Knowledge Bowl 2015

This year's annual Knowledge Bowl marks the event's 10th anniversary. The all day contest pits dorms against each other in a battle of the minds and is truly one of the best events on campus all year. At stakes is an day trip to Des Moines for the entire dorm. They will spend it at the Science Center of Iowa where they will check out all of the attractions including a sweet IMAX documentary. Afterwards, they will be eating tons of pizza at CC's. In addition to both of those things, the winning dorm gets an additional $100 to spend on it's students. Hosted by teacher Christopher Levi, the morning session saw all of the dorms answer 10 rounds worth of question that provided the seeding for the bracketed afternoon sessions. In the end, Navigator Hall came up just a little short and Victory Hall won the 10th annual Woodward Academy Knowledge Bowl.

Knowledge Bowl 2014

Last week, the 2014 Woodward Academy Knowledge Bowl took place with the winning dorm earning a trip to Kansas City. This year's format had all of the teams answering common knowledge questions, where the correct answers helped seed the dorms for the head to head, bracketed tournament. Teacher submitted questions where combined with common questions in 15 minute rounds to determine the winning dorm. This year, Navigator Hall took the top prize after narrowing advancing in the semi-final round in an overtime question. The competition is an annual event and previous winning dorms have traveled with Chicago, Minneapolis, and Omaha.

Knowledge Bowl 2013

The annual Woodward Academy Knowledge Bowl took place on Friday, March 8. The competition pits dorms against each other in a single elimination tournament. It truly is one of the best days on campus with dorms getting themed and ready for the all day competition. At stake for the winner is a day trip to Omaha, NE for the entire winning dorm. After an initial toss up question, questions alternate back and forth between the two teams. When it is their turn, teams can wager either 1 or 2 points after knowing what the category is (i.e. Music, Pre-Algebra). The cool thing about WA's knowledge bowl is that all of the questions are written by WA teachers and originate from the student's classes. When a team gets a question wrong, the other team has a chance to "steal" the points with a correct answer. Read more after the break.

WCAC Academic Bowl Team - 2012

As a member of the West Central Activities Conference (WCAC), Woodward Academy participated in this year's WCAC Academic Bowl that was held at Des Moines Christian School on March 6.  WA's brainy team is pictured and consists of Jimmy Huynh, Catlin Caldwell (front row), David Marroquin, Justin Curtis, and Dustin Tillman (back row).

22 teams were represented at this year's event and were ranked prior to competition based on written scores that each team submitted last week.  As a late addition to the competition, the boys had little time to prepare and were ranked 17th going in.

The five members were a little nervous at first.  There was the uncertainty of never competing in such an event along with representing Woodward Academy for the first time in the WCAC Academic Bowl.

The Bowl consisted of 4 rounds of questioning.  After each round, teams were ranked again according to how they performed.  The WA team was very competitive throughout the competition and beat an Earlham team in the 3rd round.  Overall the students did a fantastic job and represented WA really well.  According to head coach Jeremy Hilbert, they worked hard and were always the first to congratulate the opposing team.  Woodward Academy plans to make this an annual event.

Knowledge Bowl 2012 Crowns a Winner!

The 7th annual Knowledge Bowl started at 9 o'clock this morning to a rowdy and enthusiastic crowd.  In February, we teased the event with the promotional poster.  If you didn't have a chance to see it, you can do so by clicking here.

To recap, the format is a bracketed event where all 8 dorms compete with the winner advancing to the next round.  It's like March Madness!  Rather than a trivia competition, several years ago the structure was changed to where teachers submit questions from their classes.  This way, each dorm has an equal opportunity to perform well and win.  To get you in the spirit of what the Woodward Academy Knowledge Bowl consists of, the following are 5 questions taken from the event:

1. The set of all points in a plane equidistant from a given point called the center forms what geometric shape?

2. What are individuals who are paid to fight for another country called?

3. If someone is said to have "dropped their jaw," what bone is being referenced?

4. A complete sentence must include which three things?

5. Numbers that cannot be written as ratios are called?

Read more after the jump.

Knowledge Bowl 2012 - Promo Poster

Pictured is the promotional poster for the 2012 Knowledge Bowl.  The KB is an annual March event that matches dorms against one another in a bracketed intellectual, high stakes, winner-take-all tournament.  This year's tournament is being held on March 2nd.  For those unfamiliar with how it works, here is a breakdown of the day:

     - 8 dorms competing head-to-head with the winner advancing to the next round.
     - 5-7 students per team, chosen by staff and students on the dorm.
     - 20 minutes rounds with questions alternating teams.
     - 1-2 points per question can be risked, but the team loses points if incorrect.
     - All questions are generated from teachers based on WA classes.

The Knowledge Bowl is not just an exhibition with bragging rights on the line.  The victorious team wins a day away from campus for the entire dorm.  Although the location is decided, it is being kept a secret until unveiled later.  Last year the winning dorm spent a day in Kansas City and visited a WWI museum and played at the College Basketball Experience.  Two years ago, the winning team went to Chicago and saw the Blue Man Group and ate deep dish pizza.  This year marks the 7th year of the Knowledge Bowl.