Woodward, Okla. — Academic Bowl doesn't always garner as much attention as some other activities, but it is just as challenging as any of them.

Most area schools compete in academic bowl.

When the schools compete in a bowl or triad (3 teams compete in each match) they are asked questions that can range from current events, all subjects in school, sports, music and even movies.

Many of the area schools are attending their first contest this weekend in Turpin.  

However, 2 other schools got in some early competition as Seiling and Vici recently held a dual against each other with Seiling winning all 4 matches.

Seiling coach, Helen Sander said that her team practices at 7:30 a.m. twice a week.

"I have all boys but 1 on the team and most of them are athletes. So when they are not in the weight room, they are studying," Sander said.

Vici coach Janet Foutch says that her 8-member team practices for an hour every Wednesday morning and many of them work on their own by looking at study guides and different Internet sites as well.

Laverne coach Tina O'Neal said that she was impressed by how smart her students are.

"We will compete for the first time this weekend in Turpin and when I gave them the tryout test, I was blown away by their results," O'Neal said.

This is O'Neal's first year coaching the team and said that they will be hosting a triad on Oct. 6.

Being one of the smallest schools in the area, Fort Supply only has 6 students on its team, according to Coach Garrett Eaton.

"Many of my players are basketball players so when that starts we will have to find a new time to practice," Eaton said about their current Wednesday practice schedule.

He said that he only has 1 student that competed last year and the rest are new to the whole experience.

"With only having 25 students in the high school, I am happy with our numbers and it should give everyone a chance to get some experience," Eaton said.

Shattuck coach Kylee Crocker said they will have their first meet this weekend in Turpin and that this is her first year as coach.

"I am very excited to take these kids to their first meet of the year. They are a wonderful group of kids and I know they will do great," Crocker said.

Woodward coach JoLynn Love said that even with her young team, she feels confident that they will have a successful season.

"I have new students that have moved in and are quick thinkers and responders," Love said.

She said they have 14 students competing this year and they practice on Thursday afternoons where they set up the buzzers and do drills like they are at an actual triad.

"We do drills with toss up questions in any subject area and speed rounds where the team has 60 seconds to answer 10 questions," Love said.

Woodward's first competition will be at the district seeding on Oct. 15.

Terri Hopper, coach for Sharon-Mutual, is very proud of her young team.

"We have 10 on our team, with lots of potential for growth," Hopper said.

Sharon-Mutual competed recently at Canton where they won 1 of 3 matches, their next contest will be during the district contest on Oct. 15.

Buffalo coach Anita Cosby, said that to save money with travel expenses, their team competes online.

"We have 10 to 15 kids that will compete in all subjects," Cosby said.

She said that the kids have a time limit and must work as a team on the Smartboard to answer the questions.

"We will start our testing in December and compete through February," she said.

"We started this last year because many of our students are involved in sports and would miss competitions because of games on Saturdays," Cosby said.



Here are some of the area schools and their academic bowl team members.

Fort Supply Class A

Zachary Wright; Krisslyn Wreath; Devin Peck; Trey Nester; Corey Wright; Braxton Kornele

Woodward Class 4A

Alec Camacho; Hunter Deckelman; Jesse Fishinghawk; Madeline Gunter; Travis Howell; Alexandra Moore; Drew Piercy; Lauren Quinby; Rachel Reardon; Samantha Ruttman; Kody Shoff; Shane Standerfer; Macy Turnbo; Brianna Wallace

Laverne Class 2A

Corissa Blackwell; Josh McGuire; Lindsey Brown; Ansley Black; JC Wells; Andy Dominguez; Neal Freeman; Mason Overstreet

Vici Class A

Connor Cunningham; Katelyn Cutsinger; Madison Evans; Austin Ladd; Kelton Nance; Blair Peoples; Aspen Cook; Emily Hill

Shattuck Class A

Brianna Wichey; Raveena Bhakta; Noemi Roman; Chance Spicer; Paige Gosney; Marissa Galindo; Stetson Purgason

Sharon-Mutual Class A

Gilbert Hutchinson; Megan Kirkendall; Serik Taylor; Olivia Little; Megan Phillips; Tiffany Heatwole; Morgan Phillips; Taylor Harris; Katelyn Steadman; Jerika Halley