During Quiz Bowl’s most recent meeting on Oct. 28, members practiced answering questions in randomly-selected teams, with club leaders reading out questions. Noah Kahn, club officer and senior, said diversity of knowledge, as well as the ability to work in tandem with teammates, were important qualities in a successful Quiz Bowl team.

“People need to develop memory skills, knowing facts and knowledge,” Khan said, “but also communication with your teammates to know when it’s your turn to buzz, when it’s your turn to pitch in.”

Quiz Bowl sponsor Matthew Cinkoske said that older members’ leadership and their organization of practices were vital in pulling teams together.

“When we do tryouts, [club leaders] record data on what areas which student is particularly good at so they can help to create better balanced teams,” he said.

Additionally, Cinkoske said that competitions are a key time for development of skills, not just as a team, but for individual growth.

“A lot of [collaboration] is forged during competitions,” Cinkoske said. “When it actually comes down to the wire, how well you can work with someone else becomes apparent pretty quickly, I’d say. If the other team has gotten into your head, if you can’t recognize your own mistakes and learn and grow from them, then you will have a tougher time.”