Knowledge Bowl:

Friendly competition is alive and well at Wahkiakum High School. For four months out of the school year, students practice, study and prepare for Knowledge Bowl (KB) competitions that are held once a month.

Sam Kresge, former high school counselor now at the middle and elementary schools, has been coaching KB for the past three seasons.

“When I started,” he said, “we had only about seven to eight kids involved and now we are right around 20 active members.”

Varsity member and team captain Richie Kresge has been involved with KB since he was in the eighth grade. Graduating in June, Kresge said he is “extremely going to miss it.”

Competitions begin with a 45 minute written exam in an assigned room. After the test is complete, round two begins. This round consists of three teams answering a series of 60 questions and is similar to watching “Jeopardy” on television. How long it takes to answer the questions will determine the length of the round.

Each team is seated at a table with an electronic strip connected to a box that lets a judge know which team rang in first and how much time has elapsed. After the question is asked and a team rings in, they have 15 seconds to give their answer. The team captain must answer by first saying “Our team’s answer is.” If the team captain chooses not to answer, he or she will say “I designate to” and another team member’s name. If the question is interrupted, the team ringing in has five seconds to answer. If they do not know, the question is repeated for the benefit of the other two teams.

If none of the teams knows the answer to a question, it is labeled a “dead question,” the answer revealed and the next question asked.

Three teams compete in KB at Wahkiakum, one varsity, and two junior varsity (JV). Ideally, there are up to six students per team, four starters and two subs, but sometimes there may be as little as two members. This makes it harder, the elder Kresge explained, because with fewer minds, there is less of a “knowledge pool to draw from.”

Coach Kresge says since he has so many participants, he will have a varsity member captain the JV teams to give them varsity experience. “This has worked well, but it hurts our total varsity scores.”

Richie Kresge said he likes that KB emphasizes academics in a competitive way.

“It gives the smart kids a chance at a competition” he said. He encourages other students to join, emphasizing that it is just a myth that only straight-A students can join.

“KB is open to everyone,” he said.

“If you are good at trivia, you would be good at KB,” added team member Kyle Thelander.

Sam Kresge enjoys coaching KB and one day hopes to bring it to the middle school level. “I want to build a program where kids will have a healthy and safe place to go after school and one that encourages academic success,” he said.

He is proud of the kids that participate in KB. “Anytime you have kids willing to give up free time to compete in an academic area, it’s a good day for education.”

Two years ago, Kresge said, the team made it to the State finals and placed second in the league. Last year, the team placed first in the Regional division and made it to State as well. “Our goal this year, of course, is to make it to State and finish higher than we did before,” he said.

The next KB meet is scheduled on January 9 at Kelso High at 3:30 p.m. The public is welcome to attend.