Bowling for Knowledge

I promised you this a long time ago and never got around to writing it up, so here you go: the results of Knowledge Bowl Regionals.

Yes, they happened a long time ago - two weeks from last Monday, to be exact. But better late than never, right?

I came to school at eight o'clock that morning in full "regionals" regalia - my rhinestone-studded Waits- burg Knowledge Bowl t-shirt and coordinating black pants. My hair was tightly braided - I simply cannot think with my hair tickling my ears. I had even lotioned up my hands for extra buzzer conductivity.

My team and I set up tables and buzz bars (long metal bars that act like the buzz-in buttons you see on game shows) for both the 1B and 2B schools. The 1B teams competed in an unused classroom, but us 2B-ers (Waitsburg, Dayton, and DeSales) duked it out onstage in the auditorium.

As we finished setting up, the teams started trickling in. After everyone had arrived, the written round was administered.

Our team headed onto the stage and sat at one of the tables to complete the sixty multiple-choice written-round questions. To my great amusement, our captain had brought a dip pen and inkwell, which he proceeded to use to do math equations.

It was a fairly successful written round, too. Out of the sixty questions, we answered 36 correctly. (Okay, so we weren't perfect, but how much do YOU know about neurotransmitter malfunctions?) Dayton's team scored 35, and De- Sales trailed behind at 30.

The written round was followed by three Jeopar- dy-style oral rounds. The captain continued to use his dip pen and inkwell to solve math problems and write down answers for the team's approval. (Because the tables are so juxtaposed, it's easy to be overheard, so writing is a safer means of communication.)

During the first oral round, Waitsburg scored 16 points for a cumulative to- tal of 52. Dayton added 10 points to their score, which cumulatively totaled 45. DeSales managed to score 12 points but still stayed in third with a total of 42.

By the end of the second round, the scores were as follows: Waitsburg 70, Dayton 53, DeSales 54. Af- ter the final round, the top two teams would advance to the state competition.

The final round consist- ed of a fierce point-grab- bing battle between Dayton and DeSales as Waitsburg strived to keep its lead. Buzzers were slapped hard- er, answers were spoken faster, and conversations among teams became more frantic.

Final results for the Knowledge Bowl 2B Southeast Regionals: Waitsburg 87, DeSales 67, Dayton 64. In the other room, Pomeroy emerged victorious with a total of 48 points over Prescott's 21. Pomeroy will be going to State.

Afterwards, our team was jubilant, joking about last year's trip to State and making plans for a detour to Seattle on our way to the state meet in Arlington. We're still psyched about it, especially as the date of the trip draws nearer.

As for our coach, he had anticipated our success to such an extent that he made our hotel reservations for State a week before Regionals. Go figure.