The value of quiz bowl experience

[Khaleesi1287]

Do former quiz bowl players (participants? athletes?) have a significant advantage when they play on Jeopardy - or do they make up such a large proportion of the contestants that it doesn't matter? Common sense says yes, they must run the board, but maybe one of you will say that stuffing your head full of every fact in the world causes slippage on questions of Jeopardy-level-difficulty. Also, why does Jeopardy! ask you if you have quiz bowl experience?

[Robert K S]

They're apparently the minority of contestants. I think they have an advantage when it comes to getting more academic (and hence often higher-value) clues and in having an intuitive sense of the gameplay dynamic and strategy. Some of the biggest-winning champions had quizbowl backgrounds, but many did not. Some powerful quizbowlers lose their first game.

If I had done quizbowl I probably would have known the difference between 19th century politicians John C. Frémont and John C. Breckinridge. Maybe that one-clue swing would have helped me hang around a bit longer. Maybe not.

A lot of things go into Jeopardy! success. Quizbowl can't hurt. But it's not the be-all, end-all.

[sarisson]

When I auditioned, I was afraid half the people would be quiz bowl veterans and I'd be lucky to ring in more than twice. Thankfully, that was not the case. Quiz bowl experience definitely helps you with the buzzer... if you're not the type to ring in before the moderator reads half the question.
I only participated in one NAQT event in high school, and came in 12th out of 88. My team finished 13th out of 21. I only got two +15's (powers) in the entire 10-game event; I was just going for +10's. If you're going to be on Jeopardy, you just have to be concerned about +10's, because you can't ring in until AT finishes reading the clue. My high school academic challenge team rarely participated in quiz bowl tournaments (although now they host the South Jersey History Bowl); they mainly concentrated on Academic Decathlon and "team Jeopardy" competitions. My college didn't get a quiz bowl team until after I left.
Two notable quiz bowl teammates at Princeton, Jeff Hoppes and Larissa Kelly, got married and both made it on Jeopardy. Jeff had the misfortune of facing Ken Jennings in Game 70, while Larissa became a Jeopardy legend.

[StevenH]

I definitely think that quiz bowl experience helps in the teen and college tournaments. On the regular show it can really go either way. Roger Craig, Joon Pahk, Vik Vaz, David Madden, and Jason Keller were all successful. Jeff Hoppes, Raj Dhuwalia, Julie Singer, Susan Ferrari, and Chris Borglum weren't. A lot of it is just luck.

[Winchell Factor]

Until the Fremont/Breckinridge part, I could've written Robert's post. (Not that I can readily tell those two apart, but rather that my inability to do so has never done me damage.)

I didn't play quiz bowl. So I had to study a lot of stuff that quiz bowl veterans had already studied. But my experience, at least, is that once you've learned the stuff you have to keep studying it, or else the pathways for rapid retrieval close up. So the quiz bowlers may be fortunate to have an externally imposed structure to and incentive for their studying, but IMO, everybody has to study.

I worried a lot about buzzer timing. I worry about it all over again as I contemplate going back, God willing, to play one more time. But the essential skill is to synchronize your own ringing in with the timing of the person in the studio who's operating the game board. So maybe quiz bowl helps some with that, but it's a skill that clearly can be mastered by people who didn't play quiz bowl.

I guess, all in all, I'm speaking out of both sides of my mouth a little bit. As a fan of the game who's played the game, I'd tell other people that quiz bowl may be one good way to prepare for playing Jeopardy!, but it's hardly the only way. But on the other hand, when I size up a potential opponent, I still have an inclination to think, "Oh, a quiz bowler, great." Probably because there's rather little chance that a quiz bowler will be poorly prepared.

[cmp146]

I definitely think that quiz bowl experience helps in the teen and college tournaments. On the regular show it can really go either way. Roger Craig, Joon Pahk, Vik Vaz, David Madden, and Jason Keller were all successful. Jeff Hoppes, Raj Dhuwalia, Julie Singer, Susan Ferrari, and Chris Borglum weren't. A lot of it is just luck.

I can say that it also depends upon how long it has been since you were playing quiz bowl, and if you kept up with your trivia powers since. Like any skill, you need to work on the rapid recall, clue solving, and buzzer timing for Jeopardy! success.

