On April 19, the Choate Lava Lizards beat 28 teams in the largest online quiz bowl tournament in history. Photo courtesy of Andrew Lee
On April 19, Choate Quiz Bowl won its first trophy after participating in the Scholastic Community Outreach Program (SCOP) Novice Online Tournament 2020, the largest online quiz bowl tournament in history.
All three of the Choate teams that competed in the tournament performed exceptionally well. The Choate Lava Lizard team beat the other 28 teams and won the tournament, and Chandler Littleford ’20 and Nathan Nicholas ’23, who placed among the top 10-15 individual scorers, won scoring prizes. Ethan Bardoe ’21 was also recognized for placing 17th individually.
The four members of Choate Lava Lizard are co-captains Andrew Lee ’21 and Emma Hermacinski ’22, Joy An ’23, and Nicholas. The team did not enter the tournament expecting to win. Among the team’s most challenging opponents were The Hotchkiss School and Stanton College Preparatory School.
In light of the victory, An felt “so proud and, honestly, a little shocked.” Before the tournament began, she believed that all games were still “winnable” even though most opponents were more experienced than Choate’s teams. This proved to be true when Choate won ten of its 11 games, including the nerve-wracking finals.
Despite having been a COSA-approved club only since the winter term, Choate Quiz Bowl has already competed in multiple tournaments, including events at Harvard and Yale. Although two of its teams have qualified for nationals in the past, this is Choate Quiz Bowl’s first tournament win.
An said the reason for this success is that “in addition to all loving quiz bowl, we all also love spending time together. Quiz Bowl meetings are one of the highlights of my week, and I’m sure other people in the club feel the same way. We’re all so passionate about the activity and love of each other, and that makes us not only a strong club but also a strong community.”
Quiz bowl is a game of knowledge in which questions are answered to score points. Lee said, “Quiz bowl consists of two roughly equally weighted parts: tossups and bonuses. Toss-ups are the nerve-wracking buzzer races, where a moderator reads aloud a question and both teams try to buzz in with the correct answer. Questions start off with obscure clues and get progressively easier until the last sentence, rewarding deep knowledge of the subject.”
When, during a toss-up, a player buzzes in and correctly answers a question, their team moves into a three-part bonus question that is typically worth ten points. Quiz bowl questions cover a wide range of topics, including everything from literature and science to pop culture.
This format was altered for online competition, which has been a new development in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. There were much stricter timing rules put into place to prevent cheating. Additionally, club meetings have been canceled, and time zone restrictions have made it difficult to hold online events, although virtual competitions are now becoming more common. For the SCOP Novice tournament, Nicholas and Lee, who both live abroad, played into the night, until 2:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., respectively.
“I honestly think Quiz Bowl has become an even bigger part of my life during the Covid-19 quarantine,” An said. She specified that Quiz Bowl is not merely a club for trivia competitions. “Choate Quiz Bowl is a lot more than a club. Honestly, this club is a second family to me. I’ve met some of the most important people in my life through Quiz Bowl and made connections strong enough to last a lifetime,” An added.
Members of Choate Quiz Bowl have not allowed the pandemic to deter their love for the game. With plans for future merchandise and tournaments, the club expects to enjoy a lively season of competition, despite the transition of all events onto online platforms.
