Zatobowl was created by a couple of 9'th graders, and a parent. The goal was for the kids to learn programming, create a question bank for practice, learn the importance of information sharing and contributing to society and the science bowl community. And for the parent it was a project to keep current on latest web technologies. The original development team Adi Jung and Steven Mazliach both have long since graduated and are University of California students.
The name Zatobowl originated from a combination of Zatoichi a fictional blind character featured in one of Japan's longest running series of films and National Science Bowl . Science bowl participants are the very few exceptionally bright students who hear questions and respond by pressing a buzzer at a lightning fast speed just like Zatoichi a blind man who listens for sounds and responds with his sword.
Current version of Zatobowl is developed by Vikram Jung and supported by Advensys LLC