Following a year of scholastic success in tournaments like It’s Academic and the district and regional rounds of the Virginia High School League (VHSL) scholastic tournament, McLean Quiz Bowl took home a second-place victory this past weekend at the VHSL states tournament.
“We played three matches against the other schools in our division,” senior captain Ryan McKenzie said. “We lost to TJ, which is unfortunate, [and] not what we were hoping for…but we had a good season [and] put up a good game.”
The tournament, which took place at Jamestown High School in Williamsburg, VA on Sat, March 1, included schools from all over the state, including those from counties in Appalachia or Norfolk. Though the tournament did not present many opportunities for competitors to socialize, there were moments of connection in between matches.
“When you go to your individual matches, you’re with the four people who you’re playing, and you get to talk to them a little bit and speak with the people reading, score-keeping and moderating,” McKenzie said.
Despite losing to TJ in the second round, McLean continued to keep their heads up in order to secure second place.
“When you’re in the game, especially if you’re losing, you have to get a certain number of questions,” McKenzie said. “You have to think on the spot and make decisions on what to do and how to play [which] is obviously very difficult.”
As captain, McKenzie held a unique role in keeping the team morale up, even after their loss.
“It was difficult to get people to work together, and then also in the game, making decisions of who to play, and knowing how aggressive [we needed] to be in a certain instance,” McKenzie said. “Just making sure everything’s cohesive and stays together.”
Ultimately, McKenzie and the team whole were successful, as they took home second place, with only one school able to triumph over them. As the season concludes, the biggest takeaway for many members as they reflect on McLean’s success in trivia over the last school year is not how much they know, but rather the importance of group dynamics in curating a successful team.
“We have a good team, and everyone is actually friends with each other.” McKenzie said. “Instead of other teams, where just one person is dominating, I’m happy we have a team where everyone contributes.”
While competition season is concluding for McLean Quiz Bowl, the team will be hosting a trivia night on March 27 to help fundraise for the National VHSL tournament. Open to anyone in the McLean community, trivia night is an opportunity for friends and family to get together and form teams to engage in lighthearted but competitive trivia for a not-yet-disclosed prize.
“Just show up with a group, and then play,” junior team member Eddie Lin said.
Entry to the event costs five dollars, and all proceeds go to McLean Quiz Bowl. Concessions will also be sold. As a means of engaging the team even further, the event will be run by the team and all questions will be written by members, covering unique and often niche topics or formats to make the competition more interesting.
“A few years ago we made a video run where it was ‘Bush-isms,’” Lin said. “Basically, we had clips of George Bush about to say a quote, and you had to match [options based on] what the quote was.”
Only hosted twice a year, trivia nights provide opportunities for both the McLean community as well as the quiz bowl team themselves.
“Anybody can come. Students, parents, grandparents and people from other schools,” Lin said. “It’s just a thing where friends can come together and make teams for everybody.”
