Matt Cink, Club Sponsor

What is your name and role within the club?

I am Matt Cink and I am the club sponsor for Quiz Bowl.

When are club meetings for quiz bowl?

We have our club meetings on Thursday after school and we have them in the A wing; it kind of depends on which classroom I am in that day.

What is the purpose of the quiz bowl?

Quiz Bowl is a competitive academic competition usually involving trivia and it ranges from everything from sciences, social studies and even to some more pop culture and recent events, that kind of stuff.

What do the students do during club meetings?

Usually during club meetings, we practice by going through different packets and questions. We will ask everybody a series of questions that would be asked during competitive play. We practice going through (the packets) and see what topics normally come up, how questions are structured, and hints they may give.

Why did you decide to become the sponsor of quiz bowl?

The previous sponsor of Quiz Bowl had transferred over to one of the middle schools in Carmel. So, (the students) were looking for a sponsor and they reached out to me. Then, after I found out more information about (the club) I decided to sponsor (Quiz Bowl).

What are you most proud of the students for accomplishing?

Well, of course, with it being a competitive thing, it is nice whenever they win. I would say I have been most impressed with how (students) carry themselves. Even though we are basically undefeated, except for one online tournament, (the team) still generally carries themselves pretty well and I think that helps reflect well on the team and the school as a whole.

Is there any criteria that needs to be met in order to participate in quiz bowl? If so, what?

We basically take anyone that is interested. Obviously, not everyone is interested in trivia. So, once people start to show interest after we have our callout and practices in the beginning of the year, we separate people out into teams based on who we think knows what. So, it is not necessarily about one person knowing everything, but each person having some different specialties and being able to pull from those.

Can you explain what the High School National Championship Tournament is? How is the tournament set up?

National Academic Quiz Bowl Tournament (NAQBT) is the national organization that does academic quiz bowl. NAQBT organizes the tournament throughout the nation with schools; they also have a separate small school tournament. There are a few hundred teams that go to Atlanta at the end of May. You qualify by placing high in a tournament or you can apply as a wildcard if you have a certain amount of points and stuff. We are going to go (to Atlanta) and compete at a national level. We fly out on Friday, May 26 and compete on that Saturday and Sunday.

What are you guys doing to prepare for the national competition?

It is very similar to what we have been doing all year with going through packets and upping the difficulty of questions. I would also say last week and this week because of AP testing, students have been busy with that, but studying for your classes and knowing what you need to know (for class) is also studying for quiz bowl.

What was the process or steps that it took to become qualified for this championship?

Usually it is based on how you place within a tournament so you would need to place in the top two or three in order to qualify for the national tournament. So, that would mean winning most or all of your games in a tournament.

Do you have any different plans or goals for quiz bowl in the next school year?

There is another national tournament very similar but slightly different up in Chicago and so, (the team) is discussing maybe doing that tournament next year instead of this particular tournament (we are doing this year).

Sophomore Brian Pho, Club Officer

What is your name and role within the club?

I am Brian Pho and I am a sophomore. My role within the club is that I am a club officer. I help organize and orchestrate our tournaments and how to structure our teams.

What do you do during club meetings?

Most club meetings consist of some announcements in the beginning if we have a tournament that weekend. Mostly we just practice so that we are ready for our competitions. Last practice we just went over past questions and talked about it.

Why did you decide to participate in Quiz Bowl?

In the beginning, I just wanted to participate because my friends were in it, but it is genuinely interesting to be able to have a chance to explore what interests you and discover new interests. In the beginning, I did not really care about art that much but because the quiz bowl was there, it introduced me to it and I kind of like it now just to study for fun.

Is there any criteria that needs to be met in order to participate in quiz bowl? If so, what?

No, we do have tryouts and we do have teams of different levels, but anyone can participate and have fun in quiz bowl.

What goals do you have for quiz bowl next year? How do you hope to see it grow?

Of course, I do want to continue our streak of winning the State Championship and I want to win it again. I also want to be able to teach new participants how they are supposed to study and to show them they can get better as it is a skill you can work at and improve at.