History bowl competitions, a national history quiz competition, are occurring online for the first time as a result of the pandemic. The Amador Quiz Bowl club sent two teams to compete in the competition on Tuesdays and Saturdays for a month. 

The History bowl sees two teams of four competing against each other, and it has a unique four quarter format, with points being given for correct answers. Many questions are formatted in a “pyramidal” format, with more obscure information given first and more common knowledge given last. 

All matches will be conducted over Zoom with an online lock-out buzz system to answer the questions. 

A lot of students did not like the new format because of its many restrictions. Many believe that the fun of tournaments comes from the downtime. 

“It is not as fun. You cannot see the other team and your teammates die inside. It just feels different. It is fun to go to a tournament, talk with people the whole day, and get food from outside. It feels less like a team game now,” said Ishayu Shikare (‘23). 

However, some people are glad that there are history bowl competitions in the first place.

“It is the closest thing to a real tournament, I guess. Real tournaments are actually fun. Both the competition and talking to people,” said Siddharth Chittapuram (‘23). 

Many people prepare for these tournaments all year long. 

“I like history bowls. It is pretty interesting, especially when you research these topics and go on wikipedia rabbit holes,” said Saksham Nirvan (‘23). 

To find out more, visit the Amador Valley Quiz Bowl discord link and visit the history bowl website.