Rules

1. During the Battle, teams of up to 5 students each compete against one another.
2. One team member acts as the spokesperson and writes the answer on a white erase board.
3. Each competition consists of five (5) rounds.
4. Each round consists of ten (10) questions based on the list of books chosen
5. Each team has 30 seconds to come up with the correct answer They may confer with each other, if they wish. Before the end of the 30 seconds, the team spokesperson will write the answer and stand when their answer is complete.
6. Team members may switch out at the end of each round if they wish.
7. Questions may be asked on any of the books chosen for the competition, but not on any other books.

The audience may not coach members of the team or talk while the Battle is in progress.

Procedures for Each Round

1. Each team gets the same question and has 30 seconds to answer.
2. Questions have 5, 10, 15, and 20 point values, depending on the difficulty of the question.
3. If a team does not hear or understand a question, they may ask for clarification prior to the end of the 30-second time limit.
4. The spokesperson writes the answer on the whiteboard and then stands.
5. When all teams have answered the questions or 30 seconds has passed, whichever comes first, the answer is shown to the judges and the moderator.
6. The moderator is to read the question and then reread the question. The 30 seconds begin at this point. After the student answers are shown, the moderator will reveal the correct answer from the key. At this point, the lead judge will determine the student answers as correct or incorrect against the answer key and award the points by displaying school logo signs.
7. Once the spokesperson is standing or the board is shown to the moderator, the answer cannot be changed.
8. Points are awarded to each team that responds correctly. A lead judge will be appointed for teach round. The lead judge should be chosen through a random drawing (of straws, for example). The lead judge will determine which teams receive points for their answer.
9. If no team answers correctly, the battle continues with no additional points scored.
10. If a question is deemed unusable and thrown out by the judges, another question with the same number value and book title will take its place.
11. As long as at least one team has the correct answer, the question will not be thrown out or deemed unusable.
12. As long as the judges can ascertain the correct meaning of a given answer, incorrect spelling will not be penalized.

Each round continues in the same manner.

There are 5 rounds, with 10 questions to a round.

Tie-Breaker Round

Each team will be asked the same question and the answer will be written on the whiteboard.

If a team answers a question incorrectly or not at all, they are eliminated from the tie-breaker round.

If the remaining teams each answer incorrectly or not at all, none are eliminated, and play continues.

If there should be an error in the answer key or the moderator states a question incorrectly, then no team is penalized and play continues.

If no team answers a question correctly, play continues.

Play continues until only one team remains.

Scoring

Each question has a point value from 5 points to 20 points, based on level of difficulty. A score sheet is provided to the three scorekeepers. Scorekeepers will keep track of the points earned by each team.

Judging

Three or more judges are available for determining whether or not an answer is acceptable. Each judge will have read each of the books. Each judge is designated as a spokesperson for a specific round and they will confer should there be a challenge to a question or answer.

Challenges to Questions

Teams may challenge answers as stated by the moderator; judges will then confer to determine whether or not points are awarded.

Challenges must be made immediately after the correct answer to the question is given. Once another question has been asked, teams may not challenge a previous answer. Teams may not challenge another team’s answer. When challenging an answer, teams ust raise a colored paddle to signify their decision to challenge. The team initiating the challenge has 30 seconds to state their challenge. Decisions of the judges are final and may not be further debated.