All questions were derived from the past
two years’ issues of ASIAN Geographic
magazine, and so the more vigilant and
diligent students gained an edge in the
competition by reading up beforehand.We were then joined by Dr Toh Tai Chong,
a lecturer and research fellow at the Tropical
Marine Science Institute at NUS, who gave
an engaging talk on the crisis of marine
trash, and how we can all do our part to
clean up our oceans, with several students
putting questions to Dr Toh after the
presentation.Tension was high as the names
of the first four teams were announced,
making it into the semi-finals. A team from
Hwa Chong Institution emerged victorious in
this round, as did another two teams from
this school in the two subsequent rounds,
placing three teams from Hwa Chong
Institution neck-and-neck in the finals.The 2017 ASIAN Geographic Hot Soup
Challenge concluded its sixth successful
quiz this year, held at the Management
Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS).
The competition brought together 20 teams
of four between the ages of 13 and 17 from
various schools around Singapore, with
the majority of participants returning to the
competition with high hopes of making it
into the finals.
The qualifying round took place at the Asian
Dive Expo (ADEX) in April this year, and – in
keeping with the focus of the event – tested
participants on their knowledge of climate
change with 25 multiple choice questions.
Fast-forward to July 8, and the teams
put their thinking caps back on for the
elimination round – another 25 multiple-
choice questions on geography, history,
conservation and current affairs in Asia.