At the buzzer

Local high school Scholar Bowl teams are wrapping up their seasons and preparing for districts.

In Scholar Bowl, sometimes known as quiz owl or academic bowl, a moderator reads questions to two teams who try to answer quickly and correctly. Handheld buzzers are given to each team and are used to buzz in and respond to the question.

The regular season begins in November and ends in March, said Al Nicolai, head coach for the Cape Girardeau Central High School team and president of the Missouri Academic Coaches Association. He said the season features both regular games and competitions, as well as tournaments, which can have as many as 15 teams participate.

Nicolai said the coaches association gathers before each season to review processes and rules, as well as promote Scholar Bowl.

"Coaches from around the state gather at this meeting and we share ideas that could help improve Scholar Bowl," Nicolai said.

Bell City High School's Brandon Abner, front, McKenzie Vires, Quinton Herkenhoff and Alex Neldon jot down a math problem Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013 during the team's scholar bowl competition against Bernie High School. (Laura Simon)

He also is a member of the Scholar Bowl Advisory Committee. Like the coaches association, this committee is made up of coaches from across the state who make decisions about rules, question categories and scheduling, which is a major issue for Scholar Bowl teams, especially in smaller schools.

"Of course, students are usually involved in more than one team or group," Nicolai said. "So we have to take that into account in our schedules, just like everyone else."

On a more local level, neighboring coaches also have meetings to determine schedules for the season's competitions, said Bell City [Mo.] High School coach Connie Hughes. She said working around athletic schedules was a major obstacle for her team.

"We try to have practice one night a week," Hughes said. "We usually have it around 6 or 7 [p.m.] to avoid conflict with other team practices."

Hughes said she tries to schedule a minimum of two competitions per month for her team each season, but cancellations and conflicting school events can cause that number to fluctuate some years.

Both Hughes and Nicolai said using study sheets and practice games seem to be the best way to prepare Scholar Bowl teams for upcoming competitions.

Hughes said it is best to cover a wide range of subjects in practice because "you never know what you're going to have" in competition.

"You have more frequent topics like math, science and history," Hughes said. "But it's not uncommon to hear a question come up about music or movies in current pop culture."

Bell City High School's McKenzie Vires answers a question as his teammates Brandon Abner, left, and Quinton Herkenhoff listen to his answer Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013 during the team's scholar bowl competition against Bernie High School. (Laura Simon)

Nicolai said tournament play also is a great experience for teams, although it's not a requirement. Local high schools that hosted tournaments this season included Notre Dame, Perryville, Mo., Jackson, Bell City and Cape Central. Nicolai said he typically enters his team into as many as 10 tournaments in a season, rather than focusing on scheduling individual competitions.

Although the regular season is ending, many local teams are gearing up for districts, which will take place in Bell City on April 13. The winners of districts will continue to sectionals on April 24 to compete for the chance to go to the state competition in Columbia, Mo. on May 3.

Both Hughes and Nicolai said they plan to take their teams to districts and hopefully make their way to state.

srinehart@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

25254 Walnut St., Bell City, MO

1000 S. Silver Springs Road, Cape Girardeau, MO