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Academic Bowl Rules
(Revised April 2001)
1. Two teams of four or less players each compete in
a given round.
2. The Academic Bowl is conducted as a round robin
event and all teams play each other but teams from
the same school play one another in the opening
rounds. The scheduling of the teams shall be by a
draw, and this will be done in advance by the host
school.
3. A round (game) lasts for fifteen minutes with
only the championship round lasting 25 minutes.
4. Each team will have a clock-timer, but the
"official time" will be kept by the timer of the
event.
5. There shall be two types of questions:
(a) A toss-up question worth five points is asked.
The two teams have seven seconds in which to press
the buzzer, and the first team to buzz in gets to
answer the question.
(b) If that team answers the question correctly, it
is awarded five points and is given a chance to
answer a bonus question which is worth two points.
No points are deducted from the team that answers a
question incorrectly. Teams may pass on the bonus
questions.
6. The reader will give the subject of the question
prior to reading the question. The question will
usually be stated only once, but if the reader
chooses to, he/she may repeat the question. Coaching
from the audience will disqualify a question and its
points.
7. An electronic buzzer system will indicate the
team which pressed its buzzer first. That team is
given fifteen seconds to answer. The contestant may
complete his/her answer to the question as long as
he/she started before the fifteen-second time limit.
This is not true when the final bell rings signaling
the end of the game.
8. If the team which received the question answers
it incorrectly, the other team automatically
receives the question and has fifteen seconds in
which to give an answer.
9. If that team answers the question correctly, it
is given a chance to answer a bonus question.
10. The second team may not, however, have an
opportunity to answer the bonus question missed by
the first team.
11. If a team buzzes before the question has been
fully read, the reader will stop in mid-sentence and
will NOT finish the question. The team then has
fifteen seconds to answer.
12. A second team choosing to answer an incorrectly
answered and partially read toss-up question will
have the question completed (reading from the
beginning) for them, and it is NOT taken out of
their fifteen-second time limit.
13. Answering the question is a team effort. Thus,
team members are encouraged to consult with each
other before answering. The person pressing the
buzzer does not have to answer the question. Anyone
on the team may answer the question, although many
teams have a designated spokesperson or captain who
will state the team's answer.
14. The reader will decide on the accuracy of the
response to each question and tell the scorekeeper
how to record it. If the reader wants a second
opinion, the timer/judge will be consulted. A
decision will then be made by the reader and the
decision will be final.
15. A pencil and paper will be made available to
each team member for his/her use during the
questioning period. Team members may use
calculators; however, they will not be supplied by
the host school. Contestants are responsible for
their own calculators.
16. There will be a limit of sixty questions in the
fifteen-minute preliminary rounds. There is no
question limit during the semi-finals or the final
rounds.
17. The winning team is the one with the most points
at the end of the fifteen-minute round or at the end
of the sixty-question limit.
18. When the bell rings indicating the round is
over, neither a question nor an answer will be
completed. An answer must have been given in its
entirety BEFORE the bell. Nothing spoken after the
bell will be accepted.
19. In case of a tied score at the end of the
fifteen-minute round, a three-minute overtime round
will be played. Total points earned during the
three-minute tie breaker will determine the winner.
20. The scorekeeper will record the running total
points for each team on a board visible to all
contestants and spectators. At the end of each
round, the reader will record the score on the
competition score package and the scorekeeper and
reader will place their signatures next to the
score. The reader will then turn the score sheet and
question package for the round into the Academic
Games "Control Center".
21. CHALLENGES: If a team wishes to challenge an
answer or question, the challenge must be made
immediately following the question, NOT at the end
of the round. On the information sheet attached to
the question package, the reader should note the
challenge, the answer given and whether the opposing
team was awarded five points for that question as
well as the two points for the bonus question. The
reader must continue with the round as soon as
possible. All challenges must be reported by the
reader as soon as possible and examined by the
Academic Games Coordinator.
22. Challenges made in the morning session must be
substantiated by 3:00 p.m. on the same day of the
challenge. Challenges made in the afternoon session
must be substantiated by 1:00 p.m. the following
morning.The burden of proof is on the challenging
team, and no challenge not supported by proof
brought by the challenging team will be considered.
Numerous reference books, textbooks, dictionaries,
encyclopedias as well as the internet will be
available to students and coaches for the "written "
proof. The challenging team must show the proof to
the reader and academic games coordinator. Decisions
on challenges will be made by the Academic Games
Coordinator in consultation with the reader. In the
event of a challenge to a toss up question being
accepted, no points shall be awarded for a bonus
question not asked. That is, even though the team
making the challenge did not have the opportunity to
answer a bonus question, the maximum number of
points awarded to the challenging team will be five,
for the correctly answered toss up question. However
all points, including the bonus question (if any)
awarded to the opposing team for the challenged toss
up and subsequent bonus question, will be subtracted
from their total and a new final score determined on
this basis.
23. At the end of the round, the contestants are to
leave the challenge area as quickly as possible so
the next round can be set up.
24. If a team is not present at the time listed for
the beginning of a match, the team will forfeit that
game. If some of the members are present, they may
choose to continue with the match, but late arriving
teammates may not participate. If a team member is
absent for the first round in the morning due to the
fault of the host family then the Academic Games
Coordinator should be notified as soon as possible.
25. Placement in the semi-final rounds will be based
upon a team's win-loss record. The four teams with
the most wins will be placed in the semi-final
rounds.
26. If there are teams with an equal win-loss
record, then a tie breaker system based on the tied
team's prior "Head-to-Head" results will be used to
determine the placement in the semi-final rounds.
Tie Breaker System
I. Team A ties Team B: Head-to-Head winner is first.
II. Teams A, B, & C tie: Check head-to-head
match-ups
a) Teams A and B both beat Team C: Team C is 3rd. &
Head-to-Head winner of A vs. B is 1st
b) Teams beat each other: A beats B, B beats C, C
beats A, then total points determine the winner
III. Teams A, B, C, & D tie: Check head-to-head
match-ups
a) Team A beats teams B, C, & D: Team A is 1st and
see scenario 2 above to determine places for B, C &
D.
b) Teams A, B, C beat Team D: Team D is 4th and see
scenario 2 above to determine places for A, B, & C.
c) Teams A & B beat Teams C & D: Check head-to-head
match-ups; winner of A vs. B-1st; Loser of A vs.
B-2nd, Winner of C vs. D-3rd, Loser of C vs. D-4th
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