Science Bowl team looking to fill spots for competitions

Last year, the Science Bowl team placed second in regionals at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC). This year, they aim to place first.

The co-captains, junior Alex Li and senior Landon Chow, are currently the only members on the team and will act as student coaches. Chemistry teacher Kathy Nakamatsu oversees the team.

Science Bowl is a “Jeopardy!”-style competition in which two teams of four players each compete to buzz-in and answer the question before their opponents. There are six main categories of questions: chemistry, physics, biology, energy astronomy and Earth science.

The captains are planning to have three teams (A, B and C) comprised of five students each. According to Li, the A team will compete in tournaments, while the B team might act as a backup. The C team will be used to train underclassmen to take over in the upcoming years.

This year, the team hopes to have specialized members for each category, since its strengths usually lie in the math-oriented sciences that students take in junior and senior year, such as chemistry and physics.

After many members graduated last year, including former captain Robert Eng, the team will be holding tryouts in October. Some potential players include sophomore Jacky Lee and juniors Brandon Ney and Nate Ney.

During tryouts, students will take a general written test consisting of previous Science Bowl questions. The top 50 percent of participants will then take tests based on each of the six categories. The best scorers in each category will make the team.
Li said the team will try to recruit underclassmen who are taking biology and can self-study more efficiently.

To promote awareness for the team, Li said they held intramurals during the second week in September. Students formed their own teams, and a total of four teams, one from each grade level, played in the competition. 

Once October tryouts are completed and the three teams are formed, weekly practices will be held in Nakamatsu’s room.

The A team will be training for the regionals tournament at SLAC, which will occur in early February.

“I look forward to defeating Lynbrook and Harker, placing first in regionals and finally qualifying for nationals for the first time,” Li said.