Belmont High sophomore Andrew Gao ranked 16th out of 250 at a national quiz bowl tournament held in Rosemont, Illinois.
Students from across the continental U.S. and Guatemala competed in the National Academic Quiz Tournaments’ Individual Player National Championship, testing their knowledge of science, math, history, literature, mythology, geography, social science, current events, sports, and popular culture.
Gao, who has been participating in national quiz bowl tournaments since he was in the seventh grade, said the tournament marked a new record for him.
“It’s the best performance so far for me,” he said.
Participants compete in five rounds, followed by a final elimination round, to determine their ranking. In each game, about 10 players race to answer trivia questions based on clues that start at a high difficulty level and get easier over time.
Gao scored first place in two of the afternoon rounds, propelling him to 16th overall.
A Love of Learning
Gao was first introduced to quiz bowl tournaments by his older sibling Cindy, who participated in the quiz bowl club when Gao was in middle school.
“Ever since, I’ve just really loved the game, and I’ve been continuing,” he said.
Gao said he appreciates the opportunity the tournaments give him to deepen his knowledge in a variety of subjects.
“It encourages you to go further than just what school teaches you,” he said. “The idea is, you learn more of the hard clues so you could buzz in faster and beat other people to the question.”
Although it’s difficult to choose, he said, Gao’s favorite quiz bowl category is literature because he enjoys reading short stories and poems.
He also said that without the quiz bowl team, he might not have discovered certain academic interests.
“I really don’t think I would have been interested in poetry, or really some aspects of science, fine arts, [or] architecture,” he added.
Competing in quiz bowl tournaments also introduced him to “a really nice, tight-knit community who really care about each other.”
“We’re all sort of motivating each other to improve,” he said.
Leading the Next Generation
In addition to competing, Gao is one of the helpers for the middle school quiz bowl club.
This year, Belmont’s middle school team will be competing at the national level.
“My middle school team won the middle school National Championship tournament in 2023, so it means a lot to me,” he said.
Beth Manca, who coaches the high school club, said the high school helpers are stepping into leadership roles to lead the younger students.
“They set everything up, they teach the kids how to play, and it really is all thanks to them that there’s been so much success, I think,” she said.
She described them as “some of the most impressive students”—not only because of their content knowledge but because of their gifts as leaders and community-builders.
Welcoming Future Competitors
Manca said she would encourage any students who are interested in the club to stop by and try it out.
“This is just one of the best groups of people you’re ever going to meet in your lifetime, and you’re going to have fun,” she said.
She added that the club welcomes making mistakes as part of the learning process.
“[The student leaders] are very emphatic that you’re going to get some wrong; this is how you learn … and just listening and absorbing is good,” she said.
Gao said his advice to other students interested in the club would be to find an area they enjoy and dive deep into it.
“We’re always looking for people who are really specialized … especially, and I would say [in] science,” he added. “So my advice would be to just try [the club], get involved, stick at it, come to a lot of tournaments and learn a lot.”
Gao said he would like to thank Manca, the parents who support the club, his father, who attends his tournaments with him, and the entire club.
“They’re an amazing community. They always support each other,” he said.
Students who are interested in the club can reach out to quizbowl.bhs@gmail.com.
For Manca, simply watching the students work together helps assure her that this generation will thrive.
“Just come and look at these kids … they’re good,” she said. “They’re good.”
