FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NORTH AMERICA’S BRAINIEST EDUCATORS TO COMPETE FOR $100,000 IN
‘JEOPARDY!’ TEACHERS TOURNAMENT

CULVER CITY, CALIF. (October 18, 2013) – JEOPARDY! will reinforce its commitment to learning next week when 15 public and private educators will travel to Los Angeles to compete in the fourth edition of the JEOPARDY! Teachers Tournament. The two-week event, airing November 11-22, will feature K-12 teachers from all over North America battling it out for the $100,000 grand prize and a berth in the next Tournament of Champions.

“The Teachers Tournament contestants spend their days nurturing and shaping young minds, so some viewers may be surprised when they come on our show and they’re just as aggressive and competitive as the rest of our contestants,” said JEOPARDY! host Alex Trebek. “Last year, the winner of the Teachers Tournament went on to win the Tournament of Champions; will this year’s winner enjoy the same success?”

The full list of contestants and their schools are as follows:

Eli Barrieau, a history teacher at Leominster High School in Leominster, Mass.

Anne Baxter, a kindergarten French teacher at the Foreign Language Immersion and Cultural Studies School (F.L.I.C.S.) in Detroit, Mich.

Cathy Bloedorn, a chemistry and forensics teacher at Howard High School in Ellicott City, Md.

James Brown, a physics teacher at Valle Verde Early College School in El Paso, Texas

Karen Cafaro, an English literature and composition teacher at Scotland High School in Laurinburg, N.C.

Patrick Dillon, a music and chorus teacher at Munsey Park Elementary School in Manhasset, N.Y.

Becky Giardina, a social studies teacher at Burke County Middle School in Waynesboro, Ga.

Mary Beth Hammerstrom, a social studies, economics, and criminology teacher at A.J. Dimond High School in Anchorage, Alaska

Maryanne Lewell, a history, English, and French teacher at Saint John High School in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.

Katie Moriarty, a fifth grade teacher at Wyoming Middle School in Wyoming, Ohio

John Pearson, a math teacher at Austin Elementary School in Coppell, Texas

Timothy Shuker-Haines, an American history, religion, and economics teacher at the Buxton School in Williamstown, Mass.

Kati Sorenson, a reading teacher at Elkhorn Middle School in Elkhorn, Neb.

Michael Townes, an English and language arts teacher at West Greenville Middle School Alternative Program in Greenville, S.C.

Rico Vazquez, a band teacher at Sandburg Middle School in Elmhurst, Ill.

In order to qualify for the tournament, prospective contestants were selected from those who passed a 50-question online test. These hopefuls were then invited to attend regional, in-person auditions consisting of a second 50-question test, an interview, and mock game play.

The JEOPARDY! Teachers Tournament will air nationwide November 11-22; check local listings for channels and times.

JEOPARDY!, America’s Favorite Quiz Show® and its host, Alex Trebek, are celebrating 30 years of “answers and questions.” The top-rated quiz show in syndication, JEOPARDY! has become a pop culture phenomenon and holds the Guinness World Record for the most Emmy awards won by a TV game show (30 Emmys), as well as a 2011 Peabody Award. JEOPARDY! is produced by Sony Pictures Television, a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company; it is distributed domestically by CBS Television Distribution and internationally by CBS Television International, both units of CBS Corp. For more information, please visit Jeopardy.com.