As RAHS’ Quiz Bowl season approaches an end, the team reflects on their accomplishments of qualifying for nationals and regionals in their multiple categories.
The team competes in three different categories. In standard quiz bowl RAHS’s team qualified for Nationals, which is held in Atlanta, Georgia. Then they competed in knowledge bowl, where they qualified for regionals held at the end of the month. Finally they competed in the 3-2-1 online virtual league, where they qualified for nationals but are not attending the national competition.
Quiz Bowl consists of eight members, seven of which are seniors. Senior Erik Larson, one of two captains of the Quiz Bowl, recognizes the lack of lower classmen as a standing issue for this team. He said, “Anyone who is interested can come and join, especially if you are not a senior. We would love to have more members for the next year.”
Another challenge for the team is finding times when everyone is available to practice. Senior Carmen Florentz, another captain of the Quiz Bowl said, “Everyone is busy and everyone has things to do, but like for me, I have four AP classes, so trying to align all of our school schedules has been a barrier.”
Although they have their challenges, this year’s Quiz Bowl team’s strength is their teamwork. Senior Jack Riley said, “I think the most important thing for the team is getting a well-rounded team and I think right now, our team is very well-rounded … there aren’t many categories where we don’t have a person who knows about it and just listening to your teammates is really crucial and I think we trust each other very much.”
Ira Sanders, Quiz Bowl’s biggest cheerleader and coach, stated that he couldn’t be more proud of the competitors. He said, “We started the season off really strong, and then midway through, there was a little bit of a slump but we regrouped and then finished really strong toward the end…all of the team, they are just really, a bunch of nice kids.”
Larson appreciates this season of success. He said, “Our team has been really successful this year, and I have seen as people join, I notice their skills grow and improve and it has been really fulfilling and I have high hopes for us.”
Competitions for the Quiz Bowl take place anywhere and at any time. This year’s Quiz Bowl Nationals will take place in Atlanta, Georgia, hosted by the National Academic Quiz Tournaments (NAQT).
Senior Dylan Vicario believes that this team is one with many successes, but not a lot of recognition. He said, “I think this is one of the activities provided by our school that is the strongest yet the most unrecognized, I wish more people knew about [Quiz Bowl]. I mean we are national champions and I think it makes us really unique.”
Interested in Quiz Bowl? Meetings are on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school In Mr. Sanders’ room in B105.
