Anthropology and Theory of Knowledge (TOK) teacher, and part time Scholastic Bowl coach, Mr. Jamie Scharff has led the Scholastic Bowl team to the VHSL state championship for the 15th year in a row.
Since the 2002 Virginia Scholastic bowl state championship, the first place winners have been given trophies, but no banners for reasons unknown. Because of this, the team has made it a tradition to sew a new patch onto the old banner for every year they make it to states.
“You get a chance to meet so many talented kids and develop lasting bonds” said Scharff about the scholastic bowl meets.
This year’s state championship was Saturday February 27 at the College of William and Mary.
The team finished third at States losing to 245-165 Central-Wise, who won first, and 205-185 to Maggie Walker, who won second. The Scholastic Bowl team finished off an impressive season with 19 wins and only four losses.
“We were expecting our biggest rival to be Maggie Walker who is a magnet school, because they usually beat us every year but Central [Wise] ended up beating them. This year it was closer than previous years,” said Hailemariam, a first time state competitor.
The Scholastic Bowl is an academic competition in which teams of four people compete to answer math, history, literature and science-related questions in a jeopardy-type environment.
“I have learned a lot from the experience, and I’ve made good friends on the team and I feel much more aware of the world around me,” said junior Hermela Hailemariam.
The first of the two types of rounds is a toss-up round where each individual buzzes in to answer a question and cannot discuss their answers with their teammates. The second type is a team round where each teams gets a question and can discuss their answers with each other.
Each question you get correct is worth 10 points. If you answer a question wrong, there is no penalty, but if you interrupt the announcer and get the question wrong, you lose five points.
This year’s team has won all 12 competitions in the regular season and was named first in the Bull Run District Championship and Conference 35 conference. In the East Region conference, the GMHS Scholastic Bowl team placed second behind Maggie Walker.
“[This year’s season] has been extremely successful and has surpassed my expectations because so many [five] seniors graduated last year” said Scharff.
In addition to having a competitive, traveling team, there is also a club called Quiz Bowl club which is open to all students. They meet every Tuesday after school in Mr Scharff’s classroom.
“I encourage anyone interested or who has a friend that they think would enjoy Scholastic Bowl to join” said Scharff.
