County geography bee winner returns from Billings

PLAINS – One hundred students from all across the state sat full of anticipation in their designated quiet room. They listened carefully to each question, testing their own knowledge, as they anxiously awaited their turn. They handled the stage fright and pressure well for their young ages.

The final rounds of the National Geography Bee through National Geographic, endowed by Alex Trebek and sponsored by Google, took place Friday, April 4 in Billings. The final round was to determine the Montana State Champion who will move on to the national competition.

Chloe French, 5th grade, of Plains traveled to Billings to compete after qualifying. She was the first place winner of the Sanders County Homeschool Co-op Geography Bee back in January. She then took a written test to determine her geography knowledge and her score enabled her to move on to the state level round in Billings.

Chloe and her family traveled the six hours so she could test her geography knowledge once again. When she got there, Chloe and the other 99 students were immediately divided into five groups. The five groups were directed into five different rooms of 20 students each. This was the beginning of the first round of competition.

The first round consisted of eight questions or sub-rounds per participant. For the questions in the first three sub-rounds, the students were given an option of possible answers to choose from. After that, the questions grew more challenging and no options were given.

Some of the geographical categories included politics, meteorology and current events. Chloe’s mother, Katy French, was impressed with the caliber of questions the students were answering.

“They were really hard questions. Most of the parents were raising their eyebrows because they had no idea what the answers were,” Katy said.

Katy remembered one of her daughter’s questions that she found difficult. They asked Chloe what the largest populated city was on the island of Java. Chloe answered correctly saying it was Jakarta.

Despite her calm and correct answer, Katy said she knew her daughter was anxious about the competition.

“She was nervous and relieved when it was over. It was tense for those kids. It’s a big deal to be in front of everyone and she was one of the youngest ones there as a fifth grader competing against seventh and eighth graders,” Katy said. “I thought she did really well. She didn’t give up.”

According to Katy, the first round alone lasted two and a half hours. It was a very long day of geography for the participants.

The final round was extremely difficult for the remaining competitors. For each question, they were required to give two answers. They were asked to name the appropriate city and then locate that city on a map. The maps were full of dots relatively close to one another so the location had to be precise.

The winner will travel to Washington D.C. to compete at the national level and, thanks to Plum Creek Timber, the winner’s parents will go along for the ride. All of the participants received tee-shirts and inflatable globes. They also received a valuable experience that will come in handy for years to come.

“A lot of parents said kids do better their second year because they know what to expect and they are not quite as nervous,” French said.

Although Chloe did not move on in the competition, she has gained yet another year to hone her skills for the next geography bee.