January 20, 2011

Office of The Attorney General
- Paula T. Dow, Attorney General
Division of Consumer Affairs
- Thomas R. Calcagni, Acting Director

JERSEY CITY – The 15th edition of the annual Consumer Bowl competition, hosted by the State Division of Consumer Affairs and local consumer affairs offices, kicked off today in Hudson County as students from eight local high schools faced off to determine the county champion.

County Prep High School won the Hudson County Consumer Bowl and will advance to face other county champions from northern New Jersey later this year. The three regional winners from North, Central and South Jersey will then compete in the championship round in May to determine the overall statewide Consumer Bowl winner.

Students from more than 90 public and private high schools across New Jersey are competing in this year’s Consumer Bowl. All 21 counties in the state are represented.
Irvington High School in Essex County is the defending State Consumer Bowl Champion.

“Regardless of the team results, all our student competitors become winners through learning our consumer protection laws and regulations,” said Thomas R. Calcagni, Acting Director of the State Division of Consumer Affairs. “A lifetime of valuable knowledge, including how to spot potential frauds and what actions to take to protect yourself in the marketplace, is instilled in every Consumer Bowl participant.”

The Consumer Bowl is conducted in an academic game show format, with teams of students from each high school competing against each other. Each team has a teacher who acts as coach as the team studies for the county competitions.

The topics at the county competition include false advertising, safety on the internet, auto lemon law, pre-paid phone cards, rent-to-own, gift cards and gift certificates, health clubs/gyms, identity theft, sweepstakes scams and telemarketers, as well as general knowledge of the state’s Consumer Fraud Act.

The schedule for upcoming county competitions is as follows:

Specific information about the location of, and the schools participating in, each county competition will be distributed in advance of each competition.

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