The four-person quiz bowl team includes Sam Blizzard, a sophomore and team captain; Tori Amos, sophomore; Jonathan Yagisawa, senior; and Erin Laing, junior.
The team will compete at the NAQT Nationals on May 25-26 in Atlanta, Ga., and the PACE (Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence) Nationals on June 8-9 in College Park, Md.
The Academic Challenge team is an extracurricular activity that provides students the opportunity to compete against schools from around the state and nation in a team-based Jeopardy-style competition. Students are quizzed on academic subjects and general knowledge.
Jones said that many subjects covered in quiz bowl are not taught in the school curriculum at most school districts. For example, the students could be asked questions about African literature, paintings or operas.
In the past five years, the Academic Challenge team has had several successes including winning five GWOC (Greater Western Ohio Conference) titles, five regional titles, three state competitions and two National History Bowl titles, Jones noted.
The National History Bowl team consists of sophomores Sam Blizzard and Tori Amos, and freshmen, Robbie Spilker and Rachel Tracy.
Jones credits the Academic Challenge team’s success to a dedicated group of students, supportive parents and helpful teachers.
Team members – about 25 middle and high school students – practice throughout the school year. Jones said that students pick two topics to study. Then, they are given study materials, web resources, and sample questions. During practice, groups of four students compete against each other. They use buzzers to answer questions.
Team members travel to a variety of quiz bowl competitions throughout the year. Jones said that Northmont competes in tournaments almost every weekend from September through June and has competed in 12 states during the past two years.
“When I first started with the team, I learned quickly that the more you play, the better you are,” he noted.
At the NAQT national tournament on May 25-26, the Northmont team will compete against 200 teams from around the nation. At the PACE Nationals in June, Northmont will compete against 64 teams.
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