On Saturday November 15, AHEPA’s Chicago Lakeshore chapter #205 hosted the first ever Midwest Regional Hellenic History Tournament. This is the first time the Tournament has been held outside the New England area, where it was founded by AHEPAN Nick Nikas of District #7 (Connecticut).

Eight teams and over 22 high-school students from all over the Chicago and Indiana area participated. Many AHEPA and Daughters of Penelope (DOP) Chapters from Districts 12, 13, and 14 helped sponsor and fund the event. In addition to the AHEPA and DOP chapters, businesses such as Tasty Breads International and individuals like the Markatos Family helped sponsor the event.

The tournament was a resounding success where the students had the opportunity to learn about Hellenic History in a fun tournament style event.

The first place team received $1,000 dollars per student and the second place team received $500 dollars per student for their efforts to learn Hellenic history in a fun and professional environment. The feedback from the parents and students was overwhelmingly positive.

AHEPA is thankful and appreciative to Loyola University Chicago School of Law for sponsoring the venue at no cost, in the heart of downtown Chicago. The facilities were world class and finals round was held in the law school’s Ceremonial Courtroom.

The Tournament is a Jeopardy-style format where teams of three go head-to-head in multiple rounds to answer questions about Ancient, Middle, and Modern Hellenic History. Every team was guaranteed to play two rounds, with each round lasting between 30 to 40 minutes with a total of 24 multiple-choice questions not including tie-breakers. After two rounds, the top four teams with highest cumulative score advance to the semifinals, in a head-to-head knockout format. The winning semifinalist teams were guaranteed to win prize money and meet in the championship round.

The winning team was the “St. George Stars” sponsored by Chicago Lakeshore Chapter #205. The winning team members included Konstantinos Morakalis and Christos D. Nikas. The second place team was “Ypsilanti #4” sponsored by Daughters of Penelope Medea Chapter #128 that included Zachary Chiganos, Anastasia Kasimos, and Tommy Rousis.

AHEPA Supreme President Phillip Frangos said “the study of Hellenic history would serve the students well in their future academic pursuits. Their study not only enables them to learn the history of Greece but it helps them to better understand why the founders of this country relied on their knowledge of Hellenism in establishing the governing structure of the United States.”

Nick Kavadas is Supreme Governor of AHEPA.