The Ethics Bowl team lost the central divisional playoffs on Feb. 17 and will not be advancing to nationals this year. While the regional competition, which they won, was a six-round, in-person tournament, the divisional playoffs were a single match over Zoom on Feb. 18 against Rock Bridge High School of Columbia, Missouri.

Valkyrie Laurence, a junior who’s been a member of the club for three years, greatly enjoys the collaborative discussion environment of the club beyond the competition aspect. But with the latest competition being online, she felt that it was harder for the team to build up as much excitement.

“Without enthusiasm, it’s like a chore, and I think divisional playoffs felt a bit more like a chore in that way because it was done over Zoom rather than in person,” Valkyrie said. 

According to Valkyrie, the team they went up against was talented and there were places that the U-High team could have pushed harder — but the competition felt a bit like a coin toss, as judging is somewhat arbitrary and they only had one round.

As the Ethics Bowl team looks to the future, they hope to foster an environment for effective discussion that lasts.

“We want to create a legacy where Ethics Bowl can be something that is not just a one-off where we won regionals once,” Valkyrie said, “but a thing that keeps happening and where we can teach people, and we can teach them to teach people and just continue on.”