According to the Scholastic Bowl team sponsor, Mrs. Riordan, the Scholastic Bowl team is “the first sanctioned VHSL activity by Thomas Jefferson.” VHSL stands for Virginia High School League.

“So, when we think of VHSL,” Mrs. Riordan said, “we often think of sports, or things that involve balls, but this is truly the first VHSL activity.”

The Scholastic Bowl “is very close to jeopardy in that students buzz in the answers of a variety of questions pertaining to all different content areas: anything from physics, to pop culture, literature, biology, chemistry,” Mrs. Riordan said.

“It consists of teams of four who compete,” Mrs. Riordan noted. The students compete against other Scholastic Bowl teams from other high schools.

The Scholastic Bowl team practices every Tuesday and there is a match every week on Wednesday. The Scholastic Bowl participants work very hard when practicing for their matches, while having fun at the same time.

The captain of the Scholastic Bowl, Kiera Spall, said that the Scholastic Bowl was fun. Spall said, “besides the game and tournaments, the format is also fun. We also have a great coach, who also makes the practices fun.”

The Scholastic Bowl team is also very supportive of one another. Kiera said, “There is so much commitment, and it’s such a community. We work at making people better, and there is total support. Plus, unlike other teams, there are no grudges held.”

The Scholastic Bowl has done very well in tournaments in the past, placing in almost every match they participate in.

The Scholastic Bowl team captain, Spall, works very hard at making sure everyone gets play time during the matches. “Being a captain is not much different from playing,” Kiera said, “I get to say who plays during certain rounds. There is pressure for picking a person to play in a round though, because you have to make sure everyone gets play time and that you make the right decision about who can get the answer correct.”

Everyone on the Scholastic Bowl team very much enjoys their practices and meets. The have fun, while also being competitive in a friendly manner.