Nothing Easy About Scholars' Bowl (-2-12-07)

This Saturday, I had the unique experience to play Alex Trebek. He is the host of the game show, Jeopardy, a trivia game where contestants are asked questions that fit into various categories. When I was a kid, I used to watch Jeopardy with my mom, who is one of those people who could answer most of the questions before the actual contestants. I suppose this tradition, joining mom on the couch every day at 4:30, to test our wits against three proclaimed trivia wizards, is what helped foster in me a love of knowledge.

Well, on Saturday, I got to play Alex Trebek, as a moderator at the Kansas 2A State Scholars Bowl Championship. I wish my mom could have been there.

I dressed in my best suit and put on my deepest, most authoritative voice. I congratulated the teams for having advanced to the pinnacle of Scholars Bowl competition. I then proceeded to ask questions that would probably have stumped even my genius mother.

Now I have moderated and judged other Scholars’ Bowl tournaments, and I have even contributed questions. But nothing prepared me for the breadth and depth of the questions that the state had compiled to quiz those students deemed to be the best and the brightest of all 2A schools in the state of Kansas. These weren’t just difficult, they were unbelievably difficult.

Similar to Jeopardy, Scholars Bowl divides the questions by categories. However, unlike the game show, the categories never change and follow the traditional areas of secondary education: World Languages, Language Arts, Fine Arts, Science and Health, Mathematics, Social Science, and Current Events. Usually, the teams of four students get 10 seconds to answer a question, but some of the science and most of the math allow between 30 and 60 seconds to answer.

The experience was somewhat nerve-racking. At first, I was confident. After all, I was Alex Trebek. But when question after question went unanswered, the tension in the room became palpable. When one team finally answered a question, then the tension doubled as the other team really began to sweat.

No round was decided by more than a few questions, and these very bright students spent much of the day scratching their heads, befuddled by questions, that I, a college graduate with a Masters degree and a personal history of Jeopardy addiction, could not have even come close to answering.

I could have done worse. I only stumbled over a few pronunciations, and was able to keep my composure. I tried to read slowly, though once, after a team had buzzed in before I had finished a question and answered incorrectly, I heard the answerer mumble, “I thought he was finished!” His team lost five points, and the other team benefited from hearing the entire question. After that, I more closely watched the location and duration of my pauses.

Overall, it was a tense, dramatic, and wonderful tournament. Each room was filled with parents and teachers, many of whom had driven hundreds of miles to come to our school to watch their beloved Scholars’ Bowl teams struggle against difficult questions and inexperienced moderators.

In our society, we put a lot of emphasis on competition. Especially in the area of athletics, we regularly fill gyms and stadiums to root on our favorite teams to victory. Saturday I had the privilege to be part of a different type of competition, one that was equally as demanding as the closest athletic contest.

I hope that Hill City will able to host 2A State Scholars Bowl again next year. I invite you all to watch and marvel at the amazing displays of intellectual dexterity. You might even try, as my mom and I once did, to match your knowledge against the contestants.

If you are able to make it to a Scholars Bowls tournament at the high school, please look for me. I will be the one in the suit, pretending to be Alex Trebek.