Hawaii Quiz Bowl

[Great Bustard]

Another weekend, another Pacific island landmass claimed for quizbowl. We had 6 teams at the inaugural Hawaii History Bee and Bowl today, and though I was worried for a bit that I'd be able to pull this off, it not only went great, but this is, like Greg's Alaska trip, going to be the start of great things to come.
Of the 6 teams, 4 were from Iolani, the host school, and one of the top schools out here. The other two consisted of four intrepid students from the poorest town on Oahu and one internet-schooled 7th grader (the reigning state Geo Bee champ) who came in from Kauai, played on his own, went 2-3, and destroyed any question having the least bit to do with geography. Iolani seems very likely to send two teams to our Nationals, and everyone wanted to know more about quizbowl. I gave them what is by now becoming a rather routine crash course in Quizbowl 101. They want more. So, not sure who else might think being given a lei at the start of the day, then directing a quizbowl tournament on Hawaii, and swimming at Waikiki in the evening sounds like fun. Buehler? Anyone, Buehler?
But if anyone wants to make the trip (preferably someone skilled at making sure teams new to qb have fun), let me know and I'll help you out. I should also note that the lack of teams was not due to lack of interest from other schools - this date was really bad (though it was the only Saturday that would have worked for me for various reasons). We now have contacts at about 10 schools who expressed interest, and next year, when we schedule this in Jan. or Feb. (i.e. 2013), we should get at least 12-14 teams. In the meantime, everyone, for the good of the game, please, when you see teams from Guam, Hawaii, Alaska, and possibly Asia and Europe at our Nationals, be as welcoming to them as possible and try and help them and us get quizbowl established in these far-flung regions. There was already talk of setting up a quizbowl (all subject) tournament at Iolani at some point in the spring. Note: there is talent out here and a number of well-endowed excellent schools. Once the teams keep improving, there will be a tournament on Hawaii for all worth traveling to.
And as Greg would say, that does not suck.
Finally, during the break, I'm going to have my webmaster create state sites for NJ, NM, AK, HI, and the Marianas. We can use one template, so this shouldn't be hard. These will be simple at the start, but state (and territorial) websites are needed for all these places. NHBB: Until the Dogon and Tuareg play slapbowl. And you know I am already thinking of reaching out to Peace Corps volunteers to make that happen. Just wait until NHBB Timbuktu. It will happen this decade. You can bet all of Mansa Musa's gold on it.

[Great Bustard]

Photos from above: https://picasaweb.google.com/historyedu ... ndBowl2011

[MahoningQuizBowler]

The next Hawai'ian History Bowl will be on February 9.

[Great Bustard]

The next Hawai'ian History Bowl will be on February 9.

So this happened today. We had 12 teams total; 6 Varsity, 4 JV, 2 Middle School. Iolani had 4 Varsity, 4 JV, and 1 middle school; Kapolei and Island Pacific rounded out the Varsity with Kalakaua Middle School being the 12th team. During the bee, two students from Hanalani Middle School joined us. Iolani A went 5-0, 1890 pts in the prelims and won their two playoff matches pretty easily to win the Varsity. Iolani F won over Iolani E in the JV final, while Iolani's middle school team (actually, just 1 student playing solo) won their 3 matches over Kalakaua and was declared winner there. Ken-Ben Chao from Iolani 39ed the Bee prelims in the Varsity and took the Varsity Bee title. Kento from Iolani won JV Bee; the two Hanalani students, Aidan and Chad, were the top 2 in the Middle School Bee, with Aidan winning in the final.
A great time was had by all; I talked up the planned NAQT tournament out here in the spring too. Iolani's students are super enthusiastic, very well-organized, and getting better and better. Island Pacific went 3-2 and expressed interest in hosting a second NHBB tournament for us in the 2013-14 school year. Iolani will be back in force at Nationals; Island Pacific was considering it. Big thanks to John Bickel from Iolani with all his help with the arrangements, and to Jeffrey Bingham Mead of History Education Hawaii for his help in outreach, including some TV reports this evening on the tournament. Thanks to all readers and players who came for a great day of competition; off to Guam on Tuesday for Guam Bowl II: The Marianas Trench Invitational next Saturday.

[Great Bustard]

Also, lots of great photos, courtesy of Professor Mead: https://picasaweb.google.com/historyedu ... ndBowl2013

[njsbling]

How likely is it looking that there will be an NAQT state championship tournament in Hawaii this Spring?

[Great Bustard]

NHBB just held its 4th annual Oahu History Bee and Bowl yesterday at 'Iolani School in Honolulu. Punahou and Pearl City were also attendance, with 11 teams competing. Iolani swept the Bee and Bowl titles (their Varsity A Team is one of the top 10-15 teams in the country this year for NHBB) though Punahou JV also qualified for Nationals and expressed interest in coming, while a Pearl City student scored an 84 (one of the top scores so far in the country this year) on the US History Bee Exam.
Iolani's team is trying to organize an all-subject quizbowl tournament in the March-April window, but they need all the help they can get. We'll certainly promote it through our network of the 10 or so schools who have competed at NHBB Hawaii tournaments, but if anyone else can lend a hand through contacts or other efforts, please contact me, and I'll forward it on to the Iolani team members. The next NHBB tournament in Hawaii will likely be on February 21 or 28 and will be announced shortly. Next year, we anticipate trying to organize on Maui and the Big Island as well.

[Important Bird Area]

NAQT's inaugural Hawaii tournament was held on Saturday. Congratulations to Iolani A, who earned the reserved berth to represent Hawaii at the 2015 HSNCT! Stats are here.

[coldstonesteveaustin]

Er, why did the Iolani teams do a two game final instead of a one game final? It doesn't seem like Iolani A had any particular advantage over Iolani B in win-loss record.

EDIT: Actually, Punahou had the same prelim record, why wasn't this circle of death resolved the usual way of 2 vs 3 and winner plays 1?

[AKKOLADE]

Er, why did the Iolani teams do a two game final instead of a one game final? It doesn't seem like Iolani A had any particular advantage over Iolani B in win-loss record.

EDIT: Actually, Punahou had the same prelim record, why wasn't this circle of death resolved the usual way of 2 vs 3 and winner plays 1?

Let's keep it in perspective: this is the first quiz bowl tournament on pyramidal questions in Hawaii's history.