Quiz Bowl Championship Returns After COVID-19

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Basketball games, soccer matches, cheerleading tournaments -- the COVID-19 pandemic postponed or canceled plenty of events for high schoolers, but one is back in a big way -- the National Championship of Quiz Bowls.

CBS 2's Tim McNicholas met with two local teams that will compete and put them to the test.

When it comes to nationwide quiz tournaments, this is the big show for high schoolers. The event is usually in Atlanta, but last year the pandemic cancelled it altogether and this year more than 200 teams will compete virtually. 

Barrington and Buffalo Grove high schools both qualified, and both teams joined McNicholas for a Zoom interview along with their coaches. 

"I'm excited to go and I'm excited for everyone else to go and have some fun," one competitor said. 

"I think that both of us are going to make some deep runs," said another.

McNicholas took the time to quiz the teams and captured it on video. Both teams say they have honed their skills in the past year with virtual tournaments, including some vents based in other states that wouldn't have normally joined.

"Throughout the year we've learned so much playing all these tournaments and this has just been the culmination of all these tournaments so I'm really excited."

This weekend, they'll put those skills to the test for real. 

The tournament is scheduled this weekend, both Saturday and Sunday.