Summer was long, but for the quarterfinalists of the International History Bee and Bowl (IHBB) Asian Championships, their three days of competition in Thailand was longer! Yet, this event marked perhaps the most exciting part of their last June at all. A total of 11 schools had converged from various parts of the world: such as Thailand, China, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, and of course fellow schools from the Philippines. Among them stood our very own Southville International School and Colleges (SISC), representing our nation with pride.
The competition was held in the JW Marriott Resort in Spa in Khao Lak, Thailand from June 17 to 18. It was the culmination of all qualifying regional rounds held throughout Asia, including the highly competitive History and Bee and Bowl of Manila held last April 29 in La Salle Greenhills, Mandaluyong City.
This September, I, a forever writer for The Mover, had the pleasure of interviewing the delegation of students who have represented us in this international competition since the quarantine years: Matthew Cabiles and Lim Hyeonseok (Jason) of the Basic Education Humanities and Social Sciences strand, and Allen Gimena of International Baccalaureate (IB). Personally, I knew the challenges that the triple threat, JAM (Jason Allen Matthew) went through just for Southville to join the said competition for the first time. So they, being the school’s delegation, truly were marking a huge milestone in Southville’s history. As Matthew quoted, they were “Three people wandering through a foreign land with the self-taught wits and knowledge to compete on the international stage.” That alone is enough to even closely imagine the amount of thrill, nervousness, and just plain individuality they felt all at the same time during their stay in Thailand. Especially when these three are first-time passengers on a plane for such academic purposes. Therefore, I wanted to capture their emotions in an article that is more than just a purely academic account, but also therapeutic in such a way.
Moving forward, the interview’s first question delved into the unique opportunity of competing abroad, asking, “A competition abroad is an opportunity that only comes by some of the time. How did you prepare yourself to compete in a foreign country?” Matthew answered first, sharing the intricacies of their preparation journey. Following the competition's Manila round, preparation for the Asian Championships began in full swing, remedying the only five days of training they had.
Recalling what happened in the Bee and Bowl of Manila, “[W]e were caught by surprise by just how speedy, knowledgeable, and responsive the other contestants were. I personally thought that we would not be able to make it through due to our limited number of answers, but alas, Allen, Jason, and I qualified for the Asian Championships in Thailand. We then [began training] for the Thailand round, the Asian Championships. This was right after UPCAT and finals week, so we had no time to rest after such challenging hurdles. Through all this, we made it to the quarterfinals of the International History Bowl Asian Championships.”
For Jason on the other hand, as a first-time competitor, mentioned that he had sought guidance from people with prior competition experience and referred to it. As for Allen, he brought up that it seemed as though everyone forgot that they were staying in a five-star hotel. “I went a week earlier with my mother to relax, eat, and go to the spa, just like a proper vacation. I started reviewing only a couple of days before, but honestly, that was just to improve my reaction time, because it is impossible to properly absorb that much history so close to the competition. The moment I landed, I went in with all that I already knew. The kind of history we know is not known by 'studying' . . . it is the mountain of information that we just know like the back of our hands, because of how fascinating we found our past to be; our entire lives.”
The next question centered on the strengths and weaknesses of the SISC team, and the three respondents shared their perspectives similarly but in truth. According to Jason, “I think the main weakness of SISC is that we did not have multiple teams compared to other schools, for instance, others had 3 to 4 teams instead of just one. But I do believe that SISC’s strength is that we still have a high potential for upcoming competitions.”
Allen agreed and emphasized being outnumbered. “Every team did have a full squad — four people — and most even had substitutes. It made us feel like we were up against the world. In all seriousness, the numerical disadvantage meant that we got way more fatigued than the other teams, because of how much pressure was put on each of us. The only team that we actually properly beat was the only team with only two people, the team from Dubai.” For their strengths, Allen also said, “Our strength I guess is that we all try to fill each other’s holes. Matthew is very, very concentrated on ancient history, which is very useful, but he can hesitate on more recent events. I have a more general knowledge of all history, but that really means I am dice-rolling on whether I even know the topic of the question. Jason, the third man, is more of our emergency man. Unfortunately, the language barrier reduces much of his power, like a lot of Koreans in our historical society. His extra body is vital for relieving pressure off of us two old men, and it's very useful when he comes in when Matthew and I are kaput.
It is funny, really, as Matthew and I are pretty much polar opposites as players. His more conservative mindset leads him to hesitate ever so slightly, which can cost you a lot, especially when the enemy is more confident in their answer. I, on the other hand, have an itchy trigger finger and I tend to fire too early, while Matthew had the answer in his head, but hesitated. As much as I would love to self-deprecate, It is kind of hard to tell who held back the team the most, so I like to just say we all tried our best in the end. I mean, we got a plaque! In the words of Matthew, sakto lang (just right).”
With all that being said, to close the question, let us keep in mind what Matthew said amidst his teammates’ responses, “We know each other not just as eager teammates but as great friends who will always have each other’s back.” Cheesy, but is that not all that matters? Despite being a small team, it was through their friendship and collaboration that they secured the quarterfinalist plaque.
As we approached the end of this engaging interview, the second to the last question surfaced, “World History is something that we will always have to learn and keep up with, what is the significance of History to you?” Matthew went on to say, “History makes us learn the most terrible mistakes of the people who came before us. It allows us to realize where exactly they went wrong, and what can we do to prevent another cataclysmic event from happening once more. History, and more broadly past mistakes, serve as our greatest teacher.” Now Allen’s answer took a different direction, he said “History was made by the decisions of man. How could I not appreciate the greatest, longest, most real story ever? The same topic of our passion that brought all of us to Phuket.”
Lastly, the final question to their glory, “Did teamwork get you into the quarterfinals or was it the combination of individual sets of skills?” Jason, Allen, and Matthew concurred that it was the dual tandem of teamwork and individual sets of skills. For Jason, he was not able to answer as many questions due to his difference in language, but he did add this “I am still grateful that we reached the quarterfinals even if we were only 3 people, and I see that as teamwork.” This just goes to show that knowing your gaps, is only a way of asking and accepting help from others is a good thing, especially given the challenges they faced as a team with linguistic barriers. And for sure, it was not only Jason who had experienced this during the competition.
Matthew highlighted this in his answer, stating, “We worked hand in hand to competently answer each question thrown at us, and that required our own individual strengths in historical knowledge. All of us had different ‘specialties’ when discussing history.”
Through Allen, I was surprised when I had heard that communication had been virtually prohibited in at least 3 out of 4 of the segments each round. Their only means of interaction was signaling they knew the answer to one another; making it harder to help fellow team members. “We really tried to help each other out as much as we could, but the rule restricted us a lot,” Allen remarked. He went on to mention, “Even though those 3 days were the most stressful days of my life, I would gladly run the gauntlet again this year. It is needless to say I love history, and getting to compete at such a high level is already such a privilege. I hope we get more teammates this year because I would love to share the experience with more history lovers. Besides, this year is my last shot! I am going to make it count. Or not. I just know I will have fun.”
With diverse perspectives and individual personalities, history and striving for success is what brought these three historians together, alongside the other veterans and rookies of history across the world. As we look to the future, we can only hope to see this trio keep making history together for SISC. Matthew's hope for more students to embrace the importance of cherishing the past in our daily lives resonates deeply, offering a glimpse into the future where the torch of historical appreciation is passed on.
Jason, Allen, and Matthew are currently officers of the Historical Society of SISC, the school’s official history appreciation club and varsity under the SLGE Department. Visit them on their Instagram, @hs.sisc.
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