Western Teams

PatMan · Post by **PatMan** » Wed Jun 21, 2006 7:27 pm

I am a new member here and hoping to get some good information on making my quizbowl team more competative. One thing I would like to know is how many members here are in the west? I would love to take my team to more competitions but I cannot find any other than in my state. I am located in SE Idaho and would like to here from anyone in the west to help me locate more competitions.

Byko · Post by **Byko** » Wed Jun 21, 2006 8:28 pm

First off, welcome to the board. I personally would be very interested in knowing what you have in the way of quiz bowl in Idaho at the present--I think I've heard of some sort of science bowl-like competition (INEEL, I think it was) but not much else.

Most of the closest activity to you that I've heard of (though others may know a little bit better, as I have yet to set foot in the Northwest except for Seattle, but hopefully that'll change with a few ski trips down the road) has been in Washington. I know a few teams compete in Montana, but I think they are very spread out. Wyoming has something, as they have an all-star team that competes at the Panasonic Academic Challenge down in Orlando (I could pass along the coach's contact info if you'd be interested). From what I was told by a team from Oregon that competed at another national tournament this past year, there is no real form of quiz bowl there, and I'm guessing the same can be said of northern Nevada.

That said, there are several of us who would be happy to help in any way we can to try to develop more tournaments in your area and keep communications flowing among different parts of the country.

dschafer · Post by **dschafer** » Wed Jun 21, 2006 8:36 pm

From what I saw at National Science Bowl, there is a very active Science Bowl circuit in Idaho; you might be able to find out about quiz bowl through the Science Bowl teams.

dtaylor4 · Post by **dtaylor4** » Wed Jun 21, 2006 9:31 pm

I know for a fact that Nevada has something, as one of my teammates is from there. I could try to gather more information from him about it.

PatMan · Post by **PatMan** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 11:21 am

My team competes in the INEEL tournament every year with the state winner going to the National Science Bowl. This year my team competed at the Panasonic tourny and are looking forward to possibly attending more national tournaments in the future, but I think to be more competitive we need more competitions throughout the year with stronger opponents. Thanks for the offer to get me info from other coaches and past competitors I look forward to the info!

canaanbananarama · Post by **canaanbananarama** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 7:23 pm

I would guess that the bulk of members on this board from the West are from California, which has two rather thriving circuits in Southern California (LA, Orange, and San Diego counties) and Northern California (SF Bay Area). Although, like many here, I don't know that much about other states in the West, my guess is that California is the most active state in terms of quizbowl. Tournaments around here (I'm from Los Angeles) average around 15-20 teams, and we don't get much out-of-state or even out-of-metro area competition, so if your team would have a chance, I would recommend coming on a trip to LA. We play NAQT format exclusively here, though I don't know what is played in Idaho.

The closest teams to you that have showed up to you would be Juan Diego Catholic HS (SLC area, Utah) and South Medford (OR) this year, and Medical Lake from Spokane in 2005. I really can't attest to the circuits anywhere near you. Also, heading way north, British Columbia and Alberta have their Reach for the Top program and tournaments, though I know very little about Canadian high school quizbowl.

If you have any further questions about the California circuit, let me know at cmeigs at ucla.edu. Los Angeles is a long ways from Idaho Falls or whatever city in SE Idaho you're from, but it's the only state I know of on the West Coast which hosts NAQT tournaments (one might have issues with playing in some states' tournaments, as they may not allow teams from other states) out west.

First Chairman · Post by **First Chairman** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 9:12 pm

Just a question: do you count San Diego as part of the So Cal circuit? Does SD have its own circuit?

Stained Diviner · Post by **Stained Diviner** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 10:22 pm

If you want to host a tournament in Idaho, NAQT will give you questions for free. You might want to contact the INEEL teams you play against and see if there is enough interest.

First Chairman · Post by **First Chairman** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 10:31 pm

I do know Decathlon is played in Idaho, and that nationals has come by Boise once maybe twice. It may take some cultural adjustment to get them to field a qb team too, but the foundation is there.