Great Bend Middle School’s Scholars Bowl team is getting ready for its fifth and final competition of the year, Tuesday at Pratt.
Team coach Jennifer Axman said 18 students have signed up for scholars bowl. The school usually takes two six-person teams to competition that is similar to a television quiz show.
“In a match, five members of each team are seated at a row of desks across from the other team,” Axman said. “The sixth person is the alternate and the students rotate as alternates throughout the tournament. Each player has a buzzer. A moderator reads the questions and the students ring in with the answer.”
Each answer is worth 10 points. The categories are social studies, science, language arts, math, fine arts, miscellaneous and Year in Review.
Students might be asked to name the five Great Lakes, or they could be shown a sentence and asked to identify the adjectives. Pen and paper are allowed for solving math equations.
This month the students traveled to Otis-Bison, along with six other schools. The GBMS A-team was tied for first place at the end of round-robin play, thus causing a tie-breaker question. The team placed second and brought home silver medals.
Then the team traveled to Medicine Lodge on Feb. 20 and competed with nine other teams. After eight rounds of round-robin play the A-Team found itself in fifth place going into bracket. The Panthers dug deep, and made it to the finals, Axman said. The team battled fiercely and in the end came home with second place.
Axman chooses who will attend each match, based on their effort, ability and practice attendance. Each member is guaranteed to go to at least two matches.
“Our teams have studied and worked incredibly hard to compete at these tournaments,” she said, noting they meet after school three times a week. “I am proud of their efforts and hope to continue being successful at our final meet.”