2007 Georgetown University History Bowl Definition of Terms

March 24, 2007

Hosted by Beta Pi Chapter, Phi Alpha Theta

Definition of Terms (Revised 2-26-2007)

College-Bowl style academic tournament

• A competition employing buzzer systems in which teams compete head-to-head by answering questions on academic subject(s)

Round robin

• Each team plays every other team in a head-to-head matchup ("round")

Round(s)

• Short round (or set) of questions. There will be 9 rounds of 15 toss-up questions (each with a possible bonus) at the 2007 Georgetown University History Bowl. In each round, every team will compete against one other team; the team with the highest score wins the round. If there are an odd number of teams in 2007, each team will have a "bye" round.
  

Bye Round

• A round in which a team does not compete against another team. When there are an odd number of teams, each team cannot play another team in every round. During a team's bye round, the team with the bye is permitted to watch another pair of teams compete. Or, if there are enough volunteers and empty rooms available, the bye team will be permitted to "play itself" unofficially on that round's set of questions.
  

Reader

• Also known as the moderator, this person is the senior tournament official in each room. He/she reads the tournament questions, recognizes players so that they may give their answers, and adjudicates protests.

Toss-up question

• A question which all players on both teams have an equal chance of answering; a player indicates his/her desire to answer the question by "ringing in" using the buzzer system. Once called upon to give the answer, the player will have 3 seconds to begin answering; a correct response provides his/her team the opportunity to answer a bonus question while an incorrect response rolls the question over to the other team. Players may not consult with other players on toss-up questions.

Bonus question

• A question given to the team whose player correctly answered a toss-up question. In this situation, team members may (and should) consult among themselves to determine the answer(s), although only the team captain or the captain's designee may answer the question(s). Teams typically have 20 seconds, or 5 seconds per part, to begin answering.

Buzzer system

• A signaling device used by players to indicate their desire to answer the toss-up and which determines the first player to so signal. Many types of buzzer systems are available, with different kinds of individual signaling devices.

Ring in

• A player indicates his/her desire to answer a toss-up question by "ringing in" (also known as "buzzing in"), i.e., using his/her signaling device on the buzzer system. A player has 5 seconds from the completion of the question to ring in, although he/she may ring in at any time from the moment the question has begun. After being recognized by the reader, the player who rang in has 3 seconds to begin answering the question.

Recognition

• A player who rings in on a toss-up must wait until he/she has been "recognized," or called upon, by the reader before beginning to answer. Players who fail to wait for recognition will have their answers ruled incorrect and the question rolls over to the opposing team.

Roll-over

• After a player from Team A has rung in on a toss-up and supplied an incorrect answer, the question then "rolls over" to Team B. No other player from Team A may ring in, but any player from Team B may do so. If the player from Team A rang in before the reading of the question was completed ("interrupt"), the reader will read the remainder of the question for Team B.

Copies of these definitions and the rules for the 2007 Georgetown University History Bowl will also be available at the tournament.

For more information, contact Professor Sandra Horvath-Peterson.