Forty years of "Quiz Bowl"? That’s right, and this year we are celebrating all the years of scholarship and competition that has been an Arkansas PBS tradition since 1985.
The Arkansas Governor’s "Quiz Bowl” has allowed high school players across the state to display their knowledge in literature, math, science, history, art, music and economics. Teams from across the state compete for the chance to represent The Natural State in national tournaments.
History
The first set of rules for "Quiz Bowl" was on one page, front and back. As "Quiz Bowl" evolved, the single rule sheet expanded to 16 pages. What started as a small group of teams competing for the top academic competition, soon grew to numerous schools around the state competing.
“I think the idea was to get something out there that was across all areas of academia,” Arkansas Governor's "Quiz Bowl" Association Director Carolyn Shry said. “Back then, there were probably about 20 to 25 schools involved.”
Former "Quiz Bowl" coach and teacher Bill Davis said the competition exploded to 300 teams being involved in the competition.
“These kids needed a place to shine, and a place to be rewarded with what they knew,” Shry said. “There’s a whole lot of things they were very much advanced in. They weren’t getting challenged at school.”
Quiz Master Steve Patterson said the competition first looked at students who made perfect scores on the SAT, but that too changed to welcome any student who wanted to participate.
The teams that participate in the finals after winning regional tournaments around the state will be awarded scholarships that are then awarded to individual players.
Impact
Many students who participate in "Quiz Bowl" have pursued careers that sprouted from their participation in "Quiz Bowl" or have had success because of what "Quiz Bowl" revealed to them.
“When I was a senior in high school, I applied for the ‘Jeopardy’ team tournament, and I won,” "Quiz Bowl" Hall of Famer Leonard Cooper said. “If not for "Quiz Bowl", I probably wouldn’t have signed up. I wouldn’t have thought I had the knowledge to do it.”
Another "Quiz Bowl" Hall of Famer Derrick Nguyen said his “insatiable curiosity” started when he was in "Quiz Bowl", while Spencer Watson went into journalism.
“One of the fundamental ideas of journalism is inquisitiveness,” Watson said. “Not just knowing a specific fact, but wanting to understand systems and structures, having the drive to wanting to know more about those things. I think that came out of the same place as "Quiz Bowl".”
HOW TO WATCH
The 40th edition of "Quiz Bowl" will air live Saturday, April 26, starting at 9 a.m. Viewers can find it on demand at watch.myarkansaspbs.org.