Coach Sharpe said that the Scholastic Bowl games are somewhat similar to other sports games in that each game, called a "match," is played between two teams from different high schools. Each match is usually hosted by one of the two competing school teams in a designated area at their respective school. The designated area for each game at John I. Burton is the school library.
The match is divided into three rounds. The first and third rounds are referred to as the "Buzz-In" rounds, where a group of four students from both teams sit at two separate, adjacent tables and are given four electronic buzzers that make a buzzing noise and light up when a button is pressed. Both teams are then asked a series of questions covering a wide variety of subjects from history to English. When a student thinks that they know the answer, they can buzz in, but they cannot answer until the name of their school is recognized. Each correct answer is worth normally five to fifteen points. Any incorrect answer and any accidental outcry before being called upon, after the first outcry, will lead to a ten point deduction. No points are awarded if neither team answers.
The second round is called the "directed" round, which is similar to the "Buzz-In" round, but the buzzers are not used. Instead, each group of four students, consisting of the team captain and three other individuals, are asked one question. Once the question is read, it is up to the team captain, with the help of the other students at the table, to answer the question in its entirety. The team captain can also designate another player to answer on their team's behalf. If their time limit is up or they answer with a wrong question, they do not lose points, but the other team has a three-second chance to answer the other team's question, which is referred to as "stealing." If the other team gets the question right, they are awarded with the points. This round lasts for ten questions for each team.
Coach Sharpe said that although Scholastic Bowl has been around in this region for 25 years, this is only the 6th year John I. Burton has participated. With the exception of last year, the Burton Scholastic Bowl team has won the district tournament, as well as placing in the regional and state tournaments, since the beginning. Coach Sharpe, as well as the Assistant Coach Tracy Sharpe, work very hard to prepare for and help the team practice during the year. Both the coaches and team members do things such as researching current events, practicing with the buzzers, and looking over general knowledge to get a good understanding of the some of the questions that may be asked.
Coach Sharpe says that these questions can be very difficult to practice for because you never know what they will ask. He also said, "Scholastic Bowl is a disadvantage to kids because it is like an extra academic class added on to the student's four other academic classes. It makes you mentally tired because these questions will have your brain shift from one subject to the next."
For all current Scholastic Bowl members, Coach Sharpe says to ". . . be aggressive, but smart." Team members have to be able to keep the other team from answering the question, but pay attention to what the question is asking so that they know what the question is asking for. His advice for anyone interested in joining the team is: "Start early. The two top scorers in school history started as eighth graders, and they have been doing exceptionally well ever since." Coach Sharpe's closing thoughts were, "I think it is a privilege to do this [Scholastic Bowl] because that's why we are here [at the high school] is for the academics."
The full list of games the Scholastic Bowl team will play this year is listed below.
Date Opponent Site
October 21 Wise Central A
October 22 Gate City H
November 5 Ridgeview H
November 9 *Rye Cove H
November 12 Wise Central H
November 19 Ridgeview A
November 23 *Twin Springs A
November 30 Abingdon H
December 7 *Castlewood A
December 14 *Thomas Walker H
January 11 Abingdon A
January 18 *Eastside A
January 21 Gate City A
Regional Deadline-February 13, 2016 (The time and location for the Regional tournament is not set until after the Conference games)
State Tournament-February 27, 2016--Williamsburg, VA
Written by Cody M.