During the weekend of Oct. 20 to 21, the AHS Quiz Bowl (QB) competed in the Triton Fall tournament at UC San Diego, with its Team A placing 2nd and Team B placing 3rd in the consolation bracket. They were very satisfied with their performance, and are hoping to improve further to reach their goals.

Quiz Bowl is a buzzer-style trivia contest that tests players on a variety of academic subjects such as history and science. It is played between teams that can have up to four players playing at one time. Teams gain points by correctly answering two kinds of questions—tossups and bonuses—from a moderator. Matches begin with toss-up questions, worth ten points each, that can be answered by buzzing in, which is pressing a button on a signaling device that activates a buzzer and a light. Only one person can answer a toss-up question, and no verbal communication is allowed. If an incorrect answer is given before the question is fully read, then a five-point penalty is given to the participant’s team. The moderator then finishes the question for the other team, as each team only gets one buzz per question. If answered correctly, however, the team then gets a bonus question that usually consists of multiple parts and is worth 30 points. The team is then allowed to verbally discuss the questions together, but only the captain can give the answer. There is no penalty for incorrect answers. The team with the most points at the end of the match wins. However, ties can be broken by either reading extra questions or sudden-death toss-up questions.

When asked about Team A’s performance, senior Andrew Hoagland expressed, “I think we did pretty well as a team. Even though we only got second place, we played without half of our full team, so I wasn’t too disappointed.” Sophomore Vincent Kurniawidjaja of Team B also had similar thoughts but also noted that improvements could’ve been made. “We did pretty well at Triton Fall, but we certainly could’ve outperformed our rival, Canyon Crest Academy, to be first. I myself could’ve been better when it came down to the later rounds.” Junior Stephen Dai also elaborated on areas of improvement and remarked, “We definitely need to focus on learning Literature, as it is the subject we as an entire organization are extremely lacking in. Out of all 20 or so members of Quiz Bowl, only 1 is a Literature player.” However, with the amount of time spent practicing, these goals are likely to be reached. Vincent revealed, “Every Thursday, we have practice in room C-101, where we read packets of questions from online Quiz Bowl databases and simulate tournament games.” He also embodied the hard-working spirit of QB. “In our spare time, we also study independently by taking notes or reading such packets.”

Stephen noted that a goal of QB was to have “both Arcadia A and Arcadia B place high enough in rankings to qualify for Nationals.” Andrew also demonstrated his desire to “win future tournaments outright.” With all the hard work put into practice, the effort definitely will not go to waste. Great job QB, and good luck!

Photo courtesy of LAWRENCE SUNG