The Iowa Quiz Bowl League is getting ready to host the annual Iowa Quiz Bowl Championships.
The free event will take place at Waukee Northwest High School this Saturday at 9 a.m.
Jay Winter, the CEO and founder of the Iowa Quiz Bowl League, said quiz bowl is similar to a popular game show, but with an academic bent.
"So many people who watch 'Jeopardy!' will get like the occasional word puzzle category where they do the anagrams and words or they might do some more popular culture questions," Winter said. "And some other things that are more trivial knowledge. Our particular competition is focused strictly on academic things that students learn in the classroom day in day out, or in a lot of cases they learn it on their own."
Winter said 34 teams from more than 20 schools across Iowa entered Saturday's competition.
Waukee High School returns to defend last year’s title and seek their sixth championship, the group said.
Winter said his group is the only type of organization that does any quiz bowl activity on a statewide level. Before he moved to Iowa in 2014, no one was doing quiz bowl on a statewide level, Winter claims.
The Iowa Quiz Bowl League has hosted tournaments for last eight years.
In addition to crowning champions at the end of the tournament, the organization will also designate 12 players as Iowa All-State Players for 2022-23. There's also a tribute to graduating seniors, Large School Coach of the Year and the Ann Cox Small School Coach.
The Iowa Farm Bureau is the presenting sponsor of the event, covering the cost of the event. The rest is paid by entry fees from schools.