To the outside eye, watching events unfold at Tuscumbia Middle School last weekend was like being part of a live studio audience at a trivia game show.
Moderator Kyle Hill, a decorated farm reporter and radio personality, delivered questions from popular Netflix series and literary facts to scientific research and presidential history with finesse, speed and humor. Teams would buzz in before the toss-up question was finished with correct answers, ready to deliver responses to bonus questions.
These contenders - students in seventh through 10th grades - made up 36 academic bowl teams from more than 15 schools, vying for the fourth annual Tuscumbia Winter Tournament championship title.
High school and middle school teams included Jefferson City, Helias, Hallsville, Washington, Moberly, Pilot Grove, Clever, Houston, New Haven, Lakeland, Weaubleau, Columbia Independent School, Columbia West, South Callaway, Holden, Richland, John B. Lange in Columbia and tournament host, Tuscumbia.
Each team participated in six rounds of play, including 20 toss-up questions and up to three bonus questions. Hallsville took first place in the junior varsity division, which included teams of ninth- and 10th-graders. Washington took second, Tuscumbia placed third and Jefferson City took fourth.
High-scoring individual students also received honors. In the JV division, Nick Erickson, of Jefferson City, took second place, along with Tuscumbia students Caleb Martonfi in fifth and Preston McDowell seventh and Helias' Gabe Borgmeyer in sixth.
Kylie Cline, of Tuscumbia, took fourth in the standard middle school division.
"This activity is invaluable for students because of the inherently limited nature of school curriculum: there's so much to learn and very little time to do it," said Jason Loy, Tuscumbia School teacher and advisor to the school's academic bowl teams.
Loy said the most academically talented students often are bored because the curriculum isn't deep or broad enough to really stimulate their thinking or hold their interest. Academic bowl gives them an outlet to expand their knowledge and understanding of many academic fields.
At Tuscumbia, the activity has three teams: high school', middle school and elementary. They are in the Show-Me Conference division, which includes St. Elizabeth, Russellville, New Bloomfield, Eugene, South Callaway, Fatima, Linn and Chamois.
The Tuscumbia School academic bowl teams host three large events per year, with numerous other tournaments on weekdays from November to April. The JV team typically competes in 14 tournaments before districts, as well as sectional and state competitions if the team advances.
Even though Tuscumbia students have not won their own tournament in the past, the high school team won the Show-Me Conference Tournament and the Class 1 state tournament in 2015, Loy said. Fourth- and sixth-grade teams as well as middle school teams were named conference champions in 2016, and the high school team won the Calvary Lutheran Fall Tournament.
"The range of topics asked about is so wide that it can easily overwhelm a student if they're trying to do it on their own. It's helpful to set goals for them that are both challenging and attainable," he said.
For Tuscumbia students, practice is often playing against each other and working on their strengths. Team members at Saturday's tournament could name a few topics they felt most comfortable answering, such as science, current events, music, sports or pop culture. However, they also are challenged to learn more about other subjects and are excited to answer a question correctly.
"Last year, I had a question about One Direction," said Tuscumbia eighth-grader Kylee Ash, who also said music and art are her strong subjects, "and the next game there was a question about Kobe Bryant and I knew it. Literally everyone jumped out of their seats (trying to answer)."
Loy said with academic bowl being a friendly competitive activity, he enjoys interacting with his own team as well as students from other schools. For example, JV student McDowell has become good friends with Hallsville's Samuel Lockwood, who "beat him every week in eighth grade," the Tuscumbia student said.