep maybe a couple hours, if that," she said.


Garsombke can be reached at 715-344-6100, Ext. 2509, or at kate.garsombke@cwnews.net.