“Knowledge Bowl” Copyright 2005, CBI-CC Board
Knowledge Bowl Competition Rules
RULE IGNORANCE
It is the responsibility of all team members, their teacher/coordinator, judges, score keepers, and other contest officials
to familiarize themselves adequately with all of the contest information and rules. Ignorance of a rule by a team or
teacher/coordinator shall not be considered in the assessment of a penalty regarding the correctness of an answer.
RULE VIOLATIONS
Blatant violation of a rule, or repeated minor violations, shall be addressed by the official scorers/judges in the form of
that team's losing the points for the current question at the time the infraction occurs. Upon a second infraction, points
may be deducted from a team's total score for the quarter, or total disqualification may result.
OBSERVER REGULATIONS
Non-participants (students, teacher/coordinators, parents, guests, etc.) may watch from a designated area only and shall
not communicate in any manner with any participants except during the quarter and half breaks. Anyone displaying
inappropriate behavior shall be required to leave the premises.
ELIGIBILITY
In order to be eligible for Regional and State competitions, completed order forms stating the name of the
coordinator(s) for whom the disks are being ordered and payment (either P.O., cash, check, or money order) must be
postmarked no later than February 1.
Teams can compete in another region’s competition, but cannot count that for eligibility into the State Competition.
They must compete in their own Regional Competition in order to be eligible for the State competition, unless a
regional competition is not held in their region.
CONTESTANTS
A team is defined as the students of one (1) class assigned on the Educational Information System (EMIS) report to a
teacher/coordinator. The teacher of record must be the individual responsible for these students' work-based learning
and related sections of the CBI program. Under no circumstances may any student participate on a team if he/she is not
listed on that teacher/coordinators' EMIS report for that school year. A team will be disqualified if an ineligible student
is placed on the team. This definition of 'team' applies to all types of programs (regardless of age) and all types of
schools (including vocational schools and others with more than a single program).
A team consists of any number of players; however, no more than ten (10) players shall participate at a time. A team
may compete with fewer than ten (10) players, but no fewer than five (5) players.
For Knowledge Bowl Competitions there are two divisions into which teams can qualify to compete. They are: Senior
Division and Junior Division. Senior Division is defined as grades 11 and 12 for the current school year. The Junior
Division is defined as grades 8, 9 & 10 for the current school year.
Any team or part of a team not present and seated with necessary contest materials at the beginning of a contest, or any
quarter, shall be denied participation until the beginning of the next quarter.
DRESS CODE
Although there is no dress code for Regional and other “Knowledge Bowl” contests, students are expected to be
properly attired. Properly attired means that the student who attends the competition is clean, wears clothes that are
modest and in good repair, and neat in his/her appearance. Shoes or sandals must be worn at all times. NO coats,
jackets, hats, bandanas, or “do” rags are permitted during the competition.
Team t-shirts with a logo or other attire with manufacturer’s logo are permissible. Attire shall not have inappropriate
slogans or sayings.
Individuals not properly attired for the contest shall be penalized 20 points per player that is improperly attired, up to a
maximum of 200 points total per team.
The contest chairperson and judges shall be responsible for determining the appropriateness of each player’s attire
immediately prior to the beginning of the contest and shall notify the team’s scorekeepers at this time which teams will
have points subtracted from their final score and how many point will be deducted.. Teams may have the opportunity
to correct violations prior to the start of the competition. If corrections are not made, or the violations are spotted after
the beginning of the competition, penalties may be assessed. Should any participant(s) become inappropriately attired
at any time during the contest then the above procedure shall be repeated. However, although a team may be penalized
more than once per contest (up to a maximum of 200 points) no one player may be penalized more than once per
contest for the same inappropriateness of attire.
TEAM MATERIALS
The only materials permitted at a team's designated table are writing instruments, 8 1/2 x 11 blank white paper, 8 1/2 x
11 blank colored 'scratch' paper, and calculator(s). Water, pop, and snacks are permissible at the discretion of the
contest chairperson. Teams should supply an easel for all competitions unless specified.
