THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 17, 1997 TAG: 9701150131
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LIZ SZABO, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 80 lines
BEGINNING WITH ONLY $100 in seed money, aspiring concert promoter Erik Erwin, 17, has earned more than $1.6 million.
If only that money were real.
Erwin, a senior at Chesapeake Center for Science and Technology, is only a millionaire in cyberspace. He's not earning a paycheck; he's scoring points in an international computer competition on the Internet, The Headbone Derby.
Erwin and his classmates are among the highest scoring individuals and teams in the ongoing derby, and on an average day far outpace their 1,000 competitors.
The final champion of the Headbone Derby will not be determined until March 17, said Kathy Romig, project manager from Headbone Interactive, Inc., which sponsors the competition. The highest scoring individual and team win free computers.
Erwin and his classmate in Introduction to Networking, Scott Hobbs, 17, both have won the coveted title of daily winner. Scores change minute by minute, as participants from Hampton Roads to Holland log on.
The Chesapeake students, who compete as individuals and as a team, are racking up more than simply the 90s equivalent of Monopoly money, said their teacher, Andrea Graham. They are learning to conduct research on the the World Wide Web, as well as apply their knowledge of math, marketing and accounting.
In the first leg of the competition, which began in December, students played the role of concert promoter for a rock 'n' roll band, computing budgets for publicity, calculating ticket prices, evaluating concert venues and reacting to downturns in business. In the process, Graham said, students also learn to develop strategies and work as a team.
In the second leg of the competition, which began Wednesday, students solve a series of puzzles, using web-search tools to find the answers to questions such as: ``How long does it take Pluto to orbit the sun, in minutes?''
The final section begins March 1. The competition grows more difficult with each of its three sections, Graham said.
She shuns the word ``game'' when describing the competition, in spite of the derby's hip, brightly colored graphics. In computer games, said 17-year-old Cherie Baker, ``you go around and kill people.'' In The Headbone Derby, Baker said, she plots her progress in math and computer science.
Not that these kids mind a little healthy competition.
``I don't think these kids would do this if they didn't want to win,'' Graham said. ``They like to outscore each other.''
Erwin said he logs on several times a day in order to defend his title as daily high scorer. Baker countered that she does not care about the competition, and that she would participate even if no one kept track of her score.
But Graham tapped her toes and wriggled with glee when her daily earnings landed her in fifth place - just one spot ahead of her classmate, Joseph Taylor, 17.
``I'm doing better than I ever have before,'' Graham said. ``My score today is $879,000. I've never gotten past $1,000 before.''
Why are Chesapeake students outscoring their rivals from around the world?
Some of these students are computer fanatics, staying up until 3 a.m. playing games or writing programs. Many of them also have parents who are professional computer engineers or network administrators.
And although teenagers often have a reputation for rowdiness, Graham said she rarely has to rein in the students in her computer classes.
``I can have 25 or 30 students in here using the computer, and you don't hear a sound,'' Graham said. ``They're just too involved in what they're doing.'' MEMO: You can visit the Chesapeake Center for Science and Technology
on the World Wide Web at http://pen.k12.va.us:/
Anthology/Div/Chesapeake/ Schools/CCST/ccst. html.
You can visit the Headbone Derby on the World Wide Web at
http://derby.excite. com. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MORT FRYMAN
Erik Erwin, foreground, and his classmate in Introduction to
Networking, Scott Hobbs, both have won the coveted title of daily
winner in the international Internet competition, The Headbone
Derby.