Nisky MasterMinds Club Grabs the Spotlight At Statewide Competitions 

The MasterMinds competition is a competitive trivia contest between regional high school students. It mainly focuses on academic subjects–spanning across  the sciences to the humanities, the arts to sports, and history to pop culture. Since 1993, the MasterMinds competition has been held in the upstate New York region, providing the opportunity for a wide range of public, private, charter, and parochial school districts to participate. Such districts include those in close proximity–like Schenectady and Troy–to those as far as Buffalo–nearly 270 miles away. 

For each competition, there are two types of teams that play: junior varsity and varsity. The main difference is that varsity teams tend to have eight students, while the junior varsity teams can have up to nine. These constructed teams go on to visit regional high schools to compete with other districts. At these high schools, matches are then held between four competing schools, where two MasterMind matches are held simultaneously.

These MasterMind matches are described to have a “Quiz-Bowl” format. Throughout the span of eight minutes, four students from each side compete with one another and are given random trivia questions. The players have to “ring-in” and be recognized in order to then answer. For every correct response, ten to fifteen points can be awarded. These answers can be submitted as soon as a team desires to. Though notably, if an answer is submitted before the actual question is read, then there can be bonus points awarded to that team. However, if the given answer is incorrect, there can be additional points removed from a team’s score. Bonus questions are also asked, and if answered correctly, an impressive 30 points can be earned. Once the eight minutes are over, the process is repeated; the entire 16 minute trivia session is then considered as one match. 

At Niskayuna High School, the MasterMinds club was created to prepare for this interscholastic competition. The club has been part of the Niskayuna community for several years and is advised by Niskayuna High School social studies teacher Mr. Dickerson. In the 2021-2022 competition, the Nisky MasterMinds team won the state championship, proudly stating this achievement in their club’s instagram page. And just recently, the students of the current MasterMinds team were recognized by the school in the announcements, which emphasized their successes in this year’s competition so far. It is no easy feat to correctly answer competitive trivia questions under immense time pressure in subjects encompassing art, biology, chemistry, current events, geography, history, literature, music, political science, pop culture, religion, sports and more. Yet the MasterMinds team has been up to the challenge, and they could advance into future competitions within the Albany League and possibly the Buffalo League. 

Michael Vulakh, a Niskayuna junior and president of the MasterMinds club, described how current meetings are set up. A pamphlet of questions are given once per week and are expected to be answered by individual members within a certain time span. After going through these questions, teams are formed between club members. These teams then try to answer together as many trivia questions as possible, mimicking how an actual competition is held. 

Although the MasterMinds club has had many successes with competitions in recent years, Michael emphasizes the welcoming environment of the club while describing its attributes. He views meetings as an enjoyable and fun time to learn about various topics. Additionally, Michael thinks the club has a good sense of community, highlighting the bonds members have with each other. “It’s a large club, but everyone knows each others’ names and talks freely,” says Michael. He looks forward to the future, hoping Nisky MasterMinds will move onto the Buffalo League. 

For students interested in joining, the Nisky MasterMinds club meets every Tuesday, after school in room F302. Other information can be found through the club’s instagram page at @niskymasterminds. Elise Corbin, the vice president of Nisky MasterMinds, encourages any and all interested students to attend club’s meetings, exclaiming “come join masterminds!”