JUDGES/SCOREKEEPERS
Ideally, there should be one (1) judge per team participating. Judges shall station themselves in a position so that they
are easily capable of determining that all rules are being followed by the team(s) they are responsible for and to assist
with others if needed. Teacher/coordinators of participating teams may be required to assist with teams other than their
own, but shall not be responsible for determining the correctness of questionable answers. Each team should bring an
adult who will help with scorekeeping and judging.
Ideally, an official scorer should be responsible for no more than two (2) teams. Each official scorer shall be provided
a calculator for the contest by the team it is judging.
VISUAL SCORING
Large chalkboards, poster boards, and/or flip charts shall be used by the official scorers/judges to display each team's
bids and total score by quarters. Scores shall be displayed in such a manner that all teams are reasonably able to see
each of the other scores. Each team should supply an easel for all competitions unless specified.
JUDGING SCORES
It is the responsibility of each judge, score keeper, and other contest officials to watch for any math errors made by
official score keepers, failure of a captain to be standing when time elapses, etc.
JUDGING DECISIONS
All decisions on score discrepancies, correct answer discrepancies, etc., shall rest ultimately with the majority opinion
of the contest judges, whose decisions are final, and announced and explained by the contest chairperson.
STARTING POINTS
Teams begin each quarter with zero (0) points. Teams begin accumulating points for each correct answer.
SCORING
As the category for the question is read, the value for said question will be announced twice. There will be no bidding
or partial point values. Teams will receive the full value of the question, if correct, or have zero (0) added, if incorrect.
At the end of each quarter, team scores will be reported to the competition chairperson and they will be tallied and
posted and/or announced.
CATEGORY READING
The computer will randomly select three (3) questions from each category for a total of sixty (60) questions. Both the
categories and questions are then place in a random order for the contest. The category shall be read aloud to the teams
twice, along with how many points the computer has assigned to the question in this category.
QUESTION READING
The question shall be read aloud to the teams twice (2). A time of twenty (20) seconds shall be allotted for the teams to
decide upon their answer. A warning shall sound five (5) seconds before time is up and again when time is up. The
twenty (20) second time allotment begins after the question has been read for the second time. The question may not
be repeated a third time.
COMPUTER MALFUNCTION
In the event the computer at any time does not function, does not function properly, and/or develops a problem during
the competition, the contest shall continue in the following manner: The official responsible for reading the categories
and questions shall utilize the secret and sealed print-out available for such an emergency. The contest will continue
with the next designated category and question and continue in numerical order until the end of the contest.
ANSWER DISCLAIMER
The list of current questions and answers is provided as a representative sampling only. Although the vast majority will
be part of the actual contest they shall not be considered as complete, final, or unchangeable. All answers have been
verified for their authenticity. However, typographical errors and other types of mistakes can and do happen. An
incorrect answer shall not be counted as correct simply because this incorrect answer was provided for study purposes.
It is the responsibility of all participants to verify beforehand the meaning of questions asked and the correctness of
answers provided for study purposes. Incorrect Study Guide answers, unless obvious, shall be counted as correct
during a contest unless brought to the attention of the contest chairperson, and announced, before the contest begins.
CAPTAIN RESPONSIBILITIES
Only a captain is permitted to write an answer and only the captain is permitted to stand with said answer.
Other team members shall be permitted to write a suggested answer on 8 ½ x 11 colored paper and then pass it
on to the captain. The captain must then write the answer on an 8 ½ x 11 piece of white paper in his/her own
handwriting before standing.
The captain, when standing with an answer before the allotted time is up, may sit back down to change an answer. The
captain must be in the sitting position when writing. However, if all captains are standing before the allotted time has
elapsed, the official responsible may ask for the answer at which point no changes shall be allowed.
If an answer is changed the old answer must be thoroughly marked out so that there is only one answer on its sheet. If
this is not done then the answer considered as an incorrect answer.
