COVID-19 has pounded on many teams this school year, and the Quiz Bowl team at OHS is rolling with the punches. 

“Typically, Quiz Bowl tournaments are hosted at one school and many other teams compete there in person. This year, competitions have been held over Google Meet,” said Hannah Franke (12), who often serves as captain during matches. 

Franke explained that during practice it’s just a free for all, with no real teams. The “teams” hear a paragraph long toss-up question. All eight players take their shot at answering the question individually. The team whose player answered the question correctly gets a series of three related bonus questions, which they can confer about and answer as a team. 

If necessary, a competitor or even a whole team could compete from home. However the team practices while gathered and masked in Ms. Kristin Pierce’s room. They also gather in Pierce’s room to make it easy to collaborate on bonus questions during competitions. 

“You get to have a lot more fun in my opinion, because when it is not your question, you get to make side comments and such, and discuss the questions while you’re in the middle of the game because you are muted on google meet,” Addie Kettenbrink (12) says. 

Although more distant than before, the Quiz Bowl team has become close during the season. Kettenbrink explained that the virtual competitions function almost the same as they would in person. 

Additionally, she says that the people on the team are really the only people you get to talk to during the day. Both Franke and Kettenbrink mentioned that Quiz Bowl provides everyone an environment to interact with others, have a great time and increase their abilities.

So far, the team has performed in seven tournaments. They will have two or three more tournaments, including districts on April 17, before the season ends.