My friends and I are planning to compete in a Regional History Bowl competition soon, and we just had a few questions about it. If anyone on here has been a part of the History Bowl, do you have any recommendations for study materials? Also, how hard is the competition usually, and how hard is it to make nationals?
We’ve been studying out of the AP World History and AP US History Practice Books so far to prep, among other things; are these books too vague, or is the detail enough?
This is the website for the competition I’m talking about, by the way.
http://www.historybowl.com/
Thanks so much in advance!
I know you posted this quite a while ago, though I thought I’d respond since I’ve been participating in History Bowl for over two years now. Protobowl is the single most efficient way for you to prepare, given the large array of questions and format that is very similar to an actual round. Visit protobowl.com to check it out. You can either play alone in a private room, online with other history junkies, or with your team or group of friends in a private room of your choice. My team used it liberally in the leadup to Nationals.
As for the level of competition, I think it all depends on where you are from and which region you are competing in. I’ve competed in the Pacific Northwest region, so I could only tell you about the competition there. Places such as the Bay Area, where Quiz Bowl saw its blossoming, and metropolitan areas like New York and Chicago are imaginably more difficult to win at the regional level, though I admit the competition in my region can be tough at times as well. Nationals is not too difficult to make, per se, though again it depends on the regional competition. My team made Nationals with a fair amount of competition, though not back-breaking competition. Given NHBB is in its early years, the criteria for making Nationals may become more strict eventually, though right now I find it rather attainable. How have you been doing, if you stuck with it?
I haven’t tried studying from an AP book, though I’m sure they give you a good overview. History Bowl can be highly specific, which is why my team and I apportion knowledge that we need to know by country or time period. That way, instead of each of us only having a large overview of most topics, we can specialize and cover most bases thoroughly. I’d recommend that approach, but solid overview books like the aforementioned AP books are always good tools as well.
I’d be happy to respond with any other information you need. I was a semi-finalist in the U.S. History Bee and my team finished in the top ten at Nationals, so again let me know if you want any more information or advice. Good luck!
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