Kiski Area trivia buff to compete in national quiz tournament
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A lifelong love of trivia is paying off for Eddie Fuhrer of Allegheny Township.
The Kiski Area High School senior began watching “Jeopardy!” when he was 5.
“I’ve always been a trivia person,” he said.
Fuhrer joined the Quiz Bowl Team three years ago and is team captain.
Now, on Sunday, he’ll represent Kiski Area High School in the Individual Player National Tournament, sponsored by the National Academic Quiz Tournaments. The National Academic Quiz Tournaments were founded in 1996.
Fuhrer is the first student from the district to qualify at the national level.
He will compete against 111 high school students from 23 states and the District of Columbia.
“I’m very excited to compete because it means a lot to compete for my school,” Fuhrer said. “I’ve been mentoring the freshman quiz bowl students, and it could be inspiring for them. They could reach this level, too, by the time they are seniors.”
The competition is being held online because of the covid-19 pandemic.
Fuhrer said his competition prep involves viewing past competitions.
The rules require competitors to hold their cellphone in both hands and be visible at all times on the screen. Teams use buzzers to answer questions in these categories: pop culture, sports, math, social science, history, literature, mythology, geography and science.
Kim Poleski, Kiski Area’s academic quiz team sponsor, said Fuhrer’s enthusiasm is one of his best qualities.
“He’s so passionate about Quiz Bowl and trivia in general,” Poleski said. “Academically, his strengths are definitely history, political science, English and current events.”
Fuhrer said his most difficult category is science — especially physics and chemistry.
He said history has always been his strong suit, adding he barely studies that category when prepping for quiz meets.
He previously competed at the national level in the National History Bee in Washington, D.C.
Recent quiz wins for Kiski Area’s team include the Westmoreland IU Quiz Tournament, where Fuhrer answered 33 questions correctly for the team.
He expects to compete for at least six hours on competition day.
“Eddie will have to remember to be patient,” Poleski said. He gets so excited to compete.”
A high honor roll student, Fuhrer plans to attend Lehigh University in the fall majoring in international relations.
His goal is to compete on “Jeopardy!”