Every year, American pop culture is abuzz with anticipation for the Super Bowl. Not everyone loves football, though.
If you enjoy books more than sports, and if you’ve ever dreamt of competing on a show like Jeopardy, you should get involved with Quiz Bowl. Just in case you need more convincing, here are some more compelling reasons to join a local Quiz Bowl team.
1. Quiz Bowl Is the Ultimate Battle of the Brains
Let the sports people have their Super Bowl and “World Series.” Where the brain is concerned, Quiz Bowl reigns king.
This epic brain game is an incarnation of the much-maligned College Bowl. College Bowl was a great idea, but it was poorly executed. It was a collegiate trivia game, but it lost points with players for weak questions and nonsensical rules.
Quiz Bowl is a game played on all academic levels (starting in middle school). It’s challenging enough to make the most serious bookworms squirm.
The participants are split into two teams, and each team has to answer a series of complex questions by hitting a buzzer. The objective of the game is to answer as many questions in as short a time as possible. In fact, if a participant can answer a question before the moderator finishes asking it, that grants him points for his team.
If you don’t identify with the sports world and you feel that knowledge is your greatest asset, you deserve as many quiz trophies as you can manage to win.
2. Gain Intelligence
Those who don’t enjoy learning often question the point of academics. You, as a self-proclaimed nerd, know that learning Algebra and history serves a purpose.
Each academic subject comes in handy at a Quiz Bowl tournament.
While you prepare for the quiz, you have to soak in as much information as you can. Your goal is to recall any fact on command quicker than the other team’s participants. Therefore, even if your team doesn’t win the game, you come away with more knowledge and mental agility than you started with.
3. Increase Your Confidence
If knowing it all is your strongest suit, your confidence has likely been knocked down repeatedly. In a world where TV is cool and books are not, your intelligence is lost in the noise that is pop culture.
At a Quiz Bowl tournament, you’re among fellow lifelong learners. It’s an advantage if you’re the smartest one in the room.
Quiz Bowl requires you to strengthen your voice and your competitive skills. If you want to win, you have to speak up quickly. This bolsters your confidence in an invigorating way.
4. Improve Your Sportsmanship
An advantage of being an athlete is that one becomes a team player. If you’ve never played sports, collaboration isn’t a strength of yours.
Participating in Quiz Bowl requires good communication and collaboration. This is especially true during the bonus question round when the entire team has to work together to answer a three-part question.
If the thought of teamwork fills you with dread, don’t worry. You can enroll in a Quiz Bowl tournament for individuals at first. When you build your confidence and get familiar with the game, you can progress to team tournaments.
Future Quiz Bowl King?
Are you thinking of joining Quiz Bowl? If so, find out if your school has a team, or if there is a team for general players in your area.
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