KUCHING: The ‘Neopolitans’ of SMK St Thomas emerged champion of the Third IQuiz Sarawak regional championship this year, beating five other schools in the final round.
The team consisting of David Lian Leu, Mohamed Hyppia Rosmaini, and Lancelan Pegan Roland Sagah received the Sarawak Challenge trophy, individual medals, and a cash prize of RM300.
In addition, they would also receive air tickets and accommodation to represent Sarawak at the national-level IQuiz grand finals this Sept 9 in Sunway University, eyeing the 10th Challenge Trophy.
The Third IQuiz Sarawak regional championship was run by Rotary Club of Kuching Central in collaboration with Rotary Club of Bandar Sunway at the multi-purpose hall of Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus here on Aug 5.
Organising chairman and Rotarian, Calvin Chong said the top six teams of the grand finals would receive partial to full scholarships for the three members to enter programmes of their choice at any Sunway University campus in Malaysia.
Meanwhile, the first runner-up is ‘KoKo Bop’ comprising Lau King Ying, Angeline Juventia, and Gayathri Manoj from Lodge International School, who received individual medals and RM200. They were the champions of the first IQuiz Sarawak regional championship in 2015.
Benjamin Jabu, Ian Dylan Chai, and Samuel Chan of team ‘SJPS 1’ representing St Joseph Private School took third place, receiving individual medals and RM100.
Seventy-four teams from secondary schools all over Sarawak took part in this year’s championship. While most teams were from Kuching-based schools, there were two from Bintulu – SMK Bandar Bintulu and SMK Kidurong.
The IQuiz is a competition that tests teams of three members on general knowledge, maths, science, linguistic skills, as well as Interact and Rotary knowledge.
To compete, the participants must first be Interactors and students aged 13 to 18 who are members of school-based Interact Club, sponsored by a Rotary Club. Each school could send as many teams as they like with no registration fee.
In his address, Rotary Club of Kuching Central president Benjamin Lo thanked the Rotaract Club of Swinburne Sarawak and Swinburne Sarawak for their assistance in hosting the event.
He also said Rotary Club of Kuching Central believes in guiding and training the youths in their Interact and Rotaract clubs, which are for those aged 18 to 30 years old, to become future leaders and members of the community who can serve the community and do good in the world.
As such, the club will continue to organise more youth-oriented projects, in addition to their various community service projects such as free cataract screenings and operations, clean water and solar lighting systems, and school kits for the lower income group, particularly those in the rural areas of Sarawak.
Individuals and organisations interested in collaborating with the Rotary Club of Kuching Central in any of their projects can find out more by visiting www.kuchingcentralrotary.org and Facebook page www.facebook.com/kuchingcentral.