Official Rules for Team Battles
Overview
Team Battles are a test of each team's knowledge of the battle books including characters, setting, plot, and specific details of each story.
Team members will:
• Answer questions about the books as a team
• Earn points by providing the correct authors and correct answers to the questions asked
• Compete head-to-head against two other teams
Team Battles - Rules
1. Each team will compete in two battles against two different opposing teams.
2. During each battle, a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 6 team members may participate. One member acts as captain to answer each question. The designated captain may be changed from battle to battle but may not change during a battle. Teams may not add members to a battle once it has begun.
3. Each team will sit at a rectangular table facing the judge. Different arrangements of chairs are allowed, however team members cannot have their backs to the judge.
4. A coin will be flipped to see which team will go first. The winner of the coin flip will be Team A and will sit at a table on the judge's left. The two team captains will alternate drawing 10 questions for their respective teams to reach 20 total questions for that battle.
(If one of the teams is disqualified or does not show up to compete, the present team will draw 10 questions plus 2 additional standard questions to serve as "steal" opportunities worth 1 point if answered correctly.)
5. Once the battle begins, the first question will be asked of Team A and then alternate between Team A and Team B until all questions have been asked. The judge will read each question twice. The team may confer up to 20 seconds after the question is read. The team captain will stand up and then clearly state the author's last name and the answer to the question. Other team members may not talk to the captain or to each other once the captain stands. If team members talk to the captain or to each other after the captain stands, the judge will stop the captain from answering any further and award zero points for that question.
6. The judge will award points for each correct author (1 point) and each correct answer (4 points). If the answer is incorrect, the question will be read once more for the opposing team. The team will have 20 seconds to confer on the answer after the question is read. The judge will award one point if answered correctly (a maximum of two 1-point steals are available to be awarded in this manner). For steals, no author names are required nor are points awarded for naming the author.
Team Battles Scoring
Correct Author: 1 point
Correct Answer: 4 points
Correct Answer Missed by Opposing Team: 1 point, max. of 2 per battle
7. While a team is conferring or answering a question, members of the opposing team must not engage in disruptive conduct such as loud talking or laughing. A team violating this rule will receive one warning. If the behavior persists, the judge will deduct 5 points from the offending team's score for that battle.
8. The decision of the judge is final.
9. Coaches and helpers registered with a team may only attend and watch battles in which their team is participating and may not attend battles in any other rooms throughout the Tournament. Coaches and team helpers are not permitted to talk to team members during a battle nor to the judges, scorekeepers, or timers.
10. Once the battle is over, the judge will tally each team's score and announce which team won that battle (or if they tied).
11. The scores received by each team for their two battles will be added together to calculate the team's total points for Team Battles out of a possible 100 standard points and a possible 4 steal points.
12. Team members and coaches are not allowed to discuss questions outside of the battle rooms on Tournament Day. A team will be disqualified if found to be sharing information from their battles with other teams, gathering information about other battles to benefit their team, or any similar activity.
* Official Rules for Team Battles updated 1/25/2024 for the 2024 Battle of the Books Tournament.