The first round of the 2021 SPA Quiz Bowl began this past Monday, April 19th. In this first round, the freshman matched up against the sophomores, while juniors faced the seniors. The sophomores took home the win against the freshman, and the seniors beat out the juniors, advancing both grades to the next round. The second round, initially scheduled during X-period on Friday, April 23rd, has been postponed to a later date due to a live stream regarding the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial.

The Quiz Bowl team meets every week on Wednesdays during club times. Within these practices, people on the team practice answering questions based on topics ranging from ancient history to advanced mathematics. The goal of Quiz Bowl is to comprehend and answer questions faster than the opposing team to earn a certain number of points, which fluctuates throughout the round.

Some students practice in and out of the weekly meeting, but others only concentrate on the Quiz Bowl during large-group practice sessions. Sophomore Asa Zirps said, “I don’t normally prepare for quiz bowl events other than going to practices during club time every week.”

On the other hand, some students decide to use the news and other resources out of the meetings to strengthen their knowledge. “I usually prepare for the Quiz Bowl by watching the news every morning, and at night if I don’t have too much homework. I also have the top 5 CNN stories sent to me every day,” said Freshman Bridget Commers.

The results of the Quiz Bowl, which will not be fully calculated until the 2nd round is completed, will contribute to USC’s House Cup point totals. Whichever grade level wins the quiz bowl competition will get a large sum of USC House Cup points to give themselves a significant advantage in the final stretch of the school year. Currently, the seniors hold 950 points, boasting a substantial lead over other grade levels and the faculty. The next closest grade, the sophomores, remains 100 points behind with 850 points.

Once a new date gets announced for the second round of the quiz bowl competition, the seniors will try to gain an even larger lead, hoping to secure the 2021 USC House Cup championship trophy.

This story will be updated after round 2.

The second round of the USC Quiz Bowl concluded on Monday, May 17th. The sophomores first faced off against the seniors in a close yet outnumbered match. The seniors were able to move efficiently to the faculty round, in which they once again took care of business. The seniors were able to hold their spot atop the May Madness leaderboard and hope to maintain that lead into the final stretch of the school year.