overview

							                     Math Quiz Bowl Overview
              Shippensburg University Math-Computer Day

Each round consists of three teams with four members each. The teams compete
against each other by answering questions read by a moderator. There will be 20
questions of a type that a smart student can answer in a few seconds. The essence of
this competition is quick thinking. There will be a buzzer mechanism with each
student having a push button switch in front of him/her. The moderator reads a
question and the participants will have 30 seconds to answer it. Any member of any
team can press the buzzer to indicate his/her intention to answer the question. That
student or any member of that team can answer the question, but only the first answer
will be accepted. After buzzing in, the student/team has three seconds to answer the
question. If the correct answer is given, then the moderator so announces and awards
one point to the team and proceeds to the next question. If the answer given is
incorrect, the other two teams get a chance to answer, if there is time left. Note: the
total time for one question is 30 seconds after the moderator has finished the question.
This will be strictly observed.

There will be a timekeeper and scorekeeper to assist the moderator for each round. In
each room, there is also a judge with the final call. The round proceeds until all 20
questions have been asked or until 10 minutes has expired. (If there is a tie at the end
of the round, the teams involved will be given tiebreaker questions until the tie is
broken. This is a sudden death scenario. A team does not receive a point for
answering a question correctly in a tiebreaker scenario.)

All teams will participate equally in the first four rounds of the quiz bowl. It is very
important to be on time to your round or you may be required to forfeit the round. At
the end of each round, the teams will be awarded one point for each correct response
given, plus an additional 4, 2, or 0 points for 1st place, 2nd place, or 3rd place,
respectively. The top three teams will play in the final round. If there is a tie among
teams for the final round, then the team with the most correct responses during the
first three rounds will be declared the winner. If there is still a tie, then the teams
involved will participate in a sudden-death single-elimination tournament.
                                  Math Quiz Bowl Rules
                       Shippensburg University Math-Computer Day

Registration
        Check-in will be from 8:15 to 9:00. You will be given a schedule of rooms in which your team
         will be competing.
        At 9:00 we will give instructions for the quiz bowl followed by a mock quiz bowl round.


Competition
        This year we can accommodate up to 20 teams in the quiz bowl. Four students per team will
         compete in any given round, however there is no limit to the number of substitutions that may be
         made between rounds. No substitutions may be made during a round. There will be seating in
         each room for spectators.
        Each team will compete in three of the first four rounds (every team will get one bye) with the top
         three teams competing in the final round. Any team not on time for a round must forfeit.
        Each round will end when 20 questions have been read or 10 minutes have elapsed, whichever
         comes first.
        The first team to answer a question correctly will receive one point. In addition, teams will be
         awarded 4, 2, or 0 points based on their ranking at the end of the round. All ties will be broken
         using sudden death at the end of the round.


Scoring
        The scoring for each three-team match will be:
              o    First Place:    4 team points
              o    Second Place: 2 team points
              o    Third Place:    0 team points
         The number of questions correctly answered by each team will be added to these points to obtain
         that team’s score for the round.
        Ties: If at the end of the round there is a tie, then the teams involved will split the points for those
         positions. For example, if two teams tie for first and second place, both teams will receive 3
         points, in addition to one point for every question they answered correctly. Teams who answered
         no questions correctly will receive no points, regardless of ties.
        If a team is disqualified, then that team receives 0 team points, and no points will be awarded for
         questions answered correctly.
        The top three teams after the first four rounds will compete in the final round. Ties will be broken
         according to the number of correct responses during all three rounds. In the event that teams are
         still tied, then a single-elimination, sudden-death competition will be held.


Procedures
        During each round, a timekeeper, a moderator, a scorekeeper, and a judge will be present.
        One member from each team must identify their school name to the scorekeeper and moderator at
         the beginning of the round.




Last Revised 11/3/11
        The moderator starts the round by beginning to read a question. A player may attempt the
         question at any time by pressing the signal button (this prevents any other player from
         responding).
        Team members may confer on a question before signaling. A team must wait to respond until
         recognized by the moderator. After signaling, the team will be acknowledged and then given 3
         seconds for any team member to answer the question. If a team fails to answer the question in this
         time, that team is done for this question and the moderator will then allow the other teams to
         signal before the 30 seconds has expired.
        If no team signals within 30 seconds, that question is discarded and the moderator will proceed to
         the next question without providing the answer.
        If the moderator rules that an answer is incorrect, then the team that gave the incorrect response
         cannot signal again on the same question. However, members of the other team(s) may signal
         within the 30 seconds. If a member of another team signals before the moderator rules on the
         previous answer, the team is disqualified for that question.
        If a team signals and answers incorrectly and then someone else from the same team signals, the
         team will be given a warning for the first time and then will be disqualified for the round if this
         happens again.
        A team can request that the moderator reread a question, but this uses up part of the 30 seconds.
         You do not need to signal this request.
        If a team member signals (interrupts) during the reading of a question, the team will be allowed to
         answer. If the answer is incorrect, the question will then be reread for the other team(s) and the 30
         seconds applies after the question has been fully read.
        Prompting by coaches or audience members is strictly forbidden. If the moderator suspects
         prompting, it is his or her right and responsibility to discard the question. Prompters or members
         of the audience who do not remain quiet will be asked to leave the room. If prompting has
         occurred, the participating team may be disqualified.
        No calculators or computers are permitted. Scratch paper and pencils will be provided for each
         round.
        If a moderator misreads a question, the moderator may throw out the question due to error in
         delivery.




Last Revised 11/3/11