I played quiz bowl in the late 90's at Penn State and regularly saw both Roger Craig and Julie Singer at tournaments. Both were formidable opponents, although nice to play against. I was a middle-of-the-pack player who enjoyed the game, but didn't let it keep me from my studies.

Julie Singer was a deep knowledge player at the college level, and from her interviews when she appeared on the show, it sounded like she had moved away from the trivia world. Roger was both a really nice guy, as well as someone who could go with shallow fast style information including "trash" (e.g. more Jeopardy! style) as well as the deeper academic canon. That may have worked to his advantage later on Jeopardy!

As far as my own 3rd place Jeopardy! finish: my timing was a little slower than my two opponents on game day, despite having more recent practice. My husband built a home buzzer system for training purposes, and really geeky nights in. However, I also was surprised I didn't drop dead of an aneurysm on set. So nerves are another layer to add to the experience beyond quiz bowl. Like all things, it depends on the boards, as well as where you are at in life.

[FireAntsDefense]

I played Knowledge Master ( ) for six years and ACF, NAQT, and the twilight years of CBI in college. I did not study as much or work as hard as I feel I should have, in retrospect. I didn't learn very many facts, in other words, and that's my own fault. However, the experience of holding a buzzer in my hand and playing under stress was like money in the bank when it came to handling the pressure of being on the show. In a way the pressure of J! is less than that of QB, because if you screw up in QB you let your teammates down.

The closest QB format to J! was CBI, but that has ceased to exist.

[kristinsausville]

I played in high school and college, and I think that quiz bowl experience definitely helps as far as building a knowledge base -- but only if you can break yourself of the habit of ringing in as soon as you know the answer. Not everyone has been able to shake that particular habit.

[Winchell Factor]

I played in high school and college, and I think that quiz bowl experience definitely helps as far as building a knowledge base -- but only if you can break yourself of the habit of ringing in as soon as you know the answer. Not everyone has been able to shake that particular habit.

Oh, a quiz bowler, great.

[Austin Powers]

Wouldn't know!

[Khaleesi1287]

I think that is comforting... I am not a former quiz bowl-er so I am seeing if the rest of us lesser nerds have a chance on the show. No thoughts about why it's a question on the application though?

[squizzle]

As a somewhat-active-but-not-really-that-great quiz bowl player when I was in high school, I think that (at least for me) the biggest thing quiz bowl did for my Jeopardy! game was to increase my knowledge of Pavlovian responses. Quiz bowl is a lot of waiting around for a big TOM and then buzzing in, so you have to make sure you know your Pavlovs extremely well.

[DBear]

I would definitely say yes. I learned certain little facts that are helpful on J! that I probably wouldn't have learned anywhere else, such as the three orders of Greek columns or King Lear's three daughters.

[SweepingDeveloper]

I would say only if you really pay attention and make that information stick. I'm saying this because while I was in quiz bowl all four years of high school, I was more of a groupie than anything.

[Sherm]

I definitely think that quiz bowl experience helps in the teen and college tournaments. On the regular show it can really go either way. Roger Craig, Joon Pahk, Vik Vaz, David Madden, and Jason Keller were all successful. Jeff Hoppes, Raj Dhuwalia, Julie Singer, Susan Ferrari, and Chris Borglum weren't. A lot of it is just luck.

Just luck. Jule Singer in one game looked every bit the person who could be a ToC player. Game two she has the highest game coryat of the three contestants, but she runs into this nut that is willing to go all in on a $2000 daily double clue about half way through final jeopardy. You have to wonder how well she would have done if she didn't play against Arthur Chu in her second game.

[Winchell Factor]

I would definitely say yes. I learned certain little facts that are helpful on J! that I probably wouldn't have learned anywhere else, such as the three orders of Greek columns or King Lear's three daughters.

I'm afraid this is going to sound disdainful--and if it does, I apologize, because I really don't mean for it to--but I'm surprised you'd say "that I probably wouldn't have learned anywhere else." I learned Doric, Ionic and Corinthian columns in middle-school Ancient History, and Regan, Goneril and Cordelia in high school (although I didn't actually read King Lear until I was in college).

