Michigan High School Quizbowl State Championship
RULE CHANGE FOR 2013
There will be several rule changes for this year's tournament:
In the past there was no separation of questions into tossups and bonuses; we drew from a common pool of questions, simply reading the next one as either a tossup or bonus as necessary.
As a result, the format of both types of questions varied pretty widely, where some asked about paragraph-long quotations which were included as part of the question, and others were as short as "What is the Australian term for a cowboy?"
This year, we're separating the pool of tossup questions and bonus questions, so that each will have a distinct format. Tossups will all be pyramidal, which means that they will consist of a longer series of clues (about 5-6 lines on the page) progressing from harder to easier.
If you have any experience with NAQT, these are very similar, but we're not using powers - i.e. no extra points for buzzing in early.
Bonuses will be shorter and more straightforward than tossups, usually no longer than a sentence or two. HSAPQ has questions they've written for previous tournaments available at http://www.hsapq.com/samples. Our set is relatively similar in style to the ACF Format Sets provided on the website, except that we will continue to use single-part bonuses, instead of the three-part bonuses used in the ACF format.
Update to Rule 3 and 5 under "General Rules":
3. Unlimited player substitutions are allowed in a match, but they may only be made during a
called timeout, at halftime, or before any tiebreaking questions.
5. Each match will be overseen by a moderator, who is responsible for reading questions to the
participating teams, and who may be assisted by a scorekeeper.
Update to Rule 1 and 5 under "Time":
1. Each match will consist of two 15-minute halves, or until all of the tossups in the packet and any
subsequent bonuses have been read, whichever comes first.
5. When the official clock signals the end of time, the current tossup-bonus cycle will be finished, following which the current half will end. In particular:
a. If the moderator has begun to read a tossup, the moderator will finish reading the tossup, giving teams the normally allotted time to answer the question. A bonus question is awarded, if appropriate, after which the half will end.
b.If the moderator has finished a tossup, but a team has earned a bonus question, that question will be read as normal, after which the half will end.
c.If the moderator has begun reading a bonus, the moderator will finish reading the bonus, giving the appropriate team time to answer as normal, after which the half will end.
d.If the moderator has finished reading a bonus, or a tossup which was not correctly answered, but has not yet started the next tossup, the half will end immediately. For these purposes, only the text of the question as written counts; preliminary statements – including, but not limited to, “next question,” “tossup 20,” etc. – do not count as having begun a tossup.
Basically all this rule says is that instead of stopping mid-sentence at the buzzer like we used to, we're going to finish the question instead. That way, some uppity high schooler can't neg to keep the other team from answering a tossup that could decide the game.
Update to Rule 3, 4, 5, and 6 under "Tossups":
3. If a player signals before a tossup is finished, the moderator will stop reading and receive the player's answer. If the player is incorrect, and the other team has not also signaled to answer, the moderator will resume reading the question for the other team, beginning at a natural point at or shortly before the point at which the player signaled to answer.
4. A player who signals has 3 seconds after being recognized to begin answering a tossup. If the player does not begin answering in time, their response is treated as incorrect.
5. Players have 5 seconds to signal after the moderator finishes reading a tossup question. Any attempts to signal after time has been called will be ignored.
6. A correct answer to a tossup question earns 15 points for the signaling player's team. The first incorrect answer given before a tossup question is finished results in a 5-point penalty for the signaling player's team. Any other incorrect answer results in no point penalty.
RULE CHANGE FOR 2012
Update to Rule 4 under "General Rules":
Each team designates one player to be team captain. The team captain must sit in the second chair in from the middle aisle.
For example, if two teams are seated [A, B, C, D] (**) [D, C, B, A] with (**) being the judge's table, Player C would be the captain for each team. This rule change was encouraged by veteran moderators who wanted to streamline the process of knowing which team member was the captain. We hope this specific placement will still allow captains to be in "the middle" of their teammates, but also be easily visible to moderators and judges.
