The day began with teams arriving as early as 7:30am. After drawing to compete in their first matches, students and coaches enjoyed a continental breakfast. At the opening ceremony, they were greeted by Lynn Browne, Executive Vice President and Economic Advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. After a review of ground rules, the teams were ready to compete.

Teams that won in the regional matches automatically advanced to the semi-finals. Those that did not advance to the semi-finals got another chance to compete in the consolation rounds. The quiz show format with buzzers and lights added excitement to the matches.

A few schools had more than one team in the consolation rounds which added pressure to the game. The fast fingers that were pressing the buzzers were anxious, for this was their last chance to remain in the competition. When the smoke cleared, the winning teams from the regional and consolation matches met to compete for two slots in the finals, which were then filled by North Reading and Palmer.

The final match was a nail biter! Both teams were tremendous. The final scores were close, with only a five point difference between the winner North Reading's Gold Team and Palmer's Team 3, the first runner up.

At the closing, Richard Walker, Vice President and Community Affairs Officer, congratulated the champion team for a great competition. He also thanked the runners-up Palmer High School's Palmer Team 3 for its spirited effort. The winner and runner-up received trophies, savings bonds, t-shirts and pens. North Reading will have a chance to compete at the *LifeSmarts National Competition held this April in Philadelphia, PA. We wish them great success!

North Reading Gold Team
Kerrie Stewart
Elizabeth Vitale
Michael Black
John Deshaies
Chris Marciano
Lillian Diezemann, Coach
Nicole Pierce, Coach

Palmer Team 3
Tazia Zwrybla
Josh Messier
Heather Mastriani
Amy Golas
Dan Moncalm, Team Captain
Helena and Henry Naglack, Coaches

A great BIG thank you goes to our two LifeSmarts State Coordinators, Sharon St. Louis and Lillian Seay, both of whom spent countless hours organizing and coordinating this successful event. We would also like to thank all the schools and all the officials who attended and participated in this year's competition.

For more information, see the results for the regional, consolation, semi-final, and final matches.