- Lynbrook’s Japan Bowl Level III and IV teams placed first and Level II placed second at the 33rd annual National Japan Bowl on April 5.
- Japan Bowl consists of three written preliminary rounds and one championship buzzer round.
- The Level IV team members mentor the other teams when preparing for the competition.
As the 33rd annual National Japan Bowl came to an end on April 5, Lynbrook’s Japan Bowl teams placed first overall, celebrating their greatest performance to date. All three teams placed exceptionally well, with the Level III and IV teams coming first, earning them the title of national champions, and the Level II team coming second.
“We were very happy and also very loud,” junior and Level IV team member Isaiah Sit said. “It’s a big thing. We were running up and down the stairs in the building.”
Japan Bowl is an annual Japanese knowledge competition for high schoolers where contestants compete in teams of three. Different levels range from Level II to Level IV, corresponding to the difficulty levels of high school Japanese language classes. They test their knowledge on language, culture, historical events and society. This year, the Japan-America Society in Washington, D.C. decided to emphasize haiku, Taisho to Heisei eras, demographic trends and the Osaka prefecture.
Japan Bowl’s first half comprises three preliminary rounds, each with written tests, oral questions or images. The three teams that score the best in each level compete in a final buzzer round, where competitors answer questions in front of a live audience.
Because Lynbrook teams ran into obstacles while traveling, they were left with little time on the day of the competition to prepare.
“Our flight was four hours delayed,” junior and Level IV team member Andrew Kao said. “We got less time to prepare and sleep.”
Nonetheless, the teams were able to register in time and began their two-day journey. During the first day of the competition, all three teams made it through the first two preliminary rounds with ease. On the second day, the teams finished their third preliminary round, qualifying for the championship round.
“I’m a senior and I won last year, so this year I was more risky with my buzzing,” senior and Level III team member Seungwoo Kang said. “The results turned out good.”
Lynbrook collected victory after victory, ultimately landing them their record high placement in Lynbrook history. During the championship, Lynbrook’s Level III and IV teams had huge leads as well.
“After the competition, we all gather together,” adviser and Japanese teacher Jeremy Kitchen said. “No matter how things have gone, people share their appreciation and encouragement for each other.”
Each year in October, Kitchen hosts tryouts. When teams were selected this year, Kitchen worked with senior and student coach Claire Okamoto, who competed in previous years, to create a plan for how the teams would prepare for the competition. Okamoto helps host and organize larger weekly meetings with all teams, as well as smaller level-specific meetings focusing on language topics.
“It’s a lot of responsibility. If we do bad, there’s a good chance that we might’ve taught the other teams the wrong things,” Sit said. “So I felt a lot of pressure on me for the whole year.”
Following this year’s performance, the teams hope to maintain this success in years to come. Current Level IV members, having finished competing in high school, will help coach next year’s competitors.
“It’s special to see a group of students come together,” Kitchen said. “Students spend half a year working so closely together, and to really see all that work pay off is one of my favorite things.”
