Durango High School Knowledge Bowl team members flexed their brains last weekend finishing third in the national competition.
The 11-person team made up of mostly upperclassmen took on 27 other teams across the nation in remote action to see who would be crowned national champion. The teams competed online by livestreaming on Discord, an instant messaging social platform.
Knowledge Bowl originated in 1976 as a project within the San Juan Board of Cooperative Services in Durango. Senior Knowledge Bowl team member Hays Stritikus said competing remotely made the competition more accessible to all schools.
“By putting it online, it removes access barriers and we can actually go and compete with the best across the country,” Stritikus said.
The competition is divided into three categories based on the size of the school. The DHS team competed in the category for medium-large schools.
The competition involves student teams competing against each other in two rounds in which students must show their knowledge in a variety of subjects via a multiple choice and an oral section. Subjects include math, science, history, language skills, literature, music and geography, plus things like current events.
The team gained momentum this spring after finishing second in the state for 4A schools and fourth overall.
Knowledge Bowl coach Valeria Skarbek was proud of the way her team collaborated to place near the top at nationals.
The national rules allow students to discuss their answers with other students whereas the Colorado state rules do not. This gave students the opportunity to work together.
“There are so many skills that they use,” Skarbek said. “From study skills to thinking quickly on their feet, to the collaboration, decision-making skills, critical-thinking skills, knowing when to buzz in, and taking chances.”
While students were able to discuss answers with their teammates, the national competition rules allowed them only 15 seconds to buzz in and 15 seconds to answer the question. This meant students had to be quick or the other team could answer the question.
National rules allowed the moderator to ask the question only once without being repeated, unlike the Colorado state-level competition.
“It was really a much more fast-paced and frenetic feeling,” Skarbek said. “But the team did great.”
Skarbek was returned to coaching the team this year after taking a year off to undergo breast cancer treatment.
To show their appreciation, students wore pink socks with Skarbek’s face on them to all of their competitions this year.
“We're super thankful to have Coach Skarbek and all the other Durango High School staff members who have been supportive of this team for the past four years,” Stritikus said.
Stritikus has been a member of the knowledge bowl team for the last four years.
He said the experience helps hone skills like quickly recalling information and small details which he believes will benefit him when entering the workforce or further education.
“It's an incredible skill to be able to write and understand what a question is saying,” Stritikus said.
He added that he’s pick up on how questions are formatted and can understand what the question is asking four or five words into it being asked.
For Skarbek, it was rewarding to see the team’s state trophy be placed in the case at Durango High School along with the school’s athletic awards.
She said it was the first time a Knowledge Bowl trophy had been placed in the downstairs trophy case.
tbrown@durangoherald.com
