Reach for the Top is a Canadian television program in which high school students participate in trivia tournaments. The non-televised tournaments held at high schools throughout Canada during the year are known as Schoolreach; both are commonly referred to simply as "Reach."
The televised Reach for the Top series was first shown on CBC in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1961, based on the BBC series Top Of The Form. The first national Reach for the Top tournament took place in 1965, and was won by the Vincent Massey Collegiate Institute from Etobicoke, Ontario. In 1968 a short-lived Trans-World Top Team series was created by the CBC and BBC, in which teams from the United Kingdom played teams from Canada.
The CBC stopped airing Reach for the Top in 1984, but it continues to be shown on private networks. Currently, the national championship is shown on Canadian Learning Television, hosted by Daniel Richler. (The Ontario championships are also televised, on TV Ontario.)
In 1985, the Schoolreach program was established. Schoolreach is organized among the different school boards in Canada, and monthly tournaments are played, culminating in a district final each spring. The winner in each district participates in the provincial finals (often, but not always, televised), and the provincial winner competes in the televised national championship.
Alex Trebek, better known as the host of Jeopardy!, hosted the national championship from 1969 to 1973.
The game is similar to Quiz Bowl, the high school and university trivia game played in the United States, but with some significant differences. Reach questions include "snappers," the same as "tossups" in Quiz Bowl, which can be answered by any of the four players on either team. There are also "who am I" or "what am I" questions and "shootout" questions, also open to any player. "Relay" questions are directed at only one of the teams, and "assigned" questions are directed to a single player. Questions are typically worth ten points, but can be worth up to forty points. Points are not deducted for a wrong answer.
In Canadian universities, Quiz Bowl is the dominant form of trivia competition, often played by those who participated in Schoolreach and Reach For The Top in high school.
From 1973 to 1997 the French language division of the CBC, La société Radio-Canada aired a program called Génies en herbe, which was the French language equivalent of Reach For The Top. Competitions continued after the cancellation of the program, and teams from other francophone countries around the world often participated.
In 2003, the University of Toronto Schools, based in Toronto, Ontario, became the only school in Reach for the Top history to win back-to-back national titles. In the same year, Marc Lizoain of UTS became one of the most successful students in Reach for the Top history, winning 3 provincial titles and 2 national titles within a span of three years.
In 2004, St. George's School, in Vancouver, British Columbia won the national championships, the first non-Ontario team to do so since 1995 and the first Western Canadian team to win since St. George's last won, in 1991. St. George's captain Adam Goldenberg became the most veteran national finalist ever, competing in five consecutive national tournaments from 2000 to 2004, winning one silver medal and two bronzes. Goldenberg and St. George's also continued an impressive run as British Columbia champions with their fourth consecutive victory in 2004.
National Champions
- 1965-1966 Vincent Massey Collegiate Institute, Etobicoke, Ontario
- 1966-1967 Rideau Collegiate Institute, Ottawa, Ontario
- 1967-1968 Oak Bay Secondary School, Victoria, British Columbia
- 1968-1969 Neil McNeil Secondary School, Toronto, Ontario
- 1969-1970 Kelvin High School, Winnipeg, Manitoba
- 1970-1971 River East Collegiate Institute, Winnipeg, Manitoba
- 1971-1972 O'Leary High School, Edmonton, Alberta
- 1972-1973 Lorne Jenkins High School, Barrhead, Alberta
- 1973-1974 Gonzaga Public High School, St. John's, Newfounland
- 1974-1975 Queen Elizabeth High School, Hallifax, Nova Scotia
- 1975-1976 Central Peel Secondary School, Brampton, Ontario
- 1976-1977 Glenlawn Collegiate Institute, Winnipeg, Manitoba
- 1977-1978 Vincent Massey Collegiate Institute, Etobicoke, Ontario
- 1978-1979 Banting Memorial High School, Alliston, Ontario
- 1979-1980 Hillcrest High School, Ottawa, Ontario
- 1980-1981 Cobequid Educational Centre, Truro, Nova Scotia
- 1981-1982 Dakota Collegiate Institute, Winnipeg, Manitoba
- 1982-1983 Roland Michener Secondary School, South Porcupine, Ontario
- 1983-1984 Deloraine Collegiate Institute, Deloraine, Manitoba
- 1984-1985 Kate Andrews High School, Coaldale, Alberta
- 1985-1986 ?
- 1986-1987 ?
- 1987-1988 ?
- 1988-1989 Tagwi Secondary School, Avonmore, Ontario
- 1989-1990 Memorial High School, Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia
- 1990-1991 St. George's School, Vancouver, British Columbia
- 1991-1992 Saunders Secondary School, London, Ontario
- 1992-1993 St. Joseph's High School, Renfrew, Ontario
- 1993-1994 Bell High School, Nepean, Ontario
- 1994-1995 Fredericton High School, Fredericton, New Brunswick
- 1995-1996 Saunders Secondary School, London, Ontario
- 1996-1997 Earl Haig Secondary School, Toronto, Ontario
- 1997-1998 Gloucester High School, Gloucester, Ontario
- 1998-1999 Frontenac Secondary School, Kingston, Ontario
- 1999-2000 Merivale High School, Ottawa, Ontario
- 2000-2001 Gloucester High School, Gloucester, Ontario
- 2001-2002 University of Toronto Schools, Toronto, Ontario
- 2002-2003 University of Toronto Schools, Toronto, Ontario
- 2003-2004 St. George's School, Vancouver, British Columbia