The origins of the Quiz Organisation Of Wales lie in the first European Quizzing Championships held in Ghent, Belgium in 2004. David Edwards and Richard Parnell attended the event and took part in a friendly match between a Celtic Combined squad and the Norwegian national team.
It was clear that Wales should put a team forward to challenge the rest of the continent. In 2005 in Tallinn, Estonia, the first Wales team took on that challenge, with Mark Labbett, Richard Parnell, Mark Grant and Sean O’Neill flying the dragon with pride.
Under the captaincy of Mark Labbett and then David Edwards, the Wales team quickly established itself in the upper half of the European rankings. At the 2010 European Quizzing Championships, a breakthrough was achieved as the team qualified for the medal round for the first time. However, defeats to Belgium and Estonia in the knockout stages meant the ultimate frustration of a 4th place finish.
A further turning point came in 2013, as Wales, Scotland and Ireland came together in Edinburgh for the first Celtic Nations Quizzing Championships. The extra competition quickly paid dividends as Wales again qualified for the medal rounds at the European Quizzing Championships the following year. But the team were denied again as Belgium and Norway pushed them back into 4th place for the second time.
The first Quiz Olympiad in Athens in 2016 offered further hope to Wales as the team again qualified for a medal match, only to be denied by Norway in the playoff for bronze. There was another opportunity for national success in the Quizathlon but the frustration was only doubled as Wales were again pipped to 3rd place by the Norwegians.
Though proud of our history, we are determined to make our future even brighter, as we hope the rest of this site will demonstrate!