The spirit of debate rises high within the hallowed halls of our dear old WT. Amidst the loud voices of seventy-two freshman, and the random music that sometimes plays from the second floor loft, conversations can be heard all throughout the school about the single most important sport representing Winchester. You may be thinking, “Ah, it must be about the soccer team, isn’t everything? Or, could it could possibly be about the highly influential JV golf team?” The response to this is a resounding no! Quizbowl is, in fact, the aforementioned topic of debate!

“Why debate?” you may ask. The answer is simple; despite the persuasive article released last year announcing Quizbowl’s official status as a WT Varsity sport, many are left to question the truth within the article, perhaps citing different sources to reason that Quizbowl is simply, “a club for the athletically challenged.”

We are here today to defend the team’s honor with a list of ten reasons as to why quizbowl is indeed worthy of its title as a sport, no matter what the lack of recognition within the Athletic Hall of Fame may suggest.

Reason 1: Much like every other sport, Quizbowl leaves those who aren’t yet accustomed to the grueling practices extremely exhausted and confused.

As a devastatingly average human that has been to a practice, I can personally verify the truth within this statement. I left the practice feeling like the life had been sucked out of my soul, and I began questioning my entire purpose as a student as I slumped down the main stairwell, ready to fall asleep. Perhaps the phrase, “practice makes perfect” could be encouraging. Join Quizbowl!

Reason 2: There are usually one or two people who are good at everything, but just when the future’s looking bleak, a member who was previously deemed useless saves the entire team from their imminent death.

Just as any athlete can remember a time when a rather incompetent player suddenly set offence up for a goal, there is always going to be that one member of the team that knows random facts about apples or trash tv shows. It’s the moment that everyone remembers, because the kid actually knew something, instead of just being able to answer because they’re in AP Chem.

Reason 3: There’s always that one kid who is only there so they can put it on their college applications.

“Oh, you did tennis for all four years of high school? Well clearly you are a responsible and committed individual that we would love to welcome to our school.”

“Oh, you did quizbowl for all four years of high school? Well clearly you are a responsible and committed individual that we would love to welcome to our school.”

These are real quotes, from real university admissions offices. Anything for college!

Reason 4: Parents want their kids to join so they have something new to brag about to their “friends” at block parties.

Let’s be very honest, the competition between parents is more intense than the WPIALs. While being in sports can get you mentioned in the paper or on the daily five o’clock news, Quizbowl can do just the same. In fact, it can even allow you to be featured in Hometown HighQ, which could mean that Quizbowl is better than any other form of measly athletics. However that is a debate for another day, and another list.

Reason 5: “You really have to understand the intricacies of the game to understand what’s going on here.”

Sports have rules. Quizbowl also has rules. It should be simple, correct?

No! Because much like every dedicated athlete, Quizbowl members would agree that one cannot simply memorize the rules and expect to follow everything that occurs in the game. Instead they must search in library archives for tapes of competitions from the 1800s, and continue watching all the way until present time. Even still, commoners could never understand Quizbowl like the team does, that’s why they’re commoners.

Reason 6: Varsity is 100% a thing.  

Hours of grueling practice and example rounds are cast aside, along with the majority of the team for the official meets. Just as you might find members of varsity field hockey on a run at 5am, varsity Quizbowl members are on their computers studying, or possibly raiding a library. While varsity fencing teammates watch trash shows together during the conditioning practices, Quizbowl members watch the shows to study for meets, taking in as much of the cheesy suspense music and poor storylines as humanly possible.  

Reason 7: Excellent reflexes are required to stay on top of the game.

See the ball rolling towards you? Hear a question that you definitely know the answer to? Reflexes are what you need. If you’re a LaCrosse player, it’s best to know when and how to obtain the ball. If you’re in Quizbowl and a toss up question that you know the answer to is being asked? You’d better be able to hit the buzzer faster than that guy from Shadyside that’s definitely cheating. Unfortunately these stellar reflexes can sometimes cause injuries as well, and no one likes a sprained finger.  

Reason 8: Quizbowl has their very own twitter account.

While WT Squash may not be able to say the same, a very special account known as @wt_quizbowl live tweets the different quizbowl endeavours, and makes a title for themselves as an important part of Winchester Thurston School, alongside our official twitter account, which gives us updates on all other sports not special enough to have their own account.

Reason 9: When used as an event for classcapades last year, the -then- freshman team lost.

In all honesty, they lost at everything. However, classcapades included Mario Kart (another verified sport, source: Smash Bros Club), soccer, and quizbowl. The Freshman lost at all of these, meaning they clearly need to work on their overall athleticism. There is no such thing as coincidence in this world, and fate is telling us that collectively, the class of 2020 is terrible at sports.

Reason 10: If golf is a sport, then so is this.

Possibly the simplest reason on the list.

These reasons being said, I strongly encourage everyone to continue their scholarly debates. However, as proven by the ten statements above and the brilliant article written previously, if you think quizbowl is not a sport you are wrong. It is as simple as that.

(Also please try to keep these debates at a low volume, as the varsity members are probably trying to read the collection of government documents from the 1960s right behind you.)