Rules

Southern Wayne Quiz Bowl League Rules

Last amended and approved:  12/06/2022

General Rules
Game Format
Quarter 1 - Toss-Ups
Quarter 2 - Toss-Ups and Bonuses
Quarter 3 - Lightning Round
Quarter 4 - Toss-Ups
Forfeits
Playoff Rules

General Rules

    1. A registration fee of $300 is required of each participating team annually. 
    2. The number of team members will be determined by each coach. Only four players, however, may compete at one time. A team may compete with fewer than four players if it wishes.
    3. All participating players must be currently enrolled at the high school they represent.
    4. Answers to all questions must be given by a single member of the team.
    5. There will be no subtraction of points for missed or passed answers.
    6. Only the team's coach may lodge appeals regarding answers to questions. Appeals may be lodged only during the quarter breaks, the half-time break or at the end of the game before the score is announced as official.
    7. In the event of a tie at the end of the normal competition, an overtime period will follow, using a toss-up format with each question worth ten points. The first team to answer three questions correctly will be declared the winner. The points earned in overtime will be added to the team's final score.
    8. Decisions of the moderator/judge shall be considered final at the end of each half, unless appealed. There can be no appeals on questions from the earlier half once play has proceeded. Once the game has been ruled official, no appeals will be heard, and all decisions are then considered final.
    9. Players may not bring any reference materials into the studio. Notes, lists, and pre-written material are prohibited. Paper and pencils are available for player use during the game.
    10. To maintain fairness and the integrity of the game, it is absolutely essential that there be no talking, discussion, mouthing of words, or physical gestures between players and audience members. Should a player make contact with an audience member, that player's team will forfeit that question and the offending player shall be ejected from that game. Audience members not adhering to the above will be asked to leave.
    11. In any situation in which teams may confer, the agreed-upon answer must come from the team captain. The moderator will ignore any other team member's response, whether right or wrong. Players may NOT confer, except on bonus questions or in the lightning round. Conferring includes talking, gesturing, looking at teammates' papers, etc.
    12. Each team must have a sponsor or representative present at each match. Students who are not competing (ie. before or between games) are to be in direct supervision of the representative of their school.
    13. Students are expected to dress neatly and in a manner that is not distracting. Competitors may wear matching school sweaters, sweatshirts, or shirts displaying their school logo. Light colored shirts with ties will also be acceptable.
    14. Calculators are not permitted under any circumstances.

Game Format

Quarter 1

    1. Quarter 1 will consist of 12 toss-up questions worth 10 points each. The final two questions of this round will involve current events.
    2. A player must signal and be recognized before answering. If the player answers without recognition, the question will be completed, if necessary, and passed to the opposing team or thrown out if the first team has already attempted to answer it.
    3. After a question has been completely read, the players will have 5 seconds to signal (15 seconds for math). Once a player has signaled and has been recognized, the player must answer PROMPTLY. If a player stalls after having been recognized, the question will be passed to the opposing team.
    4. If a question that has been completely read is passed to the second team, the players will have 3 seconds (6 for math) to signal. Again, once a player has signaled and has been recognized, the player must answer PROMPTLY or the question will be thrown out.
    5. If a question has been interrupted and answered incorrectly, players on the second team will have 5 seconds in which to respond (15 seconds for math) once the question has been completed.
    6. A question may NOT be repeated for either team once it has been read in its entirety.
    7. No consultation is allowed. If there is consultation, the question will be completed and passed to the opposing team or thrown out if the first team has already attempted to answer it.
    8. If the moderator prematurely gives the answer to a question before either team has had an opportunity to respond, the question will be thrown out and a substitute question will be read for both teams.
    9. If the moderator prematurely gives an answer to a question after the first team had answered incorrectly, a substitute question will be read exclusively for the opposing team.
    10. Teams have the right to substitute only at the half-time break.

Quarter 2

    1. Quarter 2 consists of 8 toss-up questions, each of which leads to a 3-part bonus set.
    2. All the rules of Quarter 1 apply to the toss-up questions.
    3. A team answering a toss-up question will have the first opportunity to answer each part of a four-question bonus set.
    4. The three bonus questions are worth 5 points each.
    5. On bonus questions, the teams are encouraged to consult. However, the moderator will only accept answers from the captain.
    6. No more than 5 seconds will be permitted for consultation (15 seconds for computational math). The captain must answer PROMPTLY at the end of that period when the moderator says, "Captain, may I have your answer please."
    7. If the first team incorrectly answers any part of the bonus set, that question will pass immediately to the opposing team for a 5- point opportunity. On rebounded questions, only three seconds will be permitted for consultation. The next bonus question in the set, if any, passes back to the original team.

Quarter 3

    1. Quarter 3 is the lightning round, consisting of 10 rapid-fire questions in 60 seconds.
    2. Each correct answer is worth 10 points. A team correctly answering all ten questions will earn a 20-point bonus.
    3. The team with the lower score at the beginning of Quarter 3 will be given the opportunity to select one of the three categories. The opposing team will select from the two remaining categories. If the teams are tied at the end of Quarter 2, the team who scored last will be given the first opportunity to select one of the three categories.
    4. Consultation is encouraged throughout the entire quarter; however, only the team captain or their designee may respond to a question.  The designation of a new Q3 captain must occur at the beginning of the third quarter, before any questions are read and will remain in place to the end of the quarter.
    5. It is the responsibility of the team captain to keep the questions flowing by saying, "Pass," if no one can respond immediately. The moderator may use his discretion to continue the round if the captain fails to respond or pass, to prevent teams from attempting to “stall” the question set.
    6. The team captain may respond before the moderator has completed the question. The question, if answered incorrectly, will be considered a miss.
    7. The opposing team will be given 30 seconds to answer the passed or missed questions. The rebound opportunity will end upon the expiration of the time limit.
    8. If time expires during the reading of a question, the first team may not respond to it. However, only the portion read will be repeated for the opposing team.

Quarter 4

    1. Quarter 4 consists of 15 toss-up questions worth 20 points each.
    2. All of the Quarter 1 rules apply in Quarter 4.

Forfeits

  1. Teams arriving more than ten minutes after their appointed game time will forfeit the game. If an emergency (traffic, etc.) occurs, it is the responsibility of the coach to contact the moderator or the opponent coach, to notify them and request a delay; such a request will be at the discretion of the moderator. A team that wins by forfeit will have its mean score at the time of the forfeit recorded as its score for the forfeited game. Should a team win its first game by forfeit, its next score will be retroactively recorded as its score for the forfeited game.
  2. Teams are urged to arrive thirty minutes early for their scheduled games, to eliminate forfeitures as well as to shorten the day by beginning games early when possible.
  3. If schools are closed for weather problems, please be aware that make-up games may be scheduled on a Saturday to facilitate the determination of teams qualifying for state competition.

Play-off Rules

  1. Every team in the league will participate in the league playoffs.
  2. The two teams with the best records from each division will place first and second in play-off standings, based on their relative records.
  3. The remaining play-off spots will be based on each team's season standings. Ties will be broken by (1) head-to-head comparison, or (2) season point totals for teams who did not face one another, or to resolve a non-decisive three-or-more way tie.

State Tournament

  1. The rules of the State Tournament ultimately dictate the entry into the tournament. If allowed, the SWQB League prefers to have three qualifying teams, as determined by the qualifications below.
  2. The winner of each division qualifies for State Competition.
  3. The play-off winner also qualifies for State Competition. In the event that the play-off winner has already qualified, the play-off runner-up will qualify. Should the final play-off game involve both division winners, a consolation game between the two semi-final losers will determine the third state qualifier.