As mid-October rolls around, so does a new Scholars Bowl season.  

So far this year, 45 individuals have showed up to at least one practice, which coach and english teacher Phillip Hamilton says is “about on par” compared to the past few years.  

When fall sports finish, Hamilton thinks that there will be around 55 to 60 students on the Scholars Bowl team.  The team is very flexible and allows students to join whenever they are able to during the season.

Sophomore Julia Coverdale participated in Scholars Bowl last year and will continue to do so this year.  Her favorite part about Scholars Bowl is its “fun learning environment.”  

Coverdale said that by the first meeting, the team was already doing well, and she is “excited to see where [the team] is going.”  She also believes that the new players are doing well.   

“I think a lot of the new additions to our team are really smart and are really capable of being good Scholars Bowl players,” Coverdale said.

Coach and English teacher Donna Rhodes also thinks highly of the new and existing team members, saying that the team has “a lot of promising players.”

She enjoys the meets the most and being able to “see what it’s like to compete for real, as opposed to in practice where [they] have lots of fun and goof off.”

Last year, varsity had a successful season, placing third at State.  Hamilton hopes to do well at League, Regionals and State again. But, since only six people can make it to those events, his goal for the rest of the team is “to be excited about knowing things.”   

While Hamilton hopes that players can show their enthusiasm by answering questions at practice, he thinks that it is still a fun experience even if they do not do so.   

“I hope that [the students] find a community of people who enjoy learning as much as they do,” Hamilton said.   

The varsity team earned second place at its second meet of the season, which took place at Bonner Springs High School on Tuesday, Oct. 18.  The JV team’s first meet is on Monday, Oct. 24 at Washington High School.