MasterMinds is an academic Quiz Bowl Public-access television

Public-access television

Public-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...

 program active in Upstate New York. There are currently four regions multiple sets of leagues for the different areas of New York State: the Albany Leagues, Buffalo Leagues, Rochester Leagues, and the recent additions of the Syracuse League.

General

MasterMinds is an academic, Quiz Bowl-type program in Upstate New York that uses NAQT as its question source. Two teams of four players face off answering questions on a wide variety of topics.

Toss-Up Questions

Toss-Up questions are worth 10 or 15 points apiece. They are asked, and any one person from either team can buzz in and give the answer. If they get the question correct, they earn 10 or 15 points for their team which then has the opportunity to answer a bonus question. An incorrect answer and the player is not penalized and question is turned over to the other team. There is an exception to that rule: players may interrupt the reading of a question. If they do and they answer correctly they earn points and the bonus opportunity. An incorrect answer and they are penalized five points and the question is turned over the other team. If a player rings in early enough on a toss-up, they can earn 15 points instead of 10. [Power marks usually are found around halfway through the question.] Players may not confer with their teammates during toss-up questions.

Bonus Questions

These questions are aimed for the team to work together to answer. Bonuses are worth 30 points total and are usually broken down into three, 10 point parts. Conferring is allowed and encouraged. Anyone may answer the bonus question. .

Conferring - If, during a toss-up, any communication occurs among the team members (whether it be a hand gesture or a verbal word), the team will be disqualified from answering the question, and the question will be read to the other team.

State Winners

2008-2009: Guilderland

2007-2008: Clarence

2006-2007: Irondequoit (Laura Dolan, William Finan, Zoë McLaughlin, John Pardo)

2005-2006: Bethlehem

League Winners

Year	Albany League	Buffalo League	Rochester League	Syracuse League
2010-2011	TBD	City Honors School	TBD	TBD
2008–2009	Guilderland	Grand Island	McQuaid Jesuit	Fayetteville-Manlius
2007–2008	Guilderland	Clarence	Fairport	Fayetteville-Manlius
2006–2007	Bethlehem	Canisius	Irondequoit	Manlius-Pebble Hill
2005–2006	Bethlehem	Clarence	School of the Arts	Manlius-Pebble Hill
2004–2005	Bethlehem	Clarence	Brighton	Manlius-Pebble Hill
2003–2004	Bethlehem	Clarence	Wheatland-Chili	Corcoran
2002–2003	Doane Stuart	St. Joseph's	McQuaid Jesuit
2001–2002	Niskayuna	Clarence	Geneseo
2000–2001	Christian Brothers Academy	Clarence	Greece Arcadia
1999–2000	Berne-Knox-Westerlo	Canisius	School of the Arts
1998–1999		West Seneca West	Greece Arcadia

Albany Leagues

A few games of the season, including the finals and the semifinals of the playoffs, are aired in the Albany region on Time Warner

Time Warner

Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...

 TW3

TW3 (Albany, NY)

TW3 is a is a Cable television broadcast on Time Warner Cable systems in the Capital District of New York and that area's suburbs including Saratoga County, the southern Adirondack region, the Mohawk Valley, and most of Berkshire County, Massachusetts....

. Hosted by David Guistina

David Guistina

David Guistina is the host of the Public, educational, and government access cable TV quiz show Masterminds, aired on Time Warner Cable across New York State, and a producer and host at WAMC/Northeast Public Radio in Albany, New York....

and produced by Greg Bobbitt.

League 1

• Albany HS
• Bishop Maginn
• Coxsackie-Athens
• LaSalle
• Schenectady
• Stillwater

League 2

• Berlin
• Berne-Knox-Westerlo
• Bethlehem
• Rensselaer
• Waterford

League 3

• Amsterdam
• Broadalbin-Perth
• Gloversville
• Mayfield
• Mohonasen
• Schalmont

League 4

• Colonie
• Columbia
• Duanesburg
• Guilderland
• Saratoga Springs
• Watervliet

League 5

• Averill Park
• Holy Names
• Lansingburgh
• Hoosick Falls
• Tamarac
• Troy

External links

• Masterminds Official Web Site
• Time Warner TW3
• MasterMinds at Capital Region BOCES