Of course, I am old, and I have a dead-white-men-intensive education that is stodgy, even for a man of my age.

[Fleeboy]

I definitely think that quiz bowl experience helps in the teen and college tournaments. On the regular show it can really go either way. Roger Craig, Joon Pahk, Vik Vaz, David Madden, and Jason Keller were all successful. Jeff Hoppes, Raj Dhuwalia, Julie Singer, Susan Ferrari, and Chris Borglum weren't. A lot of it is just luck.

I can say that it also depends upon how long it has been since you were playing quiz bowl, and if you kept up with your trivia powers since. Like any skill, you need to work on the rapid recall, clue solving, and buzzer timing for Jeopardy! success.

I played quiz bowl in the late 90's at Penn State and regularly saw both Roger Craig and Julie Singer at tournaments. Both were formidable opponents, although nice to play against. I was a middle-of-the-pack player who enjoyed the game, but didn't let it keep me from my studies.

Julie Singer was a deep knowledge player at the college level, and from her interviews when she appeared on the show, it sounded like she had moved away from the trivia world. Roger was both a really nice guy, as well as someone who could go with shallow fast style information including "trash" (e.g. more Jeopardy! style) as well as the deeper academic canon. That may have worked to his advantage later on Jeopardy!

As far as my own 3rd place Jeopardy! finish: my timing was a little slower than my two opponents on game day, despite having more recent practice. My husband built a home buzzer system for training purposes, and really geeky nights in. However, I also was surprised I didn't drop dead of an aneurysm on set. So nerves are another layer to add to the experience beyond quiz bowl. Like all things, it depends on the boards, as well as where you are at in life.

I faced one of your Penn State teammates, Cathy Vrentas, who was still in college at the time. She struggled with the buzzer, so much so that the game was stopped after only 10 clues so the CCs could work with her. Cathy found her rhythm late in the game and would have won with a correct FJ response.

[BigDaddyMatty]

I would definitely say yes. I learned certain little facts that are helpful on J! that I probably wouldn't have learned anywhere else, such as the three orders of Greek columns or King Lear's three daughters.

I'm afraid this is going to sound disdainful--and if it does, I apologize, because I really don't mean for it to--but I'm surprised you'd say "that I probably wouldn't have learned anywhere else." I learned Doric, Ionic and Corinthian columns in middle-school Ancient History, and Regan, Goneril and Cordelia in high school (although I didn't actually read King Lear until I was in college).

Of course, I am old, and I have a dead-white-men-intensive education that is stodgy, even for a man of my age.

See, and here I was thinking "I learned both of those from watching J!"

[Leander]

I would definitely say yes. I learned certain little facts that are helpful on J! that I probably wouldn't have learned anywhere else, such as the three orders of Greek columns or King Lear's three daughters.

I'm afraid this is going to sound disdainful--and if it does, I apologize, because I really don't mean for it to--but I'm surprised you'd say "that I probably wouldn't have learned anywhere else." I learned Doric, Ionic and Corinthian columns in middle-school Ancient History, and Regan, Goneril and Cordelia in high school (although I didn't actually read King Lear until I was in college).

Of course, I am old, and I have a dead-white-men-intensive education that is stodgy, even for a man of my age.

Sounds like we both went to the same school!

[Lampy]

I would definitely say yes. I learned certain little facts that are helpful on J! that I probably wouldn't have learned anywhere else, such as the three orders of Greek columns or King Lear's three daughters.

I'm afraid this is going to sound disdainful--and if it does, I apologize, because I really don't mean for it to--but I'm surprised you'd say "that I probably wouldn't have learned anywhere else." I learned Doric, Ionic and Corinthian columns in middle-school Ancient History, and Regan, Goneril and Cordelia in high school (although I didn't actually read King Lear until I was in college).

Of course, I am old, and I have a dead-white-men-intensive education that is stodgy, even for a man of my age.

There's a big difference between "learned it" and "had some incentive/reminder to remember it," which quizbowl provides for all kinds of different facts. Even the QBers who lost certainly weren't HURT by their experience. Yeah, it's a big bonus. It is not a unique and special bonus, though.