Athens High School Scholars' Bowl team takes on National Championship Tournament

May 25—The Athens High School Scholars' Bowl team will head to the Nationals competition this weekend for the High School National Championship Tournament in Atlanta.

More than 350 of the top quiz bowl teams in the United States will be at the competition. Athens has buzzed their way to State two times in the past three years, but this will be their first National appearance. They are one of 10 Alabama teams who will be in Atlanta for the competition.

Team member Drew Hubbard said "practicing hard and studying outside of our practice and practicing buzzing in" were all things the team continued to work on year-round to get to this point. Five of the team members are seniors so their time practicing together for many years now has helped strengthen the team as a whole.

"Most of the team is seniors, so it's just a good experience as our last tournament," member Caine Matthews said.

Athens High School Scholars' Bowl Team members include Charlie Martin, Caine Matthews, Drew Hubbard, Hiott Luten, Payton Bright and Jackson Walker. The AHS Scholars' Bowl Team earned first place in their Class 6A division at the Alabama Scholastic Competition Association Tournament and placed 2nd in State Division II.

The Athens High School team is sponsored by Angela Wagner. They practice weekly and compete in approximately five competitions each year.

"It's just been fun. I'll miss this group," Wagner said about the seniors who are leaving the team.

Athens High School qualified to attend Nationals through their performance in various National Academic Quiz Tournaments (NAQT). These tournaments include two teams of four players who buzz in to quickly and accurately answer questions from all areas of study, including history, literature, math, science, fine arts, current events, sports, pop culture and more.

While they are quick to buzz in on history and current events questions, there are things that the team says they struggle with answering.

"We collectively say it's something in the STEM field," Matthews said.

But luckily for them, they say most of the questions are related to history, fine arts and literature.

As players answer questions correctly, bonus questions are available for extra points. Special player skills include knowledge, memory, comprehension, confidence, and speed. At the end of 20 questions, the team with the most points wins.