PLATTEVILLE, April 15 — Platteville High School is to the Wisconsin Civics Games what the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kansas City Chiefs and Alabama Crimson Tide football are to their respective sports leagues.

PHS, winners of the Civics Games last year, will return to the state Civics Games in the State Capitol in Madison May 1 in search of their third state title after qualifying from a regional Thursday.

Guthrie Cline, who was on the PHS state champion team last year, will be looking for his second consecutive state title, joined by teammates Alex Williams, Ellen Cornett and Henry Stange.

“We are incredibly proud of Henry, Alex, Ellen, and Guthrie,” said PHS social studies teacher Garrett Jones, the Civics Games advisor. “Qualifying for the state competition at the Capitol is an honor, and doing so as the defending champions adds a special level of excitement.

“The Civics Games seem to get more competitive each year, but this is a team that has the potential to bring home a repeat state title and continue Platteville’s tradition of excellence.”

PHS has qualified for every state Civics Games since the event began in 2019 with Platteville winning the first state title in 2019. The Civics Games was not held in 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Members of the state champion team each earn a $2,000 scholarship to a Wisconsin college or university of their choice. The finals are presented by the Universities of Wisconsin in partnership with the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation and other organizations committed to strengthening civic literacy.

For the first time PHS had two teams at state. Max Schulenberg, William Wolfe, Mazim Plumb and Nicole Peterson also competed in the regional but were not one of the top two scoring teams from their regional to go to state.

“It was great to have two teams compete this year, it shows how much talent we have in the building,” said Jones. “While our second team didn’t qualify for the state competition, they competed well and gained valuable experience that will be an asset next year.”

Potosi High School also had a Civics Games team this year.

Forty-nine teams from 29 schools across Wisconsin participated this week in preliminary competitions that determined which teams would advance to the state finals.

Teams faced off virtually in head-to-head matchups, answering questions about the role of government, the U.S. Constitution, Wisconsin and U.S. history, elections, public policy, and current events.

Questions included:

• What clause in the U.S. Constitution establishes that federal law takes precedence over conflicting state laws? (The Supremacy Clause.)
• Under Article V of the Constitution, what are the two ways to propoe an amendment to the Constitution? (Two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress and a constitutional convention called by two-thirds of state legislatures.)
• What year was the Wisconsin State Constitution amended to include women’s suffrage? (1924.)
• One of the longest strikes in U.S. history that lasted for nine years started in which small Wisconsin village? (Kohler, against Kohler Co.)

Judges for the Games included professors, UW students, Wisconsin Newspaper Association editors and WNA Foundation board members as well as staff from the Wisconsin Historical Society, Girls Scouts of Wisconsin, Greater Green Bay Community Foundation, and Wisconsin Counties Association.

Platteville’s state competition will include teams from Belleville, Beloit Turner, Cedarburg, Freedom, Grafton, Lomira, Slinger, Wauwatosa East, Wauwatosa West and West Bend.

The state finals are open to the public. Welcoming remarks will begin at 9 a.m. in Room 411 South. The finals, which are scheduled to be broadcast on WisconsinEye, are expected to conclude at approximately 3:30 p.m.

The Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation launched the Civics Games in 2018 to strengthen civics education and engagement in our democracy. Following a pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, the program has continued to grow and expand its reach across the state.

Beginning next year, the Universities of Wisconsin plan to host the Civics Games on campuses, which will give students a chance to experience a college environment while continuing their civic learning.

Support for the Wisconsin Civics Games is provided by the Universities of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation, WisPolitics, Evjue Foundation, Wisconsin Counties Association, League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, WisconsinEye, Wisconsin Senate Scholars Program, Multi Media Channels, Carol O’Leary, and Godfrey & Kahn.