Are you plagued with a variety of seemingly useless trivia facts? Scholastic Scrimmage may be the place for you. This academic team challenges themselves by competing to see who can win the most points in an intense game of trivia.

The team is made up students ranging from freshmen to seniors. They practice in Mrs. Dottery’s room every Friday after school to prepare for tournaments all over the region.

“It’s fun and casual, and if you want to challenge yourself and learn more, it’s a great way to do so,” senior and team president Jake Stattel said.

Here’s how it works: the students form small teams of four or five people. They are asked a series of questions, ranging from naming the works of famous composers to complex chemistry formulas. If someone thinks they know the answer, they ring in on their buzzer, and if they’re correct, they receive points. The team that accumulates the most points wins.

“There’s the challenge of just knowing the information or not,” Stattel said, “but there’s also the challenge of strategy, how you answer and how quickly you answer.”

The team competes at several tournaments throughout the year. At their first tournament in November, the junior varsity team took second place. A part of the team also competes on television at the PBS 39 broadcast station in Bethlehem.

“The team is young and inexperienced, and this can be a problem at the different tournaments,” Scholastic Scrimmage coach Mrs. Beth Dottery said. “We know the answers, but things get difficult in terms of strategy.”

Despite working hard to overcome challenges, the team members agree that being on the team is an enjoyable and rewarding experience.

“The competition is pretty intense, but we have a lot of fun!” sophomore Daniel Qian said.

During the upcoming months, the team hopes to expand their knowledge and gain more experience.

“I’d like to participate in more tournaments, and in more different types of tournaments,” Mrs. Dottery said.  “We’ve increased the number in the past couple of years, but in the future we’d like to do more.”

If the Scholastic Scrimmage team sounds like a place for you, stop by room 209 for more information.