The Start to Scholar Bowl’s Season After State
November 23, 2021
Scholar Bowls members at their after school practice in Mrs. Walquist room.
The Scholar Bowl’s competitive season has begun and after last year’s amazing season and win at State. They have begun their preparations for competitions once again.
The Scholar Bowl team can be found working very hard after school in scholar bowl sponsor Michelle Wahlquist’s classroom. They officially meet as a group on Fridays till five o’clock where they practice going through questions and proving to truly know their stuff.
“In practice, we get out the buzzers and Mrs. Wahlquist reads questions. We play it just like a real game, although it’s more laid back, so there’s more time for studying specific questions or just talking and having fun,” shared Braden Booth (11).
Outside of team practices they work on themselves as individuals, maintaining their knowledge and adding to it when they can. Christian Allen (11) explained, “Preparation for the season can take many forms ranging from just meandering across Wikipedia pages to getting the whole team together to read questions.”
“I have not stopped preparing since middle school. There is a whole database of questions that have been used in past competitions, and you can look at these and see what questions show up often.” Booth went on about the topic of self-preparation, “We then either read books or look up stuff on the subjects that interest us.”
Last year, the Fair Grove Scholar Bowl team went to State and took home the title. This year, they have already placed first in two of their three tournaments. “Though last year was great I still think our potential is higher, even enough to win a national championship,” stated Allen.
Booth said he was confident about this season, but diligent to be wary. “We had a great season last year, graduated no seniors, and are better now than we’ve ever been,” shared Booth. “Our first tournament was, frankly, a bloodbath, with our closest game being a 200 point win, and every other game being a complete blowout, even against teams that went to the final four in state last year. We have our sights set on another State win, as well as a win at Small School Nationals. We believe both are difficult, but both are attainable.”
Even though the Scholar Bowl team is doing well so far with the team that they have, they are always looking for more people to join. If you are interested in joining scholar bowl or think that you would be a good addition to the team, it is encouraged for you to talk to Wahlquist or a member.