On Jan. 28, the Black History Bowl team from Robinson returned to Middleton High School after taking home the first place trophy in the county-wide competition last year. The five juniors returned to the competition with more preparation and insight than they had last year, and with that added year of experience, they were feeling confident.
“After winning last year, I felt like this was a year we could really prove ourselves,” Lael Beal (’27) said, the team’s student captain said.”It feels just as important to win this year as it did last year.”
This added pressure didn’t ruffle them, though. Instead they worked harder, knowing that the competition this year was going to be much tougher. This mindset shaped how the team approached the season.
“We started preparing earlier and practiced more as a team. That way, we’re more cohesive,” Beal said.
Balancing their practice, however, isn’t an easy task. The team juggles schoolwork, sports, jobs, and other commitments on top of studying their facts. Beal thinks that people underestimate the effort that goes into the competition each year.
“The most challenging part is keeping up with everything. You’re constantly relearning material over and over, so it sticks in your mind. I feel like that’s very time consuming,” Beal said.
Despite the heavy workload, the captain believes that the Black History Bowl is very meaningful in the High School setting. Learning all their questions and topics helps the students learn more about the past, and become more informed.
Beal said that it “broadens our knowledge of history beyond what’s taught in our classes,” and that “knowledge is power.”
The team’s sponsor, Melissa Mousseau, a teacher at Robinson, says that she is lucky to have students who are so proactive about learning their materials for the competition. She became the sponsor three years ago, and she is grateful to have done so.
“The county wanted to have [the team], and I didn’t want to create more work for anybody else, so I decided to do it myself. And I’m lucky to have good kids who do all the work,” Ms. Mousseau said.
For the fourth year, the team is advancing to the county-wide competition, after placing top six out of eighteen teams during qualifiers. They’re happy that their hard work paid off, and although they’re still studying hard, they aren’t feeling too stressed about the next round of Jeopardy-style competitions.
“I think it’s just a point of pride. Like, we do well with this. We’re always in the finals. We’ve won it twice. We were runner up once, too. We’re good to go,” Mousseau said.
Each section is split between the four team members, with one alternate also learning a set of questions. The team members all have to pull their own weight in order to do well during their rounds.
“It really is a team thing. If someone doesn’t know their information, we’re missing that whole section. But I’m glad that we’re all doing our part, and putting in the work,” the team’s alternate, Sarah Williams (’27) said.
On Feb. 21, the team will compete in their final competition this year. They hope that their hard work will pay off, but they also know that the Black History Bowl is about more than trophies; it’s about knowledge and empathy, and a group of students honoring history.
