Westbrook – When The CW Network began casting for Kick Start, a new game show geared toward kids, there were only 20 coveted spots up for grabs. Lewiston’s Matt Butler and Sophia Goulet and Auburn’s Michael Lucas are a few of the lucky ones.

Or are they?

In February, Butler, Goulet and Lucas auditioned for and earned spots on the upcoming game show. That means they’ll be competing with 17 other Maine eighth graders for a $10,000 college scholarship. It also means they’ll be subjecting themselves to not only rigorous trivia tests, but also messy physical challenges that will be equal parts Double Dare and Fear Factor.

“Everyone says they’re up for anything,” said John Marshall, the show’s producer and Creative Director at WPXT television in Westbrook. “And everyone says they’re afraid of spiders, too. All of which means spiders will play a major roll in at least one challenge.”

Filming for Kick Start began earlier this month and will continue into April. The show debuts this Thursday, March 29 at 7:30 p.m. Other Lewiston/Auburn-area participants include Minot’s Samantha Sirois, Poland’s Jacob Tyler Neal and Sabattus’s Eric Woods and Joe Bosse.

The episode that Lucas and Goulet are scheduled to appear in will air on The CW April 5 at 7:30 p.m.; Butler will appear on The CW one week later, April 12, at 7:30 p.m.

The game show is part of a larger, statewide marketing campaign, also called Kick Start, which is aimed at getting seventh, eighth and ninth graders ready for college, career and citizenship. The campaign launched with a TV spot that featured a mascot, Norm the talking donkey, and drove eighth graders to a Web site (www.kickstartmaine.com) where they could take a quiz to receive a free T-shirt and college-planning guide.