SEEDING TEST SUNDAY AUGUST 8TH AT NOON MDT IN UMC ROOM 235 OR VIA EMAIL OR FAX BY PRIOR REQUEST

A team may consist of no more (but may have less) than four players for any one game.  Once a team has taken the Placement Test, no substitutions in the five-person structure may be made.  The choice of which four of the five members to use in a given game or to take the Placement Test is a the discretion of the team.  No substitutions or additions may be made during the course of a game or test.  At no time will any entrant be allowed to compete on more than one team.  Infraction of any of the above rules may result in team disqualification from competition.

Competition will be limited to a maximum of 15 teams.  Any person may compete.  In the event that more than 15 teams file applications, qualification for competition will be determined by the Placement Test.  The Placement Test will be completed by the individuals that compose teams, without conference between team members, with the top four results counting towards the team total.  The top dozen placement slots will be reserved for teams that register together before taking the test.    The final three slots will be formed by individuals who take the test without a team and then form an amalgamated team.  Individuals that take the test without a team will also be available for draft by teams without a full contingent.  Results of the Placement Test shall be used for selection of time slots in the opening round of the tournament as follows:  The highest placed team shall select their group and team number from the following list (or pass), followed by the second highest placed team, down to the number twelve team.  The highest amalgamated group or other team then will select, up to the fifteenth placed team.  The selection will be completed by the event chairman's contact to the team captain.  All selections are final, as they effect the selections by other teams.  Teams may pass their selection one time only, after which they asked a second time after all teams have been offered the chance to select a slot, and after that will have their slot assigned.  Should any team not be able to participate in an assigned slot, the choice will be given to the alternate regular or amalgamated teams based upon their qualification scores.
An opening round robin game will consist of two ten-minute halves with a five-minute halftime break.  The clock stops during the playback of audio bonus questions.  Each team will play each the other four teams in the group once in the opening round.
GROUP A FRIDAY 3 SEPTEMBER 1999 TEAMS A1,A2,A3,A4,A5
1830 A1 vs A2
1900 A3 vs A4
1930 A1 vs A5
2000 A2 vs A4
2030 A3 vs A5
BREAK
2130 A1 vs A4
2200 A2 vs A5
2230 A1 vs A3
2300 A4 vs A5
2330 A2 vs A3
GROUP B SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 1999 TEAMS B1,B2,B3,B4,B5
0900 B1 vs B2
0930 B3 vs B4
1000 B1 vs B5
1030 B2 vs B4
1100 B3 vs B5
BREAK
1200 B1 vs B4
1230 B2 vs B5
1300 B1 vs B3
1330 B4 vs B5
1400 B2 vs B3
GROUP C SUNDAY 5 SEPTEMBER TEAMS C1,C2,C3,C4,C5
0900 C1 vs C2
0930 C3 vs C4
1000 C1 vs C5
1030 C2 vs C4
1100 C3 vs C5
BREAK
1200 C1 vs C4
1230 C2 vs C5
1300 C1 vs C3
1330 C4 vs C5
1400 C2 vs C3
The top two teams of each group (A, B, & C), plus the best two other at-large teams from any group will be selected for a total of 8 teams.
If for some reason a team cannot return for the playoffs, the next highest ranked team will be offered the playoff spot.
The tiebreakers for ranking will be games won, then head to head record, then record against common opponents, then total points, then
total tossups answered, then a coin flip.
The winners of each group (A, B & C) will be the number 1, 2, and 3 seeds based on record, followed by all the second place teams at seeds 4, 5, and 6 based on record, then the final two at large teams for seeds 7 and 8, then replacement teams if any of the previous teams cannot attend, in which case all seed numbers shift up to reflect a series numbered one through eight.
Playoff games are comprised of two fifteen-minute halves, with a five-minute halftime break.  The clock stops during the playback of audio bonus questions.  Once a team has been defeated, it is eliminated from further competition in the playoffs, which will occur following the Group C Opening Round Robin as follows:
Sunday SEPTEMBER 5th
Quarter Final Games
A. 1500 #1 vs #8
B. 1545 #2 vs #7
C. 1630 #3 vs #6
D. 1715 #4 vs #5
 Break
Semi Final Games
E. 1900 Winner A vs Winner D
F. 1945 Winner B vs Winner C
2030 Introductions and Awards, plus All-Star Game for players not in final as voted by teams and audience
FINAL GAME
2130 Winner E vs Winner F
Each team captain is responsible to see that every member on the team (including the alternate) is familiar with the rules and operation of competition.  It is strongly suggested that team members who have never seen a quizbowl-style match do so prior to their own game.

QUESTIONS:
Questions are of two types: Toss-ups, to be answered by an individual (worth 10 points), and bonuses, to be answered by the team as a whole (worth from 20 to 40 points).
A Toss-up question will be delivered to both teams simultaneously.  In order to answer that question, a contestant must ring the provided buzzer by activating the button.  The judge will decide which player's buzzer (as indicated by the light attached to the buzzer on the control panel) was rung first (a "lock-out" buzzer system is used), and will call out the name of the team and individual player.  An answer must not be given until the judge has called out the team and individual players name.  It will be the province of the judge to decide who rang first and the judge's decision is final.

SIMULTANEOUS RINGS:
If a member of each team rings absolutely simultaneously, the judge will so indicate and the question will be voided.  In the instance where members of the same team ring simultaneously, the judge will call the name of the team and the name of the contestant seated farther from the moderator who rang.  Simultaneous rings are rare.

CONFERENCE:
There can be no conferencing between team members before or during the answer to a toss-up question.  Any activity deemed by the judge to be a conference in nature will result in the question being voided for the team called for the conference, and transferred to the other team if the situation so warrants.  Teams are allowed to confer on bonus questions only.

TRANSFER:
Only one person on each team may offer an answer to a toss-up question.  A contestant who rings will be given an appropriate amount of time to answer.  If the contestant fails to do so, the other team will be afforded an opportunity to answer by the moderator transferring the question by saying "can you take it (name of team)?"

PENALTY:
There is a penalty for a wrong answer on an early ring.  A contestant may ring to signify readiness to answer a question prior to the conclusion of the reading of the question (indeed, early rings are encouraged).  However, if the answer is wrong in that instance, that team will be penalized five (5) points and the entire question will be repeated for the other team.  If an individual from the team to which the question was transferred rings before the question is completed, they are also subject to the possible penalty for a wrong answer.  In all cases, if neither team offers a correct answer, a new question will be offered.  There is no penalty for a wrong answer if the entire question has been read and spoken by the moderator.

BONUSES:
After receiving 10 points for a correct toss-up answer, a bonus question will be delivered to the team which answered the toss-up correctly, and the team may confer for the answer.  Upcoming bonus questions will be indicated by the moderator by type and value prior to tossups being read.  A team does not activate the buzzer when answering a bonus question.

TIES:
If the two teams are tied at the end of a regulation game, there will be a two minute pause, followed by two minute period of overtime play, during which only ten-point toss-up questions will be offered.  All previously stated rules concerning toss-ups apply.  If, after the two-minute overtime, the teams are still tied, the game will go in to "sudden death".  The first team with a member to correctly answer a toss-up will win.  If a member interrupts a question to offer an incorrect answer, that team will be penalized five points and the other team will automatically claim victory.