By: Debbie Campbell
For the 4th straight year, the Evergreen Quiz Bowl team has advanced to the National Academic Quiz Bowl Tournament to be held in Chicago, Illinois in April. The Quiz Bowl team is lead by Coach Bill Blanchong, who has been the coach since the start of the 1997-1998 school year.
The team is made up of 14 students. 3 seniors, 3 juniors, 4 sophomores and 4 freshmen. All the sophomores and freshman are new to the team this year. To qualify for Nationals the team must place in the top tier of a qualification tournament. This season they qualified at a tournament in October in Hicksville.
During the season, the team competes in the NBAL, which is the Northern Buckeye Academic League, that is comprised of 12 teams throughout 4 counties. These counties include Fulton, Henry, Williams and Defiance. They compete in 4 tri-meets plus an end of season tournament in March.
In addition to the NBAL, the team also competes in 2 tv shows, BGSU Brain Game and an WNWO Academic Challenge. They performed well enough during both events to qualify for the quarterfinals.
A match is made up of 4 students competing from each team. Subs can be used at the halfway point of the match. Evergreen practices twice a week. During practice, Coach Blanchong keeps tracks of the number of questions each student answers correctly. This helps him decide who will start each match. If students present a strength in a certain category (i.e.: literature, math, science or social studies) this could increase their playing time.
Coach Blanchong said in a recent interview, “I appreciate our school board, administration, and staff for the support they offer the team. I appreciate the parents of the quiz team members not only for supporting their students but also for the flexibility with various pick-up times and events. Most of all I appreciate the team members. They consistently show dedication to the team, they make coaching fun and rewarding.”
Good luck Coach Blanchong and the Evergreen Quiz Bowl team.
Debbie can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com