ClassAct 2023 – The Hindustan Times Republic Day Quiz concludes with a resounding success
Quizzing, as we all know, is one of the most popular forms of edutainment, especially for kids. Children with a passion for quizzing mostly find their inspiration from other quizzers in in the family or school quiz clubs. But one thing is common among all budding quizzers: Their curiosity to learn new things. This thirst for knowledge was clearly visible among the finalists of ClassAct 2023 – The Hindustan Times Republic Day Quiz. The Grand Finale of this online school quiz was conducted on 5th February from 10AM to 12 noon. “I would like to express my sincerest appreciation for the fantastic quiz that was held recently. The level of preparation and attention to detail that went into the event were truly remarkable. The questions were thought-provoking, challenging, and well-researched, providing an engaging and educational experience for all participants,” shares one of the finalists, B.Sri Shivendra, studying in Grade IX of Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan Senior Secondary School, Chennai.
The Grand Finale of ClassAct 2023 saw more than 100 finalists from grades 6 to 12 battling it out to grab the winning slot. It was conducted over Zoom by two of India’s most revered quizmasters, Dr. Navin Jayakumar and Mr. Avinash Mudaliar.
Dr. Jayakumar is an ophthalmologist by profession but a quizmaster by passion, and is the founding member of The Quiz Foundation of India. He had co-hosted the debut edition of the Hindustan Times Republic Day Quiz ClassAct 2022 as well as Smartacus 2022 - The Hindustan Times National Interschool Quiz.
Mr. Mudaliar, on the other hand, is a distinguished quizmaster with more than 30 years of quizzing experience. He has been the quizmaster for several national-level quizzes such as the Power of Ideas Print Quiz, Airtel Quiz-o-Mania, Airtel's techQ, and the NTPC Electron Quiz among others. He had also co-hosted ClassAct 2022 and Smartacus 2022 along with with Dr. Jayakumar.
The results of ClassAct 2023 will be declared on 7th February on the official website. In order to be fair, transparent and do justice to all participants, every answer will be manually cross-checked by the quizmasters with the help of the Kahoot! platform where the quiz was conducted. Within a fortnight, the winners will receive Amazon gift vouchers worth INR 1.25 lakh alongside participation certificates.
“Ahead of the Grand Finale of ClassAct 2023, I was eager to meet some of the best brains of young India and I am glad to say that they surpassed my expectations. The speed and accuracy with which they answered the questions prove their appetite for quizzing. I am thrilled with the success of this quiz and hope the participants took a lot back in terms of both facts and fun. Look around, keep your thinking caps on, learn every day, and keep quizzing,” says Dr. Jayakumar.
Echoing a similar spirit, Mr. Mudaliar says, “I would like to thank all the kids who participated in the Grand Finale of ClassAct 2023 and made it a success. I have always believed that quizzing is a quest for knowledge and that journey must be fun. It is not a mere intellectual exercise, it's quintessentially a mind sport. So, I have never been in favour of difficult quizzes where quizzers struggle to find the answer. The goal was to help the kids enjoy while sparking their curiosity. I am happy that ClassAct 2023 was a conscious attempt at doing both.”
The finalists of ClassAct 2023 were tested on a wide-ranging variety of topics, ranging from science and popular culture, to sports, entertainment general knowledge, geography, mythology and literature among others. There were 42 questions in total in both multiple-choice (MCQs) and type-in formats. The assessment will be done on both speed and accuracy. Here’s a snapshot of some of the notable questions from the grand Finale:
Q. Gerenuks also have a two-word alliterative nickname called ‘X Gazelle’. Look at their long neck and identify X.
Ans. Giraffe
Q. Which popular street food literally means “to lick” and has its origins from a story during Shah Jahan’s reign?
Ans. Chaat
Q. Who is the young friend that Malala Yousafzai tweeted about after their meeting in February 2020?
Ans. Greta Thunberg
Q. Which variant of green tea with Kashmiri rose as its defining ingredient is an integral part of Kashmiri cuisine?
A. Kahwah
B. Macha
C. Oolong
D. Kambucha
Ans. Kahwah (Option A)
Q. Toru Iwatani was eating pizza when he came up with the idea for which beloved video game character?
Ans. Pac Man
As many as 40,486 students had registered for the Prelims of ClassAct 2023, held on 26th January, the day India celebrated its 74th Republic Day. This year, the number of participants in the preliminary round—21,540 students—surpassed last year’s numbers. Notably, with 19,625 participants in the Prelims round, ClassAct 2022 had earned the record for “Maximum Participants in an Online School Quiz” from the Asia Book of Records and the India Book of Records.
Young India is passionate about quizzing and so is HT School. That is why, more exciting quizzes like ClassAct and Smartacus are on the way. Till then, budding quizzers can keep exploring the universe of quiz through Quizverse, HT School’s one-stop destination for quizzing enthusiasts. Here, they can immerse themselves in engrossing quizzes in many different formats. Happy quizzing.