Quiz Bowl scores big at Nationals
By Sophia Qin Nov. 10, 2022
Containing subjects ranging from science, literature, pop culture, mathematics, history and geography, Quiz Bowl is a team trivia-based contest that aims to academically challenge the participants. After intensive preparation, the school’s Quiz Bowl club marched into the High School National Championship Tournament (HSNCT), ready to confidently execute their knowledge.
The members of the school’s Quiz Bowl team, led by Sophomore Aarush Zarabi, have been training together since 4th grade and have attended countless tournaments throughout the years . Consisting of a total of nine rounds, each tournament lasts eight hours. Taking part in eight competitions annually, the Quiz Bowl team holds weekly practices to revisit old material and assess new knowledge. Members also individually review material to further strengthen their proficiency.
Although most meetings are held online through Discord, in-person meetings are also frequent. At each meeting, members elect one representative from the club to be a Moderator. As a Moderator, their job is to announce 20 toss-ups questions, along with three bonus questions to the team that answers the toss-up correctly. A buzzer is given to each individual participant and when a member has the answer to a particular question, they click a buzzer, giving them the opportunity to respond. Toss-ups can earn the team up to 15 points, while bonuses are worth up to 30.
“I love being the Moderator because it allows me to learn about the team’s weaknesses and strengths while building up my knowledge on different subjects,” Sophomore Adrian Tomaszewski said.
With support from parents and fundraisers, the school’s Quiz Bowl team is able to attend out-of-state competitions. Last season, the team hosted a donut fundraiser at the school, gathering more than $200 in profit. From the additional support provided by the fundraiser, the team flew to Atlanta, Georgia for the HSNCT on May 26. To prepare for the tournament, the team practiced four hours every week, excluding independent study time. In the presence of 272 teams and over 1,200 participants, the team was one win shy from qualifying to the play-offs during preliminary games with Tomaszewski and Zarabi in the top 20% of highest scoring players overall.
“Nationals was a great learning experience for everyone. I was able to pick up techniques used by other teams and apply them myself,” Sophomore Joshua Yan said.
Recently, the team attended a local regional competition, qualifying for the 2023 National Quiz Bowl High School Tournament hosted by the National Academic Quiz Tournament (NAQT). However, until then, they still have numerous local competitions to attend.
As club sign-ups begin, the team hopes that more students will join and find joy in the academic experience that Quiz Bowl
About the Contributors
Sophia Qin
School News page editor
Sophia Qin is a sophomore at Leland High School and the School News page editor for The Charger Account. During her free time, she enjoys to stay in bed watching K-dramas with her dog while eating chips, sleeping, and eating more.
Hsi Lok Reeve Chan
photographer
Reeve Chan is a freshmen at Leland High School and a photographer for Journalism. During his free time, he enjoys sleeping, play video games and not going outside to touch grass.
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