Science Bowl hosted its 5th annual Science and Logic Arcadia Practice (SLAP) Bowl on Mar. 25, which encouraged freshmen, sophomores, and juniors to go head-to-head in teams of four. Beyond the excitement of participation, participants were given a valuable incentive: the opportunity to skip buzzer tryouts if they plan to try out for the Science Bowl team, making SLAP Bowl a training ground and stepping stone into the program. 

“The event went quite well, and we didn’t encounter any logistical mishaps this time around, which is an improvement from previous iterations,” said Captain sophomore Ethan Wang. 

The competition featured a wide range of science categories, with questions in Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Space Science, Math, and Physics. There were a total of 11 sets of 40 questions with 440 total questions. Each question was carefully written by Science Bowl members, showcasing not only their subject knowledge, but also their dedication to creating an experience for participants. 

A total of 12 teams entered SLAP Bowl this year and were split into six rooms, allowing for multiple matches to run simultaneously. Each room buzzed with energy as teams competed and demonstrated their knowledge, making the event academically rigorous and highly engaging for everyone. To ensure fairness and time, each team played every team once for a better understanding of standings. 

“SLAP Bowl was a very fun and competitive competition. As a group, I think we did really well together by balancing our strengths and weaknesses, and were able to answer questions on all subjects. Individually, I think I did really well in tossups and bonuses by applying my knowledge of chemistry from AP Chemistry and general knowledge of physics and earth science. I’m really looking forward to SLAP Bowl next year and answering more questions,” said sophomore Shaurya Sheth. 

After 11 rounds, 1st place went to “The Chads,” consisting of sophomores Frank Chen, Juliet Crew, Alyssia Guo, and Ayyan Hedge. 2nd place went to “Brandon Glazers,” with freshmen Preston Chen, Celina Wang, Dora Wu, and Brandon Zhu. Third place went to “Darren’s team,” consisting of sophomores Darren Chen, Vincent Tan, Martin Wang, and Sophie Xu. 

Overall, SLAP Bowl combined competition and learning while also recruiting for next year’s squad, leaving participants thrilled for future events.