ETHS Scholastic Bowl has managed to have a fun and successful 2020-21 season despite COVID-19. Scholastic Bowl is a trivia team that, in a typical year, holds weekly in-person practices and sends team members to compete in trivia matches against other schools. This year looked quite different.

“As far as practices go, we’ve been mostly using Discord. We can use voice channels to read questions and answer them and just use the text channels to buzz in,” said senior and team secretary Quintin Brown. “For competitions, we’ve done our typical CSL [Central Suburban League] competitions, and we managed to play all 11 teams. We did those over Zoom calls using a website [called] Buzzin.[live].”

Team members agree that Scholastic Bowl is uniquely well suited for virtual competitions, but the two in-person meets the team competed at this season stand out as highlights for them.

“The state series [of] regionals and then sectionals was the only in-person thing, and that was very fun to go to,” said co-captain senior Ezra Steinberg. “Scholastic Bowl does work online… But it was nice to be in-person there. It’s a different vibe in person.”

Along with the team’s success this year—placing second in the conference and winning the regional competition—senior members look back to previous seasons for some other favorite memories from their time on the team.

“Definitely nationals,” said Steinberg. “Pretty much every year, the team qualifies to go to Atlanta and stay in a super cool hotel… It’s a very fun trip, and you’re there with the best teams in the country.”

“Probably our weekend tournaments last year in person,” said Brown on what memories stand out. “I remember going to a weekend tournament last [fall], 2019. The whole team took a bus down to Homewood-Flossmoor and had our season opener kickoff tournament, and most of us went to a restaurant afterward and got dinner. It was just a really fun experience.”

While winning tournaments and traveling is one fun aspect of Scholastic Bowl, senior members agree that it is the relaxed environment of the practices and the friends they have made through Scholastic Bowl that makes the club what it is.

“I joined sophomore year, mostly because a couple of friends were doing it, and they asked me to join. I told them I’d give it a shot, and I showed up one day, and I really loved it,” remembered Brown. “Scholastic Bowl is a really fun club, and it’s a really casual atmosphere. We love to just hang out and answer trivia questions.”