Cedar Creek High School won the state’s Consumer Bowl competition on its first try.
The annual competition by the state New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs uses a game-show format to test students’ knowledge on a variety of consumer topics.
This year’s teams fielded questions on things like junkyard identity theft, credit card shimming, playing it safe on the internet and tips for avoiding scams while planning a wedding.
The Egg Harbor City school bested 74 other teams in an ongoing competition that began in January.
In Friday’s final, the Atlantic County school represented Southern New Jersey as it went up against Central New Jersey representative Middlesex County Academy and Northern New Jersey representative Irvington High School.
“The winning team from Cedar Creek High School and the finalists from Middlesex County Academy and Irvington High School have proven themselves to be among the savviest consumers in New Jersey. They have a keen understanding of their rights in the marketplace and know how to exercise them,” Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said. “The knowledge these students gained as participants in Consumer Bowl 2018 will serve them well in the years ahead as their role as consumers grows.”
Cedar Creek maintained the lead throughout Friday’s competition at the Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex in Trenton.
The team, captained by Samantha Brandt, included Nicholas Klapatch, Saad Ayub and Allyson Schlee. The teacher/advisor was John Gazo.
“The Division of Consumer Affairs fights hard for consumers and works every day to protect them from fraud and deception in the marketplace, but the best defense is an informed consumer,” said Kevin Jespersen, acting director of the Division of Consumer Affairs. “Through education and outreach efforts like the Consumer Bowl, we strive to empower consumers to know their rights, recognize fraud, and protect themselves from scams.”
Cedar Creek High School ended the competition with 105 points with Middlesex racking up 60 points and Irvington coming in third with 50 points.
