The Science Bowl A and B teams played in a scrimmage hosted by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Saturday Jan. 11, at one of the department’s main buildings in Los Angeles. The teams, a total of 10 students, were two of 50 teams from more than 30 schools at the scrimmage to prepare for the official competition Feb. 22, science teacher and Science Bowl coach Nate Cardin said.
The scrimmage was organized round-robin style, with five teams to a room playing eight-minute rounds until 10 a.m., when members were free to find and play other teams for the remainder of the event.
“The scrimmage gives our students the chance to practice with other teams in competition-like circumstances,” Cardin said. “It’s a dry run for the actual competition in February. We also get to meet and chat with teams from other schools.”
Cardin said that the main focus before the competition is not only a solid grasp on subject material but also the techniques of the game.
“The best teams aren’t always the ones who know the most, but rather the ones who work best within the rules of the game,” Cardin said. “In our practices, we’ve been focusing on playing great Science Bowl, both in terms of content and technique. I think we have a strong group of players this year.”
Cardin said the teams’ strength lies in their enthusiasm for the game.
“There are schools that are much more hardcore about how they prepare than we are, but our students still do quite well because they’re passionate about the subject material and really enjoy working with each other,” Cardin said. “The students’ camaraderie and fantastic teamwork is awesome.”