A captain who is determined by the judges not to be standing by the end of the allotted time shall have that answer
considered as an incorrect answer.
PLAYER SUBSTITUTIONS
Players may only be substituted every fifteen (15) questions (at the end of each quarter). Players shall not leave their
designated table except at the break between quarters and half. In the case of a serious medical need or an emergency,
any player who does leave their designated table shall not be permitted to re-enter until that time between the
announcement of an answer and the announcement of the next category for the next question. If the player is unable to
continue for any reason, a substitute shall not be allowed to enter as a replacement until that quarter is ended.
TIME OUTS
There are no time-outs. A break will be announced every fifteen (15) questions for player substitution, relaxation, etc.
Breaks shall last a minimum of five (5) minutes and a maximum of ten (10) minutes each at which time players may
leave their table, walk around, study, etc.
TEAM CALCULATORS
Each team shall have at least one (1) battery operated calculator and calculator operator participating at all times to
double-check the official score. Score discrepancies must be addressed by the team captain or teacher/coordinator to
the official scorer before the next question is begun in order to be considered. The judges may make mathematical
corrections to team scores before the beginning of the next quarter.
TEAM ANSWERS
During the allotted time an answer shall be legibly printed or written with marking pen by the captain (only) on
the white 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper. If the team does not know the answer and does not wish to guess, the captain
may either leave the paper blank or simply not stand up by the end of the allotted time. The captain shall be
responsible for settling all differences of opinion concerning answers among teammates. The captain shall be
standing before the allotted time is up with all writing instruments on the table and with his/her answer held in a
manner to prevent other teams from seeing. It is preferred that answers be printed rather than written.
Regardless of the method, all letters must be legible so there is no doubt as to what they are. Except in the
Spelling category, and any question that specifically requires it, answers do not have to be spelled correctly.
Appropriate and easy to understand abbreviations are permissible but not suggested since the judges may
interpret the intent differently and count the answer as wrong. Dollar, cents, decimal points, percent, and other
signs are considered part of the answer and must be displayed. Unless otherwise stated in the question last
names are sufficient and shall be counted as correct. The computer program used for this contest does not allow
italics or underlining. Normally titles of books, movies, and plays, and names of magazines and newspapers are
either underlined or italicized; the titles of poems, essays, songs, short stories, and articles in magazines and
newspapers are in double quotes.
For answers containing the word ‘or’ in them, any one of the answers is correct. Participants do not have to list
all of the answers given, just one of them.
For answers containing parentheses ( ) in them, the information contained within the parentheses does not need
to be included in the answer for it to be correct.
It is not required that participants give their answers exactly as given. An answer can be different than what the
computer shows and still be correct.
TEAM DISCUSSIONS
Teams are cautioned to speak with low voices when discussing answers so that other teams will not hear them.
CAPTAIN’S ANSWERS
At the end of the allotted time the captains will be asked to show their answers. The correct answer will then be
announced and the answer of each team checked by an official scorer/judge. If the answer is correct, the official scorer
shall add the points for that question to the team’s score. Answer discrepancies must be addressed by the team captain
or teacher/coordinator to the official scorer/judge before the next question is begun.
ENDING THE COMPETITION- TIE BREAKERS
The winning team is that team which has accumulated the most points at the end of sixty (60) questions. In case of ties,
teams involved will enter a Sudden Death round with the winner being that first team to not miss an answer. Incorrect
answers will disqualify teams from further competition. All other ties, second/third places, shall be broken in the same
manner. Teams will have twenty (20) seconds to answer the question once it has been read twice (2).
All tie-breaker questions shall be obtained from a sealed envelope that contains questions and answers for this
contingency. The questions will have been generated from current events that took place between the last State
Knowledge Bowl competition and February of the following year. These questions will not be made available to
coordinators or students prior to Regional or State competitions.
A separate set of tie breaking questions will be devised for Regional Competitions and the State Competition. Thus, no
team, at the State Competition, will have an unfair advantage if they had to use tie breaking questions in the Regional
Competition.