Amador’s Quizbowl team has recently won two regional competitions, the TQBA Winter Rodeo and the Western Regional History BN bowls.
In Quizbowl, there are four big categories: science, history, fine arts, and literature. The club selects the top performing members in each category to put on the A-team for the competitions.
“It’s almost a perennial cycle of practicing. We’re always practicing in season and off-season, just like a sports player would. We practice more intensely during the season. Off-season, we still practice, but it’s a bit more laid back. About a month out, we start ramping up,” said Club President and Team A-captain Sangeet Barkataki (‘24).
The team practices with packets comprised of 20 tossup-bonus cycles. After that, they go over the packet, analyze what clues they missed, and study certain concepts to improve their performance.
“Usually, we practice question sets, and we also like to split up topics. If someone’s doing history, they might read a book about history,” Club Officer Shounak Bhindwale (‘26)
For the TQBA Winter Rodeo competition, the team won with an undefeated record, answering over 200 tossup questions.
“We always have a strong mentality of confidence. We are never one to shy away from believing in ourselves and always make sure to believe we have the upper hand. At the same time, our philosophy does not mean that we underestimate our opponents,” said Barkataki.
Quizbowl operates much like a sport. Live stats such as wins and losses are available to teams throughout the tournament.
“I really enjoy learning and have always been competitive in every aspect. I felt like Quiz Bowl was the perfect place to channel my hunger for knowledge and my competitive edge. When you see those stats and see yourself in first place throughout the tournament, it’s an amazing feeling,” said Barkataki.
The team practices twice a week which ramps up as they get closer to the competitions, leading up to five meetups a week before a tournament.
“I’ve actually done Quiz Bowl since middle school. I guess I enjoy it because I enjoy reading, so it just makes sense to do that activity,” said Bhindwale.
The team is looking forward to two nationals coming up in April and May, one in Arlington and the other in Atlanta. The team has high hopes as they placed within the top 20% of these competitions last year with little practice.
“I am very ambitious. Quizbowl plans on making some big moves this year. We plan on hosting a few tournaments for the Amador student body, for Bay Area teams, and the West Coast,” said Barkataki.
