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7/15/98 The PACE committee has decided to expand the question distribution and have fifteen categories possible for the Category Quiz. These categories will be grouped as follows: HISTORY American History, Geography, World History HUMANITIES Fine Arts, Religion/Mythology/Philosophy, Social Sciences LITERATURE American Literature, Foreign Languages, World Literature SCIENCE Biological Sciences, Mathematics, Physical Sciences TRIVIA Current Events, General Knowledge, Sports & Entertainment In the category quiz bonus section, any two of the three categories from each group will be represented. Each CQ bonus question text should be no longer than three lines (not including the answer).
The game format details are available for your information, but a shorter description follows below:
There are three sets of questions asked in the NSC format.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES * Each tossup is worth 10 (or in specific cases, as explained below, 20). * There is *never* a penalty for a wrong answer. * A correct answer *always* earns first chance at a bonus question. * Opponents can *always* steal on missed bonus opportunities. PART ONE: RELATED TOSSUP/BONUS [300 pts total] * Ten tossups, each worth 10 points. * Correct answers earn first chance at a bonus worth 20 points, related in some manner to the tossup. For example, a TU on "The Old Man and the Sea" could be followed by a question on other Hemingway works, or by a question on seas, or even on other "old men". * Bonus questions will consist of multiple parts and/or multiple answers required. No one-part, one-answer "20 points all-or-nothing" questions will be used, but there may be "20 points on the first clue, 10 on the second (5 on the third?)" questions. PART TWO: THE CATEGORY QUIZ [200 pts total] [This is the most unique feature of the tournament.] * Eight tossups, worth 10 each. * Correct answers earn the right to choose a category for a one-part bonus question worth 15 points. * There are 10 categories (out of 15 standard) in each round (e.g., Mathematics, World History, etc.); some may be more specific (e.g., Asian History, American Poets). Each category can only be used once, as there is only one question per category. PART THREE: THE STRETCH ROUND [500 pts total] * Ten "power" tossups. Tossups are worth 20 points *until the moderator completes the phrase "for 10 points", after which it is worth 10. Thus, at all times, everyone knows the TU's value. * A correct answer earns a chance at a 30-point bonus question, which is not related to the tossup. The bonus questions are multi-answer and/or multi-part.
The paradigm this format follows is known as "tossups and bonuses." Two teams try to answer a question by signalling on a lockout buzzer system and getting the answer correctly (a tossup question). If a team gets the tossup correct, that team earns the right to hear a bonus question first for more points. Each team is composed of four students, and this roster cannot be changed during the course of the game unless there is a real, compelling emergency. There is no penalty for interrupting the reader and/or answering incorrectly, except that the other team (if it hasn't yet answered) has the right to hear out the tossup. Also, team members cannot verbally communiate to each other on tossup questions, or they forfeit the right to answer the question.
A bonus question is asked to only one team at a time and that team can discuss among themselves the possible answers that could be given. With the exception of the Category Quiz, each bonus question consists of multiple subquestions or clues that are related to each other by a category or a theme. If that team misses any section of a bonus question, the opposing team may answer the relevant section(s) for the appropriate number of points. There is one exception for the multiclue/progressive questions, for which the opposing team would get a chance to guess after every clue if the first team misses. However the value for the "steal" may be reduced progressively as well. Opportunities for stealing bonus questions come immediately after each section of the bonus question is read and the original team has been ruled incorrect.
Each game starts off with ten tossups (10 points each). Each team member must buzz in to answer a tossup correctly. No consultation is allowed for tossup questions.
Upon answering correctly, the team whose member answers the tossup will be entitled to a set of bonus questions that is somehow related to the tossup. The bonus question set is worth a maximum of 20 points. However, any missed parts of a bonus question are given to the opposing team to answer.
If any tossups go unanswered, the associated bonus question also disappears (since the bonus question is related).
For this section, there will be 13 different categories corresponding to areas in which most academic teams should be fairly knowledgable. None of these categories will change during the course of the entire tournament.
Ten of the 15 categories will be available in any one game. Each category contains only one question. Before the Category Quiz begins, each team will be notified which of the ten categories are in play during this part of the match. Some of the categories may also indicate subcategories; for example, "Fine Arts (Music)" or "Social Sciences (Economics)."
Eight more tossups will be read, each worth 10 points. If a team gets a tossup right, the team can decide a bonus question to be picked from the available Categories. Each Category Bonus question is worth 15 points, and usually will involve one answer. There is only one question available per category, so once a category has been selected, no one can pick that category again. However, if the quiz question is answered incorrectly, the opposing team can steal the points if they can answer that question correctly.
The game ends with a series of ten tossup questions (20 points each) and ten bonus questions worth a maximum of 30 points. Bonus questions are reboundable but not necessarily related to tossups.
However, an added wrinkle to the tossup questions: the value of each tossup in this round will decline from 20 to 10 points after a "difficult" clue is given. This deflation occurs when the reader begins to say the phrase "for ten points" during the recitation of the question. Since there is no penalty for interrupting the reader or answering incorrectly, it is to the participant's advantage to buzz in early and take the risk.
The tournament format is arranged to guarantee all teams a minimum of five games, depending on the number of teams competing.
All teams will be arranged into smaller divisions in which they will play a round-robin schedule. The preliminary round will take place in the morning. The top 12 teams overall will advance to the afternoon quarterfinal rounds. There are two quarterfinal divisions of six teams, and all teams play each other in a round-robin schedule. The top two teams in each division then advance to play one another in single-elimination matches for the championship.
For the exact statement, look it up in the detailed Rules page.
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