On March 4, the varsity Scholastic Bowl team won all three head-to-head matches at regionals and became the regional champions. They plan to compete in the national championships, which will take place on May 24 and 25 in Atlanta, Ga.

Scholastic Bowl, also known as quiz bowl, is a quiz-based competition in which players are tested on their knowledge of a variety of subjects ranging from history to economics to current events. Matches are set up with two teams sitting at tables with a buzzer in front of every student.

After winning several competitions and matches, the Central Scholastic Bowl team is one of the top ten teams in the state.

“We recently participated in a tournament with most of the best teams in the state and finished fifth,” said Coach Alan McCloud, science teacher.

Congrats to ⁦@ThisIsHCHS⁩ Scho Bowl Regional Champs!! pic.twitter.com/9GWUwHvkqx

— HCActivities (@HCHSActivities) March 5, 2019

The Scholastic Bowl team has practiced twice a week ever since the start of August. Practice begins with McCloud reading questions from past bowls. Questions from the 2018 National Championships cover a range of topics, testing knowledge of specific events and people. The team then splits off into two teams to compete in mock-matches.

Each team member is an expert in certain subjects by studying questions in a packet or researching a particular field. For example, junior team member Manvit Adusumilli studied fine arts and social sciences this year so that he can answer questions in these categories faster and increase his team’s chances at winning.

The teammates who score highest during practice make up the varsity team and compete in competitions. With all this practice, team members said they feel ready for nationals.

“I think we can be in the top 50 at nationals, but it will be tough,” said Thomas Mercurio, junior Scholastic Bowl team member. “Illinois is probably the best state for Scholastic Bowl, and while we’re outside the top tier, we are a top 10 team in the state.”

Others look forward to the overall aspect of bonding with team members at the Scholastic Bowl. 

“My favorite thing about Scholastic Bowl is the team aspect,” Adusumilli said. “It becomes so much more enjoyable to compete in a stressful, difficult activity because I have supportive teammates who work with me.”

Anyone can join Scholastic Bowl as the junior varsity team has spots for more members. The junior varsity team competes in tournaments on several Saturdays and at a conference at the end of their season.