Knowledge Bowl

General

Knowledge bowl is a fast-paced academic competition akin to quiz bowl. Teams of four try to answer as many questions in the written round and successive oral rounds as possible. However, unlike quiz bowl, knowledge bowl is a more teamwork-oriented activity, with teams allowed to confer on each question for 15 seconds, and no recognition given for individual achievement.

Knowledge Bowl in Minnesota

History

Knowledge bowl was started by the Lakes Country Service Cooperative of Fergus Falls, MN, in 1979. The first season featured teams from only eight school districts in western Minnesota. Today, knowledge bowl has grown to include over 700 teams from across the state.

Meet Format

Although there is some variation from region to region, most knowledge bowl meets follow the same general format. First is the written round. The written round (WR) consists of usually 60 multiple-choice questions with five possible answers listed. In the written round, all five members of the team may confer throughout the duration of the round.

However, in the oral rounds (OR), only four team members are allowed to participate. Thus, if a team has five members, one must sit out during the oral round. Oral rounds consist of three sets of 15 questions, 45 in total. Some regions play four oral rounds in a meet, others five. Oral rounds feature three teams in one room competing against each other for points. Teams may buzz in at any point during the question, however they must then answer with whatever information has been given them. If a team buzzes in before the question is read in its entirety, the reader will reread the question for the other team(s).

Some regions randomly assign teams to play each other over the course of a meet, while others use "power ranking". Power ranking is simply the process whereby the top three teams are placed together in one room, the next three in another, and so on. While not all regions use the power ranking method, it is used in the Minnesota Service Cooperatives' State Knowledge Bowl Meet.

Postseason

All the regions throughout Minnesota utilize various postseason formats to select the teams that will represent their region at the state meet. Following the completion of the regular season, the region hosts a sub-regional tournament. In some regions, teams have to qualify by finishing high enough in the standings, while in others, all the teams in the region qualify for Sub-Regions. Following Sub-Regions, a certain number of teams advance to Regions. In some regions, the top teams receive a bye through Sub-Regions straight to Regions, while in others, every team has to qualify through Sub-Regions. At Regions, teams compete for that region's alotted number of State berths.

The 48 teams that qualify for State are ordered by enrollment and then evenly divided, with the larger 24 in Class AA, and the smaller 24 in Class A. All schools from the Metro Region (XI) are automatically placed in Class AA. If one private school qualifies, it is automatically placed in Class AA, regardless of size. If two private schools qualify, the larger is placed in Class AA, and the smaller in Class A. If three private schools qualify, the larger two are placed in Class AA, and the smallest is placed in Class A, and so on. The State meet is held in the middle of April at Cragun's Resort in Brainerd.

Regions

These are the ten/eleven regions throughout the state of Minnesota, and the city in which they are headquartered:

Northwest (I/II)*, Thief River Falls; Northeast (III), Mountain Iron; Lakes Country (IV), Fergus Falls; North Central (V), Staples; West Central/Southwest (VI/VIII)**, Marshall; Central (VII), St. Cloud; South Central (IX), North Mankato; Southeast (X), Rochester; Metro (XI), St. Paul.

*-While the Northwest Region is designated Regions I & II, it is essentially one region, with all the teams from Northwest Minnesota participating in it. **-While the West Central and Southwest Regions are both headquartered in Marshall and operated under the same auspices, they are essentially separate regions in which teams from their respective region participate apart from teams in the other region.