Senior Rylie McDonough is a player for the CHS varsity scholar bowl team. Scholar bowl is an academic sport in which opposing teams must answer trivia questions on topics such as math, science, literature, and history. “Scholar bowl is trivia about various topics that could appeal to a multitude of people,” she said when describing the game. “There is always something for everybody,” I asked Rylie some questions about her experiences being in the scholar bowl team. Here are a few of her words and responses.

I asked what made her want to join the scholar bowl team, and she stated, “That’s a great question. I don’t really know. I heard it was fun, so I joined. I know that’s really informative.” When I questioned what her favorite part of being on the team was, she said, “My favorite aspect of scholar bowl is hanging out with my teammates.” It’s obvious Rylie cares a lot about her teammates, many of whom are her friends. The team cares a lot about each person in it, and that bond strengthens their teamwork and skill throughout each match.

I told Rylie to mention her favorite achievement throughout her scholar bowl career, and she said, “We got third place in the kickoff tournament last year because we’re great.” After the tournament, the team was given a trophy to commemorate their accomplishment. The team greatly values that trophy and works to continue being a great team.

Many people believe that Scholar Bowl is only a game played by so-called “nerdy” people. However, Scholar Bowl is a sport that is just as important as any other. “People think sports only involve physical activity, but scholar bowl is a sport in the same sense that it exercises your mind.” Scholar Bowl also relies heavily on teamwork. Teammates must talk to each other to formulate an answer to certain bonus questions, which requires strong communication skills. In Scholar Bowl, there can never be just one person carrying the entire team to victory (unless you’re Garret Hopkins). Everyone must participate and engage in the game.

When asked what her favorite moment from her scholar bowl career was, she stated, “My favorite moment was probably the bus ride home from the end-of-season tournament last year. We had a lot of fun. I don’t think we performed very well, but we enjoyed it nonetheless.” Even when the team loses, they still enjoy playing. There’s just nothing like knowing the exact answer to a question, or making a complete guess and still getting it right. Scholar bowl is a fantastic sport that can be enjoyed by any student with a love for knowledge. “Scholar bowl is really fun. I would recommend it to anybody, not just the ‘smart kids.’”

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask Rylie at [email protected]

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