As the seconds ticked by on the final question in a Scholastic Bowl match against Glenbrook South, senior Martín Sarmiento felt the pressure while he debated whether or not to buzz in and answer for the team.
“It’s very intense in the moment, just because you’re like, ‘Okay, I can win, I can win this,’” said Sarmiento. “And if [you] know the answer, your palms will get sweaty, and you’re trying to buzz in at the right moment to where you’re sure, but you don’t want to wait too long to where you’re too sure, because then the other team can buzz in.”
Sarmiento felt relieved when he found out his guess was correct, which guaranteed a win for the team, he said.
Scholastic Bowl is a competition group in which students compete to earn points by answering questions across various categories including history, literature, math and science.
“All the knowledge you use for Scholastic Bowl comes up in class, social media, the news, conversations with other curious people, [et cetera], so the more you listen and pay attention, the more you can usually contribute to the team,” Sarmiento said.
Members prepare for competitions by simulating them in club meetings. During competitions, five players from each team participate at a time and additional members can be substituted in. Each match consists of 24 toss-ups, which are 10-point questions open to all players.
“The first few sentences [of a toss-up] are incredibly obscure and unless you are an expert on a topic, you have [an inkling or two] that might be popping into your head,” said Sarmiento. “Once you reach about halfway through the question, you start seeing how some of the opponents are starting to get closer to the answer, just as you are. That’s when the stress kind of mounts as you realize you have to buzz first.”
If a player answers a toss-up correctly, the team is awarded a three-part bonus question worth a total of 30 points. After the bonus is answered, the match continues with the next toss-up.
Unlike during toss-ups, teams can converse prior to answering bonus questions.
“Bonuses are the collaborative part, but the captain is the one who gets the final say,” said sophomore Audrey Wiseman. “So a captain should know their team well and know who can answer a bonus correctly.”
Sarmiento and Wiseman often serve as captains of the varsity and JV teams, respectively, but new captains can be assigned every match. The teams are divided by grade level, with upperclassmen competing on varsity and underclassmen on junior varsity.
Out of nine matches this season, the varsity team has won seven and junior varsity has won eight as of Feb. 24. The varsity team is scheduled to compete at the IHSA regional competition on March 10.
As long as students have a passion and interest in some sort of academics, they can join Scholastic Bowl, Wiseman said.
“What’s great about Scholastic Bowl is that you can showcase your individual interests,” said Wiseman. “There are people who are super interested in geography, politics, religion, pop culture, and you get to showcase your individual knowledge. It’s really fantastic.”