How it all came about

AAJA-LA Trivia Bowl emcee David Ono(Photo credit: Steven Lam for AAJA-LA)

Trivia Bowl is the signature fundraiser of the Asian American Journalists Association, Los Angeles Chapter. Since 1994, proceeds from the event have supported the chapter’s scholarship, internship and professional development programs.

This event originally was created as a low-budget, low-tech local fundraiser, run by volunteers. It soon exploded into a popular “fun-raising” experience with journalists, media groups, corporate sponsors, community partners and students competing against each other for the champion Rice Cup Trophy.

The inaugural competition took place at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo. It was the brainchild of Dickson Louie, then AAJA-LA treasurer. Ten teams entered, and the chapter was thrilled when the event brought in $2,200.

Trivia Bowl became an annual event under chapter president Richard Fruto and Yet Lock, then executive vice president of City News Service and one of the founders of East West Players. Throughout the late 1990s, the competition continued in the community meeting room at the JACCC, drawing as few as five teams in Trivia Bowl III but 8-11 teams most years. Mario Machado was the emcee for these “ancient games.” The scoreboard was a flip chalkboard. One year, the competition was held during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in a ballroom at a downtown hotel.

The event, game and “fun-raising” evolved from its humble beginnings at the JACCC. In 2001, Trivia Bowl expanded tremendously under the direction of Denise L. Poon, then chapter President, to mark AAJA’s 20th Anniversary. In honor of the special occasion, there was added emphasis on increased community participation and sponsorship. The event more than tripled, when 43 teams competed in Trivia Bowl VII, hosted by ABC7.

Trivia Bowl Commissioner and founder of the “modern games”: Denise L. Poon

That year, TBVII took place a little over two weeks after 9/11. Concerns about general safety, especially with a room of high profile people in a major broadcast facility, resulted in increased security precautions for the nearly 500 guests. The event was successful and great focal point for the community to gather to note AAJA’s second decade.

Following the previous year’s extensive effort, Trivia Bowl moved to the beautiful Japanese American National Museum in 2002, where it has been held over five times. Approximately 22 teams have capacity-filled the marble George & Sakaye Aratani Central Hall.

In 2011 journalism college students were invited to compete in the College Bowl, within Trivia Bowl. A year later in 2012, the Spirit Award was established and is given to the team that demonstrates the ideals of Trivia Bowl with their enthusiasm for the game and support of AAJA-LA.

DreamWorks Animation hosted Trivia Bowl’s 20th Anniversary with special guest, Kung Fu Panda, on their studio campus in 2015.

In 2023, we return to ABC7, Studio B for the fifth time, to celebrateTrivia Bowl’s 25th Anniversary. See you at the Bowl and ‘Let the Games Begin!’

Modern Games

The “modern games” have evolved in many ways. ABC7 news anchor David Ono took over emcee duties from Machado. Ono’s trademark routine since 2000 includes his natural quick wit and humor.

Gone are the chalk and blackboard originally used for score keeping and team placement. Scorekeepers now use laptops with digital spreadsheet and scores projected on a big screen.

Trivia Bowl Co-Commissioner and 2013 AAJA-LA chapter co-President: Henry Fuhrmann

“Real” Bench Officials— current sitting Judges and Commissioners from the Los Angeles and Orange County superior courts and U.S. District Court review the answer sheets and officiate the competition results. They also vote on the Spirit Award.

The event has been generously catered with hosted food and beverage donations by giants including Wahoo’s Fish Taco, Coca-Cola and Panda Express.

Teams have 10 players. Members of each team collectively fill out an answer sheet during different trivia rounds. No team has ever achieved 100% correct answers.

The competition is frenzied. Participants whisper answers excitedly. Participants groan when the emcee reads a question on arcane matter, or something they should know.

The whispered answers and discussions at team tables while a round is in progress are replaced with roars of acclamation or moans of frustration when the emcee of reads the right answers after the answer sheets are collected and scored. Months after the competition, participants will sometimes still hash out what happened.

2019 marked the third year in a row that Trivia Bowl was held at the Nishi Hongwanji Temple in Los Angeles Little Tokyo, with 30+ teams. During the Pandemic, Trivia Bowl was hosted virtually in 2020, 2021 and 2022. The online version was a successful adaptive pivot that continued the exuberant spirit and affection for the event and included many AAJA-LA journalists, community members and supporters outside of Los Angeles and worldwide in different time zones.

In 2023, Trivia Bowl returns in person. As the journalism clichés go…”Stay tuned and read the fine print.” Game on!

A little bit of healthy competition

Over the two decades of Trivia Bowl history, stories, some apocryphal, have developed about the competitive nature of the event.

2012: Frank Buckley enthusiastically cheers on Team KTLA.(Photo credit: Michael Palma for AAJA-LA)

Did someone in the “ancient” games really use a cell phone to call their work research library for an answer? Did one team actually sabotage the complimentary pens from other tables so the competing team players would not have anything to write with and fill their answer sheets? How often has a team had an answer mouthed from a sympathetic spectator? How often has a team pretended to shout out loud the wrong answer in order to mislead the competition?

The rules have also evolved to prevent any team from having an unfair advantage over others. Thus, the ban on any type of communication between team tables and spectators, the use of any PDAs, cell phones, online or satellite access during a round, and any sort of unapproved printed materials at team tables. Game monitors have become strict to the point that teams cannot bring their own scratch paper and must use only those approved by the International Trivia Bowl Federation Organizing Committee.

Indeed, officials scrutinize anything that can give a team an unfair advantage in a competition that is often decided by 2-3 points.

Every year, teams are seduced by the glory of year-long championship bragging rights and the honor of having their name engraved on the Rice Cup. City News Service won Trivia Bowl I and Trivia Bowl V, and Daily News won consecutive years–Trivia Bowl II and III. NBC4 in 2004 became the first and still, only television broadcast team to win Trivia Bowl X.

To the chagrin of all journalists, in the “modern games,” teams primarily consisting of attorneys and said to be stacked with Quiz Bowl competitors, have dominated the event 12 times.

Always a strong supporter of the event, The Los Angeles Times, while at one point deemed the heartbreak kids of Trivia Bowl, when one year they placed an entire round of correct answers on the incorrect answer sheet line. In 2015, they clinched a win at Trivia Bowl XX, the beginning of a four-time winning streak.

Who will take home the Rice Cup trophy this year?