IESA Headlines

2019 IESA Scholastic Bowl State Finals to be Held at Peoria Civic Center on Friday, May 3; Championship Matches to be Webcast

For the eighth consecutive year the Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) Scholastic Bowl State Finals will be held in Peoria at the Civic Center this Friday (May 3). The IESA state series in Scholastic Bowl began in 1988 although a state final was not held the first year. There was one-class competition from 1988-1996, and in 1997 the state series was divided into Class A and Class AA based on school size. This is the 31st year of state series competition in Scholastic Bowl and the 23rd year for Class A and Class AA competition.

A total of 16 teams will play in Peoria--eight teams in Class A and eight teams in Class AA. All teams participating will play three rounds. Each class is divided into two pools of four teams. The winners of each pool will then meet for the championship of their respective class while the runners-up in each pool will play for 3rd place honors. Assignment to each pool was done by a blind draw. Competition gets underway at 1:00 p.m. in both classes. Subsequent matches are scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. After an hour break for dinner, the third place and championship matches will be played at 5:00 p.m. The awards assembly will begin immediately after the conclusion of the final round.

The Peoria Civic Center is hosting the IESA state finals for the eighth time. The Civic Center provides a beautiful venue for the finals and all matches will be conducted in the 4th floor ballroom.

The price of admission is $5.00 for adults and $2.00 for seniors (62 and over) and students (K-8) and is good for the entire tournament. Children younger than kindergarten are admitted free. Fans attending the matches will receive a wristband that is to be worn all day and will be used for entry into the facility throughout the day.

This year, 404 member schools entered the state series in Scholastic Bowl. Questions used throughout the state series are provided by Avery Enterprises, while the lockout systems are provided by Slammer Systems.

Complete pairings for each state final, the results after the competition on Friday, plus the FanZone, can be found at www.iesa.org. Click on the Scholastic Bowl line in the orange box at the top of the IESA Web Site Home Page.

Here is a look at each of the two 2019 State Final Tournaments:

For the eighth straight year, the lock-out systems that will be used at the IESA state finals will be provided by Slammer Systems. Slammer Systems automatically keeps score, manages time, controls the ring-in process, and produces detailed statistic spreadsheets for every match.

In addition, the IESA and Slammer Systems will be broadcasting the Class A and AA Championship matches online. Fans can click on one of the links below and register to listen to the championship match. If you are interested in listening to either the Class A or Class AA championship match, simply click one of the links below. There is no charge to listen to the match.

For Class A click on: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/2650192857332002827

For Class AA click on: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7919110851750567179

Note: Only the championship match of each class will be broadcast.

For more information, please contact IESA Assistant Executive Director and Scholastic Bowl Administrator Chris Frasco at chris@iesa.org