Texas Quiz Bowl Camp

Texas Quiz Bowl is pleased to invite you and your students to our annual Texas Quiz Bowl Camp.

Texas Quiz Bowl Camp began with a group of 32 students in 2009 and last year had almost 200. Every year the students have a blast. The staffers have a lot of fun too, but we are always a bit more tired than the students.

We have had a great record of helping develop highly successful quiz bowl players. Players from the last three MSNCT champions (Harmony, Kealing, Middlesex) have been campers. A couple of years ago, TQBA campers powered three Texas teams (LASA A, St. John’s, and LASA B) to an unprecedented single state 1-2-3 finish at HSNCT.

Campers arrive on a Sunday around noon and depart the next Saturday. Each day campers go through a 6 period day with sections for study skills, tossups, bonuses, lecture, and strategy. Students have the option of requesting an additional course (at extra cost) instead of a break.

Each night students are assigned to teams and play in five games against teams of similar skill. Students can move up or down in skill levels as the night’s progress. Our mission is to give every student an appropriately challenging (but not too challenging) quiz bowl experience. Some of our middle school questions are written specifically for the event by our staffers.

In addition to our standard group of student sessions, we also provide sessions for coaches. These sessions will be staffed by top coaches from Texas and typically covers study skills, practice procedures, team selection, strategy, building a bigger and better program, and more. Our staffers will also take any questions you have if there is some other topic you would like to discuss.We also would be happy to provide documentation of your time at camp if you would like it to count for professional development credit in your district.

Students are provided with two meals daily. There are a number of options for students who are vegetarian or vegan. If a student has a particular food need or allergy, they can let me know and we can work out arrangements. We have the opportunity to talk with the head chef of the cafe if necessary. Although breakfast is not formally provided students will be able to purchase their own breakfast either from the cafe or a quick mart located near the cafe. Students are also encouraged to bring their own breakfast and/or snacks. Portable refrigerator rentals are available from UTD.

The cornerstone of our quiz bowl camp is our classes. Each year we host a wide array of classes of which each student takes at least two. The classes are themed. Each day the students will work through tossup questions on some category of questions. For example in an American History course a day might focus on presidents. A staff member will guide students through the tossup questions in a packet and discuss the clues, their order, and how to understand what is being asked. At the end of the class each student is given a copy of the day’s questions.

In addition to knowledge, our quiz bowl camp also focussed on more subtle aspects of academic competitions. We have sessions that focus on buzzing etiquette, bonus collaboration efficiency, study techniques, and more. We also open a session to general questions where the students can ask anything they wish about quiz bowl.

Each student leaves camp with at least 150 pages of study materials. In addition, we have extra study guides available with camp registration.

Twice daily all students are given time to enjoy typical summer recreation activities. This year we will have basketball, swimming, soccer, ultimate frisbee, billards, and board games available. All students are strictly supervised during recreation periods.

Our camp is staffed by professionals, college students, and advanced high school students. All staffers are background checked and trained by TQBA. The student to staff ratio will be approximately 6:1.

Included with the price of registration each camper will get a binder with study materials, a pen, a pencil, a highlighter, a t-shirt, two daily meals (lunch and dinner), two daily courses, five quiz bowl matches, and other sessions.

Any questions can be sent via email to tqbacamp-at-gmail-dot-com