Quiz Bowl club members wait eagerly for a trivia question to be read, practicing in hope to compete at the National Academic Quiz Tournaments (NAQT) High School Quizbowl show.

Meeting Mondays and Wednesdays in room 303, Quiz Bowl club members find joy in one another while training intensely for competition eligibility.

Captain and senior Julian Moody has been a part of Quiz Bowl club since his freshman year. Though he was nervous to join the club at first, Julian Moody said the club’s welcoming atmosphere created a captivating learning environment.

“We always have a lot of fun. We’re not studying the whole time. We’re laughing. We’re making jokes, and all of us are pretty good friends,” Julian Moody said.

According to Julian Moody, there is a common misconception to “be smart” in order to be successful in Quiz Bowl due to its academic nature.

“When I started, I knew absolutely nothing. Now, I feel like I’m relatively good at it, considering how far I’ve come,” Julian Moody said. “If you like trivia, this is a great place to start. If you think you have a lot to share, and you just want to find a community of fun nerdy people to be around, we would love to have you.”

Captain and senior Eli Sandler also joined the club his freshman year. According to Sandler, a comfortable environment full of competitive trivia drew him into the club right away.

“If you find yourself going down rabbit holes on something exciting to you that might be anything from engineering to organic chemistry, we’ve got a place for you,” Sandler said.

Junior Cole Moody said he was inspired by Sandler and his brother Julian Moody to join the club his freshman year. Cole Moody said it is helpful to put in additional effort after school in order to grow.

“I’m currently a club member. I attend club meetings when I can, and I also put in some studying outside of school, because I know what it takes to become good at quizbowl,” Cole Moody said.

According to Cole Moody, the Quiz Bowl experience has significantly improved his understanding of real-world situations and raised his in-school performance.

“I definitely know a lot more because of this club than I would if I hadn’t joined. I have a more in-depth understanding of a lot of the topics that we’re discussing in my classes right now,” Cole Moody said.

For the past nine years, math teacher Adam Fried has been the club’s adviser.

Fried said he enjoys watching students get to know one another while engaging in material they are passionate about.

“I really like the growth that happens from ninth grade through 12th grade. It’s really intimidating when you get started, because you’re going to be asked questions that 12th graders are going to be answering as well. You really just learn it as you go,” Fried said.

According to Fried, it is important for students to understand that there will always be some field of knowledge where they are an expert and others will require more learning.

Club member and junior Owen Eskey said he enjoys the safe space Quiz Bowl provides. In order to prepare for competitions, Eskey said the club is focusing on creating questions of their own to practice.

“We’re using our knowledge of what questions appear in competitions to make our own original questions. We’re hoping to create a packet of questions that can be used by anyone,” Eskey said.

In order to qualify for the High School Quizbowl show, all teams are required to complete a digital test surfacing 50 questions worth 1000 points. The top 16 teams get to compete against each other as a part of NAQT.

Julian Moody said he would like to see more younger members join the club, especially as senior graduation approaches.

“I just want to make sure that people take care of [Quiz Bowl] next year when I leave. It’d be so nice to see us actually win some tournaments, which we haven’t done in a while,” Julian Moody said.

According to Fried, the key to qualify for competitions is to have more people join the club, as each member brings their own individualism and positivity.

“I would love for the club to grow in size and to get more people involved,” Fried said. “A lot of folks will be hesitant to join, but when they show up, they’ll realize everyone has a foothold.”