NORTH ROBINSON — In January, the Colonel Crawford High School Academic Challenge team qualified for the Small School National Championship Tournament by finishing in the top 30 percent of small schools at a local tournament at Mid-Ohio Education Service Center in Mansfield.

Quiz bowl is a competition of questions and answers, played by teams and using buzzers. Questions are read, and players buzz in (without consulting) when they think they know the answer. If they give a correct answer, they earn points plus three bonus questions in which they can work with their team to earn additional points. Depending on how quickly they answer the question, they can earn additional points, but if they answer it incorrectly before the completion of the question, they lose points. Questions cover a wide range of academic topics, but there are also questions about pop culture, sports, and current events.

Once Colonel Crawford qualified for nationals, the students created a presentation for Crawford superintendent Todd Martin to present the benefits of them attending the nationals. The Colonel Crawford Academic Boosters Club provided a grant to cover the tournament fee and, with the help of the school board, the team’s transportation and lodging fees were covered.

Before qualifying for nationals, the academic challenge team included Sydney Studer, Elizabeth Striker, Caden Trubee, Nick Barnes, Nathan Wingertand Mason McKibben. They practiced for 30 minutes each week, but once the students had the vision of nationals they increased their practice days to three or more days a week. During their practices, coaches Danielle Clime and Krista McKibben would read previous tournament questions to help them adjust to the wide variety of content. Students also started reading more reference books about key categories (art, literature, etc.) that they needed to increase their knowledge.

On April 28, the team competed at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare hotel in Rosemont, Illinois. The team played ten 18-minute rounds and ended the day with a record of 4-6. Unfortunately, the team did not qualify for the tournament on Sunday, but did compete in competitive tournaments to get more practice in.