The Choate quiz bowl! club recently attended the Long Island Fall Tournament (LIFT), at Kellenberg Memorial High School in Uniondale, New York, where one of its three teams won first place. The team, composed of Joy An ’23, Nathan Nicholas ’23, Athena Liu ’23, and Henry Ding ’24, went undefeated in all ten of their rounds.
While all teams that registered were allowed to compete in LIFT, previous performances were used to determine the initial seeding and brackets going into the preliminary rounds. The team participated in nine preliminary rounds, with a single crossover match where they faced off with the same team twice. In the tournament finals they squared off against Darien High School, winning with a final score of 330-255. The team’s performance qualified them for the national competition which will take place next summer in Atlanta, Georgia.
The team used many different methods in preparation for the tournament. Nicholas, the President of the quiz bowl!, used flashcards, both physical and virtual, to memorize and learn new information. He also likes to edit and read Wikipedia pages to practice for tournaments. An, the Captain of quiz bowl!, said the best way to improve as a competitor is to play as much as possible. To prepare for LIFT, the club held many practices, simulating competition-like questions. “With every question you hear, you learn something new,” said An.
This tournament was many of the members’ first in-person competition, making the win that much more exciting. An’s favorite memory from the tournament was buzzing in and correctly answering on the last toss up question to beat Darien, and letting out “a frankly inhuman shriek of pure happiness.” Their second favorite memory was sharing highlights and shout-outs after the tournament, which was a moment of positivity, amity, and support.
The greatest challenge was organizing the logistics of the trip. As the team’s Captain, An finalized the rosters, organized transportation to and from New York, found chaperones, and resolved emergencies along the way. An said that organizing transportation for the tournament was difficult and that ensuring the right number of participants was another big obstacle. As such, many faculty members and students contributed to the team’s win by providing them with safe travel and food.
The Choate quiz bowl! is currently focused on preparing for CORGI, an online tournament that they will be hosting in January. “Our preparations for the future are the same things we do every week: holding regular practices, building team camaraderie, and playing lots and lots of Quiz Bowl,” said An. They are eager for more participants, and point out that previous experience is not required.
“[Quiz bowl is] one of the most intellectually stimulating activities in the world,” An noted. “I’ve developed and discovered countless new interests and learned so many things I would never have otherwise encountered through quiz bowl.”
