What is Academic Quiz Team? Is it a varsity sport? What do they “quiz” on?
Like Quiz Bowl, Academic Quiz Team is a winter sport with both a Varsity and a Junior Varsity team at Loveland High School. While it’s an unconventional sport, those who spectate and those who participate can tell you that it’s fascinating and a lot of fun.
Loveland’s Academic Quiz Team plays matches on Wednesdays at four o’clock against other ECC schools both home and away during the winter sports season.
These matches consist of four rounds: two rounds of categories, the “Alphabet Round,” and the “Lightning Round.” After each round, coaches can substitute players, giving people the ability to specialize in certain areas. In the category rounds, both teams are given the chance to answer a question, but if the team gets the question wrong twice or runs out of time, the other team is given the opportunity to answer. Teams that get the answer correct on their first attempt receive two points, but getting it correct on the second attempt or on a steal can still score one point. After the two team questions, teams are given the chance to buzz in with a toss-up question, where only the first team to buzz in gets to answer, with this question being worth 2 points. The categories in the first round are American Literature, Math, World History, Life Science, and Fine Arts, and the categories in the second round are World Literature, Government/Economics, Physical Science, Geography, and U.S. History. Following the category rounds is the Alphabet Round, in which teams are given four minutes to answer the twenty questions written on a sheet of paper. These questions can range from pop culture to mythology to obscure film, with their only commonality being a shared first letter, and each correct answer being worth two points. The final round, the Lightning Round, is the most intense, but also the most exciting to watch and partake in. There are twenty questions, all worth two points. Each question starts off broad and obscure, but becomes easier and more specific as the question progresses. To answer a question, like the earlier toss-up questions, teams must be the first to buzz in, which incentivizes making educated guesses with limited information. Since this is the final round, the players and the audience are often on the edge of their seats, with matches oftentimes coming down to the last question.
Nate Dawes (12), a member of the Academic Quiz Team, told The Loveland Roar that his favorite part is “that moment when the answer to the question clicks in your mind, you buzz in first, and you answer the question correctly.” He said that he “lives for moments like that” and that Academic Quiz Team gives him the opportunity to “apply random knowledge that isn’t often used elsewhere.”
Ben Hicks (12), a player for both Loveland’s football and basketball teams, said that Academic Quiz Team is his “favorite sport to watch” because “despite the quiet nature of the sport, it’s the most collaborative and invigorating for a spectator” and that he enjoys “mentally competing against the athletes.”
If you’re interested in joining Academic Quiz Team, talk to Varsity Coach Klinger in room 203 or JV Coach Hutzel in room 110.