Local News: Final Four determined at annual national consumer literacy championship in Pittsburgh – National Consumers League

April 24, 2017

Contact: National Consumers League’s Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org(724) 799-5392

Pittsburgh, PA–Today in Pittsburgh, the 2017 National LifeSmarts Championship will come to an end with four state champion teams heading to the final matches to vie for the national title. LifeSmarts (LifeSmarts.org) is a national consumer literacy educational program and competitive scholarship opportunity, run by the National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s oldest consumer watchdog organization. LifeSmarts is celebrating its 23rd season this year, and the 2017 National LifeSmarts Champions will be determined by noon today and crowned at an awards ceremony following the final match.

The four semi-finalists are:

Virginia: George C. Marshall High School, Coach Rebekah Glasbrenner
Michigan: Cranbrook Kingswood School, Coach Kurt Godfryd
Rhode Island: Barrington High School, Coach Samuel Schacter
Pennsylvania: Dallas High School, Coach Kevin West (returning 2016 national champions)

NCL hosts the National Championship each April, during Financial Literacy Month. This year, NCL brought the LifeSmarts National Championship to Pittsburgh. On Friday, Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto welcomed 31 state champion teams from as far away as Hawaii and as nearby as the returning champion team from Dallas, PA to the Westin Convention Center Pittsburgh to kick off the weekend of activities. On Saturday, the students participated in Earth Day activities, including a discussion of food waste audits and participated in a food recovery action.

The event will come to an end Monday with NCL crowning the 2017 national champion team at 12 noon EDT. The team from George C. Marshall High School in Falls Church, Virginia, will face off against Cranbrook Kingswood School from Michigan in the first match of the morning. Rhode Island’s Barrington High School and the 2016 champion team from Dallas, Pennsylvania will compete in the second semi-final. 

LifeSmarts is a free, competitive educational and scholarship program, in which teams of students begin competition online. Top-scorers progress to their state competitions, and state champion teams convene each April to compete in the National LifeSmarts Championship. For a complete list of state champions, visit LifeSmarts.org.

The 2017 National LifeSmarts Champion and other winning teams will walk away with prizes and scholarships. In addition to placing as a team, individual students have the opportunity to compete for scholarships for demonstrating knowledge in specific program topic areas. The top eight placing teams and top five individuals are recognized.

NCL thanks the sponsors who make the program possible including McNeil Consumer Healthcare, Western Union, Johnson & Johnson, LifeLock, UL, Comcast, Intuit, Experian, American Express, the International Dairy Foods Association, CARE, the Washington State Employees Credit Union (WSECU), and the World Wildlife Fund.

Throughout the 2016-2017 program year, more than 100,000 teens competed online for a chance to represent their states at the 2017 National LifeSmarts Championship. Players answered more than 3 million consumer questions in the online competition.

Streaming live online from Pittsburgh today, Monday, April 24

Watch this year’s final and semi-final matches live at LifeSmarts.org!

9 am EDT – Virginia vs. Michigan
9:45 am EDT – Rhode Island vs. Pennsylvania

The final match will begin immediately following the second semi-final match.

Follow the conversation on Instagram and Twitter at #LifeSmarts or Facebook.com/LifeSmarts

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About the National Consumers League and LifeSmarts

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

LifeSmarts is a program of the National Consumers League. State coordinators run the programs on a volunteer basis. For more information, visit: LifeSmarts.org, email lifesmarts@nclnet.org, or call the National Consumers League’s communications department at 202-835-3323.