Update to Rule 1 under "End of Game Rules": (THIS IS A BIG ONE!)
1. When the timer goes off at the end of the half or end of the game, a player must have already buzzed in to be eligible to answer. There can be no exceptions to this rule made by the Moderator, Judge, or Timekeeper.
a. If a player has buzzed in, he or she may answer the Toss-up Question. If correct, they are awarded the points and receive their Bonus Question. If in correct, they lose 5 points AND THE QUESTION IS TURNED OVER TO THE OTHER TEAM FOR A POSSIBLE 15 POINTS. ON THE TURNOVER, IF THE QUESTION WAS NOT COMPLETED, THE MODERATOR WILL READ IT IN ITS ENTIRETY. IF THE TOSS UP WAS COMPLETELY READ, THE MODERATOR DOES NOT REREAD THE QUESTION. IN ADDITION, A PLAYER MUST STILL SIGNAL AND BE RECOGNIZED BEFORE ANSWERING. 5 SECONDS WILL BE GIVEN TO SIGNAL FOR MATH QUESTIONS, 3 SECONDS FOR ALL OTHER QUESTIONS. IF THE TOSS UP IS ANSWERED CORRECTLY, THE TEAM IS GIVEN A CHANCE AT A BONUS QUESTION.
In order to facilitate the above change, the following change is also made to Rule 8 under "Toss-Up Question Rules":
The only time a TOSS-UP Question IS NOT TURNED OVER IS WHEN THE FIRST HALF ENDS. (formerly read "When the half or game ends").
RULE CLARIFICATION FOR 2010
CLARIFICATION in Rule 7 under Toss-up Question Rules:
7. If a player answers a Toss-Up Question wrong, the team is penalized 5 points and the question is turned over to the other team for a possible 15 points. On the turn over, if the question was not completed, the Moderator will read it in its entirety. If the Toss-Up Question was completely read, the Moderator does not reread the question. In addition, a player must still signal and be recognized before answering. 5 seconds will be given for the other team to signal for math questions, 3 seconds for all other questions.
RULE CHANGE FOR 2009
CHANGE in Rule 8 under General Rules:
8. Each team is allowed one, 1-minute time out per half. A coach may call for a "question" if there is a dispute in score or judgment without being assessed a time out. However, disputes in score or judgment must be settled before the next question is read. Judges may and are encouraged to confer with moderators; however, DECISION OF THE JUDGES SHALL BE FINAL.
CHANGE in Rule 13 under General Rules:
13. State Quiz Bowl participants will be able to use paper. Paper will be provided at the beginning of each round; participants will be required to provide their own writing utensils. Players may not use paper to confer or collaborate with other team members during Toss-Up Questions. If, in the opinion of the match's officials, a player confers with a teammate the answer DOES NOT count, the conferring team is penalized 5 points, and the question will be finished for the other team. Electronic devices, including but not limited to cellular phones and calculators, may not be used during matches.
RULE CHANGE FOR 2007
CHANGE in Rule 1 under Bonus Question Rules:
1. Team members MAY confer on Bonus answers. All team members are encouraged to participate as much as possible. The team captain may defer to another team member to provide the answer to the Moderator.
RULE CLARIFICATION FOR 2006
(no rule changes)
CLARIFICATION in Rule 4 under Toss-up Questions:
A stall is considered an incorrect answer. The stalling team will be penalized 5 points and the question is given to the other team.
RULE CHANGES FOR 2005
CHANGE in Rule 13 under General Rules:
13. State Quiz Bowl participants will be able to use paper. Paper will be provided at the beginning of each round; participants will be required to provide their own writing utensil. Players may not use paper to confer or collaborate with other team members during Toss-Up Questions. If, in the opinion of the match's officials, a player confers with a teammate the answer DOES NOT count, the conferring team is penalized 5 points, and the question will be finished for the other team. Calculators are not allowed during the matches.