Frequently Asked Questions

During the Match

Do teams with 5 students have all 5 students on the call and competing, or only 4?

All five students can be on the call and participate.



Are you going to have the students raise their physical hand or raise their “Zoom” hand?

Students will raise their physical hand.



Are there 2 teams playing at the same time or is it just one team trying to score the best they can on the set of questions?

Each team is in their own Zoom room. Zoom rooms are running concurrently. Each individual team should do their best to score as high as they can on the set of questions in their separate Zoom rooms. Preliminary Rounds (Friday night): Grand total score from all preliminary rounds will determine which teams will advance to elimination rounds. (e.g. Round 1 score 56 + Round 2 score 90 + Round 3 score 72 = 218 – A TBD number of teams with the top scores will advance.) Elimination Rounds (Saturday): Teams with highest scores from each elimination round will advance to the next round.



Can students use the Zoom Chat to confer?

They can do that or just talk out loud – either is fine. Talking is probably quicker. Students may use the Zoom chat in the session to communicate, which includes taking notes on the question as it is read. Students may only communicate with their teammates verbally or through the Zoom chat window. No other communication devices allowed.



Can coaches keep score during the competition?

Yes, we will provide coaches scoring spreadsheets in the team packet similar to the past. This must be written and not digital.



If the students have a question for the moderator, what is the best way of communicating that to the moderator?

The students should raise their hands or say, “excuse me” if it is at an appropriate time. Students should not interrupt a question being read.



How will the students be addressed when they are answering questions?

At the beginning of the match, the recognizer will tell the students how the recognizer will call on them – they will be called on by name.



Can the students have scratch paper?

Students may have up to five pieces of blank 8.5x11 paper.



When will the scores from the matches be released?

No Preliminary Round scores will be released until after all competitions are complete. Please ask your students not to share their scores or any of the questions. There will be a group Zoom Friday evening to announce which teams continue to the elimination rounds on Saturday. Saturday coaches will have access to a link showing only the scores for the teams progressing to the next round.



What about lag time?  How does timing work during the match?

To accommodate lag time, we have changed our time limit from 5 seconds to 7 seconds. Remember that “7 seconds” to answer a toss-up isn’t “7 seconds” in “real life” – it is probably 5.5 seconds due to lag time. The same with the 22 seconds for bonus questions, please encourage your students to answer as soon as they hear the moderator say, “5 seconds.”



What if a student loses internet connection during the match?

They may join back in as soon as possible. We will not stop the competition mid-question. After the question is completed, we will wait for up to 2 minutes for the student to rejoin.



Will there be a half-time break?

We will not take any breaks during the game, unless something crazy happens.



Do we need to have at least 4 team members present to participate?

You need to have a minimum of 4 team members registered for your team. If during a scrimmage or competition a team member is sick, the team may still compete. However, if a team with 3 members in the regional competition wins, they will not qualify to go to nationals and the second place team, assuming they have 4 team members, will represent Missouri instead.



Technical Setup

Should siblings on the team participate through the same computer or on separate computers?

If they are in the same room together: Ideally they should each have their own screen (first device) to answer questions. They can share a second device to monitor their workspaces as long as both workspaces can be fully observed. One person needs to not join the audio. If they are in separate rooms: They should each be using two devices.



Can students use a tablet instead of a computer?

Yes! They will need the Zoom app.



Hints to maximize the internet signal?

Students competing in their homes should ask their family members to turn off all internet-based items (games, movies, tv) during the competition to give the students and the watchers the greatest amount of bandwidth.



Can we test out our connection?

We encourage teams and volunteers to attend a scrimmage in January to test connections. Any team or volunteer not attending a scrimmage will be required to attend a technology and setup Zoom call the week of the competition.