Knowledge Bowl Club is a highly competitive trivia-based tournament that consists of questions asked by the proctor and answered by teams of four or more intelligent students.

These questions are based on geography, history, math, science, and other subjects that relate anywhere from present day issues to ancient times. The first team to tap the yellow bar that notifies the proctor they have an answer is the team that may answer first and receive a point if it is determined correct.

The recent competition on February 5 was the last one of the season, finalizing which teams move on to the playoffs. Wednesday’s match was held at Lynden High School and hosted about fifty schools located in Western Washington. To start the day, a written-round formed as a multiple-choice test is completed to determine what room, or level, teams are placed at.

Most teams score anywhere from twenty-five to forty points. The team named “Not Funny” placed in room 12 with 29 correct points, which is the middle of the pack.  There are 20 rooms where teams are placed  based on their score from the written-round.  Teams then go from the cafeteria to individual rooms where the oral round takes place.

In room twelve the proctor begins asking the 50 difficult questions. Team Captain Samuel Ketchem taps the yellow bar as fast as he can in order to give his team the chance to answer first. This process is repeated until all questions have been answered. At the end of the round, Not Funny moves up to room six with a total of 45 points. Moving rooms, Not Funny faces off another Glacier Peak team, Wasted Potential. Not Funny lost the round by two points but the team remained in the same room. The team finished the competition with a total of 70 points, just enough to qualify for playoffs.

Knowledge Bowl is a very competitive environment filled with brilliant minds battling for a chance to show off their knowledge.  The final state competition is Saturday, March 21 at West Valley High School in Yakima.