Snapstart to Round 1! In what city did the 2009 World Games take place? Who plays No. 40 on the New York Yankees? What company did Steve Chen co-establish? What is the highest mountain in Taiwan?
Why am I asking all these questions? Well, this is trivia – questions that are generally unimportant but familiar to common knowledge. A snapstart is a series of usually random, unconnected questions that begin a round in the trivia game show, “Reach for the Top”. The competition takes place in high schools across Canada, where the finals are aired on TVO. “Reaching” as we sometimes like to call it, is an enriching experience; I participated in our school junior team in Grade 10, and have played in intra-school competitions every year since then.
Along with athletic teams and music ensembles, trivia competitions provide opportunities for students and everyone else to build friendships, teamwork skills, and life-shaping values. Thus, I am bringing to attention its appropriately chosen title, “Reach for the Top”. This should be nothing new, of course – reaching for the top and trying our best has always been an integral part of our nature.
The motto of the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung was “Top Sports – High Spirits”. Bringing athletes, lesser known sports, and Taiwanese culture to the centre stage, the event created mountains of opportunity to reach high with high spirits. It also inspired many worldwide – whether it was the TV viewers admiring the athletes, or the countries who admired the Taiwanese organizers – inspiring them to reach for their own goals and to find new passions in this ever-changing world.
Taiwan is a great example when it comes to reaching for the top. Whether it is scraping the skies with the world’s highest completed building, Taipei 101, or leading the world in high tech computer technologies including cellphones, netbooks, and monitors, we all know that “It’s Very Well Made in Taiwan”. There are also great Taiwanese people who work hard to pursue their goals and reach for the top – ranging from the Yankee’s No. 40 Chein-Ming Wang to Youtube’s co-founder Steve Chen, and of course, you too! From the volunteers that keep this newsletter running to the supporters of the Taiwanese churches, youth orchestras, sporting events and other organizations – your efforts are endless in supporting the Taiwanese spirit and culture.
To the next generation – I’ve saved my introduction until here; my name is Austin Yan, now 18 years old. I’ve written an article for every August publication in the last two years, from “Conferences – Time Well Spent” at 16, and “Carrying Your Own Torch” at 17 years. Our torch should not just be passed on, but passed up – higher and higher, towards our pursuits and our goals – whether we are climbing up the path to planning another Taiwanese event, or climbing Taiwan’s tallest mountain – Yu Shan (Jade Mountain).
Well, climbing mountains is a big challenge, but at the foundation of preparing for Reach for the Top is learning new things and knowing our general knowledge. Being aware of events such as the World Games, participating in the Formosan Cup and the Taiwanese Conferences, learning some basic Taiwanese, and understanding Taiwanese culture, are our morning stretches for the road ahead.
Besides my usual, “promote Taiwan to the second generation”, I would like to add the point of promoting Taiwan to your friends – inviting them to come out for the many Taiwanese events, such as TaiwanFEST, the Formosan Cup, and the night markets. Don’t forget – food is always great too; and of course, there’s nothing wrong with knowing a little bit of trivia! Snapout to end the round:
From what type of plant is the starch for the bubbles in bubble tea made from? When is Jay Chou’s birthday? And don’t forget MC David Lin’s infamous, “how many stories does Taipei 101 have? And lastly, what will you do to promote Taiwan? If you have any questions, or wish to contact me, my email is ay.savethetigers@gmail.com. SAVE THE TIGERS!!!
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