By Eojin Choi

Competing to press the buzzer first, becoming frustrated after losing points and discussing strategies are what usually take place during the Science Bowl club meetings in preparation for this weekend’s citywide competition.

The 12 members of the A and B team have been gathering twice a week in Chalmers to practice for the Science Bowl competition by doing rounds and learning more science trivia. The competition Feb. 25 consists of preliminary rounds in different pools and moving on to the direct elimination tournament, which is for the top 32 teams. 

The top team qualifies for nationals and will be provided with full expenses for traveling to Washington D.C.

“Our goal this year is to make it to Nationals because it seems like a ton of fun,” club leader Justin Ho ’12 said.

Not everyone who is interested in the competition can participate because of limited spots on the team. The club recently created the Science Bowl C team for the students who want to continue doing rounds and maybe try again to make it to the A or B teams next year. 

Kenneth Kim ’13 runs the practices on Tuesday and Friday after school, while the A and B teams met more frequently because of the approaching competition.

“I think [the C team] is a great idea because the students show up even without a real incentive,” Ho ’12 said, “It tells me that they are passionate and are really interested in the competition.”

The Club Fair Feb. 27  will give the club a chance to showcase what they do and encourage students to join next year.  The members are thinking of setting up a table and displaying trophies to try to get more people interested and tell them about Science Bowl.

“Even after the competition is over, we will still meet to practice because there’s always next year,” Ho ’12 said.