'March Smartness' results released

(FOX Providence) - Last Friday at the Rhode Island State House nine teams of teenagers battled through the brackets and buzzers at the 7th annual Rhode Island LifeSmarts state competition, hosted by the Rhode Island Jump$tart Coalition .

The “March Smartness” event tested teen’s knowledge of consumer topics and financial literacy.

Peter Kerwin of the Rhode Island Higher Education Assistance Authority joined The Rhode Show to recap the March Smartness competition results.

What happened at the competition?

As NCAA basketball teams were scrambling for berths on “Selection Sunday,” we were hosting what we’re calling “Frenetic Friday.” After six years of seeing the Consumers Cup go to either Barrington or North Providence high schools, we saw a new state champion this year at the LifeSmarts competition. Five young ladies from the Lincoln School in Providence won and they did it with a couple of dominating wins and a really close match in the finals against a strong North Smithfield team. 

The Lincoln Lynx team, made up of Captain Megan Morrow, Addie Bodell, Maggie Savoie, Olivia Davis-Wilson, Carolyn Impagliazzo, and Coach Catherine DiChiaro went undefeated all day. Our Final Four included North Smithfield (2nd place), Barrington (3rd place), and East Greenwich (4th place).

Further, twenty volunteers joined us as officials from academic, business and civic sectors.  We were also pleased to welcome representatives from the Secretary of State and Attorney General’s offices.  At our certificate ceremony, General Treasurer Gina Raimondo spoke to the students about the importance of personal financial education. A full write-up on the competition results can be found at www.rijumpstart.org .

So, what’s next for the ladies of Lincoln School?

The Lincoln Lynx have qualified to represent Rhode Island at the National LifeSmarts competition hosted by the National Consumers League in late April.  Rhode Island fans can follow along from April 30 to May 3, 2011 at www.lifesmarts.org where the nationals blog can be found, which will provide updates from the competition that will feature around thirty teams from across the United States.

Amidst all the excitement, what were the educational lessons from LifeSmarts?

At CollegeBoundfund, our goals include not only to provide a trusted college savings vehicle, but to support programs like LifeSmarts that prepare high school students for making their choice of college, one of the biggest consumer decisions of their lifetime.

In today’s tough economy, students not only need to carefully consider their choice of college, but their consumer behavior as they prepare for and attend college so they can make the most of their experience.  The lessons of LifeSmarts go a long way to create important consumer savvy.