Scholar Bowl Is Facing Drastic Changes Across The Nation
February 22, 2022
Aiden Cooper and Houston Coach on left acting as judges. Charlie Harp, Brett Sartin, Braden Booth, and Christian Allen competing.
With new COVID-19 conditions, Scholar Bowl competitions have gone through huge changes this past year. Nearly all competitions are unable to meet in person.
Due to Covid restrictions, it would be easy to assume that the Fair Grove Scholar Bowl team would be going to fewer competitions; however, that is not true. It’s the opposite in fact. Most of the state and nation wide competitions have been moved to a virtual platform instead of meeting in person. This has given countless small schools an opportunity to attend the meets when otherwise, they wouldn’t have the funds for in the past.
Many high school scholar bowl teams are thriving from this change. As such changes have been helpful, the real issue lies in middle school scholar bowl. There is a sizable dip in attendance. Michelle Wahlquist, the high school scholar bowl sponsor, said, “Many schools have suspended their Middle School programs due to reduced funding for coaches. I hate to see that because all high school programs can benefit from the middle school programs.”
As the middle school side of scholar bowl dwindles, the scholar bowl program can still continue without the middle school club backing it, however it will be hard. Freshmen will be unfamiliar with the program and will have to be encouraged to join, unlike before when a pre-existing middle school team provided a group of knowledgeable and dedicated players already in existence.
Without the middle school scholar bowl program, there is a reduction of activities for middle schoolers that aren’t athletic based. Having clubs and social opportunities for all students of all ages is extremely beneficial for the entire student body and school. Scholar bowl was a place for middle school students to come and have interactions with others while learning and forming a team.
Even with these problems, the high school scholar bowl team will continue to thrive. Braden Booth (11), the varsity captain of the high school team, said, “We’re seeing a lot of better teams. A few years ago, there were one or two good teams per year. This year, we have eight teams fighting for top in the state. We’ve never seen this much competition at a high level.”
The Fair Grove Scholar Bowl team is doing well this year, and they hope, despite the setbacks they face, that they will continue this streak into the future.