West Suburban Conference
The West Suburban Conference or WSC is a long established competitive league that serves 14 large public high schools in the western suburbs of Chicago. All member schools compete in the "large school" class (Class AA) of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA). In general, its teams do not play much quizbowl outside of the conference and IHSA meets, though occasionally a competitive team emerges and places well at local tournaments, state championships, and national championships. As there are currently 12 teams, 6 meets are organized between October and February at three locations hosting four schools each. Teams play two matches at each meet, slowly playing a round robin, with the 12th match being against the same team as the 1st match.
Membership
Gold Division*
| School | Town | Nickname | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Addison Trail High School | Addison, Illinois | Blazers | 1,874 (2008) |
| Downers Grove South High School | Downers Grove, Illinois | Mustangs | 3,183 (2008) |
| Hinsdale South High School | Darien, Illinois | Hornets | 1,882 (2008) |
| Leyden High Schools | Franklin Park, Illinois | Eagles | 3,492 (2008) |
| Morton High Schools | Cicero, Illinois | Mustangs | 7,945 (2008) |
| Willowbrook High School | Villa Park, Illinois | Warriors | 2,145 (2008) |
Silver Division*
| School | Town | Nickname | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Downers Grove North High School | Downers Grove, Illinois | Trojans | 2,266 (2008) |
| Glenbard West High School | Glen Ellyn, Illinois | Hilltoppers | 2,127 (2008) |
| Hinsdale Central High School | Hinsdale, Illinois | Red Devils | 2,624 (2008) |
| Lyons Township High School | La Grange, Illinois | Lions | 3,840 (2008) |
| Oak Park and River Forest High School | Oak Park, Illinois | Huskies | 3,098 (2008) |
| York Community High School | Elmhurst, Illinois | Dukes | 2,582 (2008) |
- The Gold and Silver Divisions are each missing one team, Proviso East and Proviso West, respectively, because neither school currently fields a Scholastic Bowl team.
Champions
The West Suburban Conference champion is decided officially by the winner of the 12 game regular season. The only tiebreaker is head-to-head, so in the case that the top two teams happened to have played each other twice and split, such as in 2011-12, the regular season title is split. The school that wins the regular season gets its name engraved on a board of all the winners, and the top two teams qualify for HSNCT.
The end of season conference tournament, confusingly, also determines an official champion. The format is a painstakingly slow single-elimination format, with teams still playing two games each week. It may or may not determine who wins a plaque, but honestly no one knows, since usually the same team wins both.
NAQT Years
| Year | Champion | Record | Runner-up | Record | Nationals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-14 | Hinsdale Central | 15-0 | Lyons Township | 13-2 | - |
| 2012-13* | Hinsdale Central | 11-1 | Downers Grove North | 11-1 | No |
| 2011-12 | Downers Grove North | 14-1 | Hinsdale Central / Oak Park-River Forest | 12-2 / 12-3 | No |
| 2010-11 | Oak Park-River Forest | - | Downers Grove North | - | |
| 2009-2010 | Oak Park-River Forest | 14-1 | - | - | OPRF, 9-5, T-17 |
- Conference tournament cancelled due to weather and scheduling