William King was not totally sure how he came to be dressed as an American Indian, but he had some idea.

“You changed the costume idea and didn’t tell us until the last minute,” he said to Elle Guard.

Guard, adorned in more elaborate dress and makeup than King, was unapologetic. “We,” she said, indicating herself and friend Hannah Snow, “are better at dressing up.”

The three, with the addition of Stephen Chadwick, made up the 11th- and 12th-grade team at the annual Knowledge Bowl, Feb. 4 at the San Juan Community Theatre. Back stage before the bowl began, the 11th- and 12th-graders melted into a sea of teams and costumes. The music from the Friday Harbor High School Jazz Band filtered back stage as competitors hurried to finish their costumes.

Each group sported a different theme. Rotarians were scarecrows, hurriedly stuffing straw up each other’s sleeves. Soroptimists were Mardi Gras dancers, coated in sparkles and beads. The eighth-graders were decked out in formal evening wear. The ninth- and 10th-graders donned pajamas. The Lions Club wore Mexican-themed clothing, and the Kiwanians were Einsteins in matching cloud-like wigs.

A colorful crowd of contenders queued up to walk onto the stage. Master of ceremonies Brent Snow, dapper in a suit and ready with a quick and humorous commentary, ushered each team onto the stage.

“I’m not that confident,” Soroptimist Nancy DeVaux said, smiling, before heading onto the stage. Nerves, however, seemed to have no effect on the high spirits filling the theater.

In its 17th year, the Knowledge Bowl has become part of the Friday Harbor landscape. There are various reasons to come to the event, from testing your own general knowledge to watching what happens when teen-agers go head to head with adults over math problems. But most come for the fun. You only have to listen to the applause in the “applausathon” that kicks off the competition to realize the audience’s pleasure.

The prize of multiple vouchers for Friday Harbor establishments goes to the team that gets the loudest cheer. Although each table got its fair share of clapping and catcalls, Snow passed the prize envelope to the eighth-graders. After that, the game was on.

The questions in the Knowledge Bowl are not supposed to be very easy. Indeed, from the very first round, the 20 seconds allotted to answer each problem seemed to pass too fast. Often, contestants were not finished scribbling and debating over their white boards before Snow requested that the answers be held up to the public.

The larger portion of the questions left the audience in silence and then impressed cheering as the teams got it right. Snow complimented the teen-agers’ knowledge over such things as metonymy and atomic weight. Other questions however, such as “What would you make if you were a cooper,” spurred excited whisperings of correct answers among the viewers. This, in turn, was followed by others “shh”-ing them. No one must help the contestants on the stage. However, for the most part, it seemed they did not need help. Math answers, history answers, dates and facts were written and held up on white board after white board. As the evening progressed, it was clear that islanders are not short on general knowledge.

There is, of course, another reason for the Knowledge Bowl, a reason that was brought up before intermission. Sponsored by the San Juan Public Schools Foundation, the event is an important fund-raiser for the San Juan Island School District. Appreciation for the efforts of the foundation were expressed, among others, by students of Friday Harbor Elementary School. Student Council president Carly Woodward gave a small speech expressing gratitude for textbooks and equipment, such benefits arising when “people and community contribute.” She and two others then performed a song about how their school gave them the right “attitude.”

“Attitude” was something that was not lacking in the last round of the Knowledge Bowl. After thanks and refreshments (provided by the PTA), it was time to speed on to the finish line. The last and deciding question came in a Jeopardy-format competition: “Port au Prince is located on which island in the Caribbean?”

The Lions retained their title with 121 points. The 11th- and 12th-grade team finished second with 120. Rotarians were third with 100, Kiwanians were fourth with 96, the eighth-graders were fifth with 84. The Soroptimist bet big and finished with 38. They, however, received the first prize for best costumes.

It is not only general knowledge that reaps rewards at the Knowledge Bowl.