LITTLE ROCK — Fort Smith Southside, Russellville, Valley View, Arkadelphia, Haas Hall Bentonville, Haas Hall Rogers and Haas Hall Springdale top their divisions, from 7A to 1A, respectively, in a fall poll of participating Arkansas Governor’s Quiz Bowl Association (AGQBA) coaches.
The poll was administered by Arkansas Friends of Quiz Bowl, a nonprofit organization composed of alumni, coaches (current and retired) and others who support quiz bowl in Arkansas by, among other things, funding annual scholarships for quiz bowl players through an annual invitational tournament.
“This time of year, the preseason where teams from all over the state have begun playing invitational tournaments and matches against other area schools, is the most exciting time of the year to me,” said Walter Woodie, president of the Arkansas Friends of Quiz Bowl board. “These teams are beginning to learn about what kind of team they have and what will make them better as they prepare for the season: the regional and state competition next semester. There is an optimism that they can become a team that can compete or win the regional or state championships.”
Polls were taken in October in which all AGQBA coaches were asked to rank their divisional opponents, as determined by their classification in the Arkansas Activities Association (AAA). Weighted points were assigned to higher rankings. A composite score was generated from those weighted points to determine the highest ranking teams in each division.
Quiz bowl is an academic competition governed by the AGQBA under the administration of the AAA. During games, players answer questions on a variety of academic topics such as literature, art, music, history, science and math to earn points. Games are structured such that teams must work collaboratively to answer some questions and must rely on the individual knowledge of each player to answer others. State championships will be played in April and broadcast live on Arkansas PBS.
Complete rankings include (first place votes in parenthesis):
7A
1. Fort Smith Southside (6)
2. ASMSA (1)
3. Little Rock Central
4. Bryant
5. Fayetteville
6A
1. Russellville (8)
2. Benton
3. Catholic High School
4. Greenwood (1)
5. Sheridan
5A
1. Valley View (2)
2. Batesville (2)
3. eStem (1)
4. Morrilton
5. Harrison
4A
1. Arkadelphia (3)
2. Trumann (5)
3. Harmony Grove (1)
4. Dardanelle
5. Shiloh Christian (1)
3A
1. Haas Hall Bentonville (2)
2. Haas Hall Fayetteville (5)
3. Mountain View (1)
4. Maumelle Charter
5. Life Way Christian
2A
1. Haas Hall Rogers (4)
2. Conway Christian
3. St. Joseph – Conway
4. Izard County (1)
5. White County Central
1A
1. Haas Hall Springdale (4)
2. Haas Hall Fort Smith
3. Sacred Heart (2)
4. Armorel
5. Emerson (1)