Book Competition Finishes! (How It Works)

Hello everyone, and I know, I know. Its been pretty much FOREVER since my last post, what, 2 weeks ago? This entire journey through Summer 2019 has had a lot of twists and turns and I simply can’t deny that I am ready for the school year. Sure, summer will be missed, but our school year is one of the latest to end (late June) and start (early September) in the entire country.

Book reading is a type of thing only specific people enjoy. Lucky for me, I grew up LOVING books and enjoying the idea of deciding which ones I liked and dislikes. Fortunately for me, I got obsessed with a book competition held by the general group of counties in my area’s libraries. 23 teams competed for 1 grand champion title, and this year, I wasn’t necessarily on a team…

For 3 years, I competed on my Middle School Book Competition team until I got to the age where I was eligible for High School competition this year (2019). I decided I would compete on the High School team, which held their big battle on Friday, August 16th, and become a volunteer for the Middle School battle which was set the day after. The High School battle was fun, despite their being a little more half the teams, with a new type of competitive-ness that made it even more difficult.

We now know what to expect for 2020.

Even with all this, I did not expect to enjoy volunteering at the Middle School battle so much. Sure, it was an opportunity, but the blast I had was amazing! My schedule was pretty straight forward, and as the Scorekeeper, I would record the scores during the battles, then bring them to the Master Scorekeeper who would take the totals and turn 4 divisions of 5-6 teams into just 4 winners left for a Semi-Final and a Final.

The Semi-Final was an intense matchup, and I was glad I was given the opportunity to scorekeep it, and the Final battle. Some of the kids that I remembered from last year, falling just short that time, were reaching higher heights, and I was happy for them. At the same time, teams that didn’t have the best history, record wise, were coming out of nowhere with new rosters and a better resume. The entire competition was hyped, and it had that drive and energy that I don’t think the High School competition compares too.

I do have to say I am definitely volunteering again next year. Its already something I want to do due to how much fun it was! The people. The kids. The other volunteers? They were all great!

This competition has been a big thing for me for 4 years now, and I don’t plan on changing that too soon!