How to Prepare for Your First Knowledge Bowl Competition

How To Prepare

The first Knowledge Bowl competition can certainly be a daunting one, especially for teams who have never participated in an academic competition before. This article serves as a guide to keeping your cool on the day of and preparing for the day before your Knowledge Bowl meets for optimal results.

Stay Relaxed

One mistakes teams often make when they start their first Knowledge Bowl meet (or even in the days before) is to tense up and get too worried. Even in the state meet, it’s important to remain calm. Your brain will not have as good of recall when you are stressed out, and you may negatively affect your teammates with a bad attitude.

Bond With Your Teammates

It doesn’t sound very productive, but getting close with your teammates can actually be very valuable when you want optimal performance. One way to do this is to play a board game or other tabletop game that everyone can participate in the day of or before the meet. By bringing everyone closer together, team members will feel more comfortable giving out answers that may be wrong and communication will improve.

Review - But Not Too Much

Some players will try to cram information into their head in the days surrounding the meet. However, this most often leads to a more stressful meet and, counterintuitively, a less successful one. The simplest thing to do is to go over some flashcards or review a minimal amount of important information that you think will come in handy during the meet, but no more than you think you could remember. You’d be surprised about the little coincidences that come up if you just study a little bit. A single flashcard could be the thing that pulls you from second place to first in a tight meet.