The Brainy Bunch: Knowledge Bowl Starts Off With A Bang

By Tyler McIntosh

A few people were worried about budget cuts taking Knowledge Bowl out of the picture this year. But, after the initial discussion, it was decided that Knowledge Bowl would be around for at least one more year.

 The first KB competition took place on Nov 5, with RAL varsity taking second place.

Our varsity tied Mark Morris on the written round, scoring an incredible 51 out of 60.

RAL also tied Mark Morris on the first oral round, scoring 21 points each.

 Mark Morris ended up beating RAL, but it was an extremely close match; RAL scored 23 on the final oral round, and Mark Morris scored 24.

RAL came in second overall, losing to Mark Morris by a single point.

Varsity players this year are: Garrett Nelson 12, Xin Chen 12, Aubrey Johnson 10, and James Hamill 11.

“I feel I have really improved since last year,” Nelson said, “back then I got about an eight on the written, and this year we got 51!”

“I think our team this year is definitely better than last year,” said Johnson, “judging by the first match, there are some serious improvements.”

When asked who the toughest teams are, Johnson said, “Well, last year Kelso had really good teams, and they always have good teams, but this year it looks like our toughest competitors are going to be Mark Morris and Ridgefield.”

JV did well for their first meet, placing seventh out of approximately 12 schools.

Many JV participants have never been in Knowledge Bowl before, and it was a different experience for them.

Knowledge Bowl’s next meet will be in La Center on Dec 2.

 A typical KB competition lasts about three hours.

No one knows exactly when the big annual Knowledge Bowl students versus teachers event will take place, but everyone is looking forward to it.

As long as Knowledge Bowl teams keep it up, the RAL  varsity believes that this year, they have a shot at going to regionals.