Scholar Quiz Bowl season has finally kicked off, with an informational meeting and practice on Sept 30. There were plenty of returning members, as well as new faces, seeking to learn all about the game.

“I think since they showed up to that meeting, they plan on joining it. But there still might be more,” said junior, Rachel Nixon, a returning member.

According to Mrs. Sharon King, it sounds like there will be a large jump in how many students are participating.

“I think I may have about 15 to 18 kids, so we will definitely have two teams. We may have as many as three,” said King.

One change amongst all the teams in the St. Charles league is that there are no longer junior varsity and varsity quiz bowl teams, like in previous years.

“We are calling it ‘experienced’ and ‘novice’,” King said. “We are doing it because all of [the schools in the league] have upperclassmen who have never played before.”

This alteration eliminates the issue of being expected to put underclassmen on JV and upperclassmen on varsity, even if they are new to the activity.

The idea that there are so many new people joining is very uplifting to everyone, especially Fox Winkeler, a junior. He has been on the team for three years, so he knows the ropes of the game pretty well.

“A lot of new people joined, and I’m looking forward to playing with them. Teaching them,” said Winkeler. “I think they’ll get the hang of it quickly, they were smart people.”

He is also looking forward to the idea of having more teams.

“That’s exciting, we’ve had two teams every year, and we could even have four teams this year if we tried.” Winkeler says that this is very beneficial for the FHC Scholars. As an experienced member, he knows what it could mean for them to have more interest.

“We’ve got more chance of winning if we’ve got more entries in the tournament.”

On Oct. 28, the teams in our district will head to Francis Howell High School, to participate in a scrimmage, and get to know the game.