Teams will compete by answering questions selected from the following categories: national, international, state and county news, government, economics, science, sports, entertainment and the arts. All questions are derived from stories and articles published in the Yuma Sun.
Teams are made up of a maximum of four members and two alternates. The alternates participate in the written round. They may also be substituted during oral competition, but only between rounds.
Depending on the number of teams participating, a buy(s) could be added to make the playing field even in number of games played.
Any issue relating to a question or to the answer of a question just given must be referred to the judges immediately. Protests must be made before the next question is read. This pertains to all rounds of competition.
Pre-qualifying Round (alternates participate)
20 written questions with a 10 minute time limit
Each team will be assigned a referee who will dispense questions and retrieve answers. The team will select a recorder who will receive the questions from the referee and be responsible for writing all answers. Upon a signal, team members may confer on the answers. At the end of ten minutes, the referee will retrieve the answers and score them. Correct answers are worth 1 point and incorrect answers are zero points. There is no penalty for unanswered questions.
Double-elimination (Until we reach 4 teams)
Teams are seeded based on scores from the Pre-qualifying round.
A double-elimination round consists of 5 questions plus tiebreaker questions as necessary. (The number of rounds will be determined based on the number of teams participating.)
Questions will be read only once. If a question is buzzed before it is read completely, it can be read in its entirety if the opposing team subsequently buzzes in to answer.
There is no conferring during the initial double-elimination rounds.
As a question is read, as soon as a student believes that (s)he knows the answer, (s)he may hit the buzzer to be recognized. The student who buzzes first is called on to answer the question. This student must answer within 10 seconds. If the answer is incorrect or no answer is given within the time allowed, the Moderator will ask the opposing team if they would like to buzz in. If the question was not read in its entirety before the first team buzzed in, it will be reread upon request. The opposing team student must then answer within 5 seconds and in the event the student cannot answer the question or the answer is incorrect, the moderator will read the answer and continue to the next question.
If a student buzzes before a question is fully read and provides an incorrect answer for any reason, including that (s)he anticipated the wrong question, the team receives zero points.
When a student gives an answer, the moderator announces the answer as correct or incorrect. A team receives 1 point for a correct answer and zero points for an incorrect answer. In the event of a question, the matter is referred to a panel of judges whose decision is final. The moderator then proceeds to the next question.
If a team achieves a sufficient lead such that the other team cannot catch up even if the remaining questions were asked and correctly answered, that team is declared the winner of that round even though 5 questions were not asked.
In the case of a tie score after 5 questions have been read, additional questions will be asked until the tie is broken and a winner is announced.
When the winning team is announced, the two teams return to the audience and the next two teams come to the stage. The match continues until all but four teams are eliminated.
Final 4
The Final 4 round(s) consists of 5 questions plus tiebreaker questions as necessary. Teams may confer during this round.
As a question is read, as soon as a student believes that (s)he knows the answer, (s)he may hit the buzzer to be recognized. Championship round questions are conference questions; thus, a team has 20 seconds to confer AFTER buzzing and being recognized by the moderator. After 20 seconds, the moderator calls on the member who signaled to announce the team’s answer. If the answer is correct, the team will be awarded one point. An incorrect answer is scored as zero points. If the answer is incorrect or no answer is given within the time allowed, the Moderator will ask the opposing team if they would like to buzz in. If a team member buzzes in, (s)he then may ask for the question to be reread only if the question was not read completely the first time. If the question was read in its entirety, it will not be reread. The team may confer. The student who signaled must answer the question within 10 seconds.
In the event no student from either team signals within 5 seconds after the question has been read, the moderator announces the answer and moves to the next question.
When a student gives an answer, the moderator announces the answer as correct or incorrect. A team receives 1 point for a correct answer and zero points for an incorrect answer. In the event of a question, the matter is referred to a panel of judges whose decision is final. Questions must be addressed before the next question is asked. The moderator then proceeds to the next question.
If a team achieves a sufficient lead such that the other team cannot catch up even if the remaining questions were asked and correctly answered, that team is declared the winner of that round even though 5 questions were not asked.
In the case of a tie score after 5 questions have been read, additional questions are asked until the tie is broken and a winner is announced.
At the end of all rounds, the team with the most wins is declared the champion providing the opposing team has recorded two losses. If not, additional rounds are played until either of the final two teams records two losses.
The awards presentation is held immediately following announcement of the Current Events Challenge champion. The top three placing teams are invited back on stage to receive their awards.
We encourage all teams to stay through the awards presentation.
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