1. Game Panels – An appropriate device will be used which will provide a clear indication of the first contestant to respond to a question.

2. Time Recorders – A stopwatch or other appropriate time device will be required.

3. Signal Device – This signal device shall be used by the timekeepers and shall have a very distinctly different sound from that associated with the game panel.

4. Score Keeping Devices – Two devices will be needed; one of which will be used to maintain team scores visible to the contestants and, if possible, the spectators.

Officials:

1. Moderator (Quiz Person) – The moderator shall assume the direction of the matches within that particular room, ask all questions, designate contestants to answer questions and accept or reject all answers unless the questions and/or answers are challenged.  The moderator will also indicate when a contestant has exceeded the allocated time for a question.  The moderator will declare the match winner and shall always be in control of the matches.  The Moderator may also be asked to serve as a third judge.

2. Referee Judges – At least two referee judges are recommended.  The judges must be knowledgeable horse persons and will be selected by Extension personnel.  One referee judge (or the moderator) should, if possible, be a veterinarian.  The referee judges rule jointly on the acceptability of any question or answer that is challenged.  In cases of challenge to questions or answers in matches with two referee judges, either both referee judges or one referee judge and the moderator must agree on the acceptability or rejection of any question and/or answer.  With only one referee judge, both the judge and the moderator must agree on actions to be taken.

3. Timekeeper – Unless this duty is assumed by the moderator or by a referee judge, the timekeeper will monitor all time intervals and designate when time of response has been exceeded.

4. Score Keepers – At least two individuals shall be used to keep score for each contest. One scorekeeper will sit beside the moderator and keep a score sheet which will serve as a written record of the game.  The two scorekeepers should keep eye contact throughout the match to be sure their scores agree.

Teams:

1. Each team must consist of not less than four (4) or more than five (5) members.
   1. Only four (4) contestants shall be seated at the panel at any one time.
   2. During any match, one (1) team member only may be replaced at the panel when:
      1. the moderator deems it impossible for one of the seated members of the team to continue in the contest, or
      2. the captain of a team requests the replacement of a team member.
   3. The team member removed from a match becomes ineligible to return to that particular match. The team member removed and the replacement are both eligible to participate in further matches.

PROCEDURES OF PLAY

1. Match Procedures
   1. Each match will be divided into two parts based either on time or number of questions.
   2. During Part 1: The one-on-one competition, only one member of each team will be eligible to respond to a question.  This eligibility will rotate with each question beginning with the number 1 players on each team, and passing to the number 2, 3, and 4 contestants of each team, respectively, until all the remaining questions have been asked.  It is suggested that each team member be given an opportunity to respond to the same number of questions.  That is, the number of questions asked during the first half of the game be evenly divisible by 4.

The point value of a correct response to a question during Part 1 of play (one-on-one competition) will be as follows:

1. Correct response:  2 points
2. An incorrect response: Seniors – loss of 1 point; Juniors – loss of 1 point
3. If both contestants to whom a question is addressed fail to signal an intent to attempt an answer in the 5-second allowed time, neither team shall lose or gain any points.
4. If a contestant, Junior or Senior, buzzes in and says nothing within 5 seconds – loss of 1 point.

3. During Part 2: The point values will be as follows

1. Regular questions (no bonus attached): 1 point
2. Toss-up questions (bonus question attached):  1 point
3. Bonus questions: 2 points
   1. Point value will be identified before the question is read by the moderator. No partial credit given.
4. Incorrect response: Juniors and Seniors- loss of 1 point

4. There will be four types of questions used. These will consist of:

1.    One-on-one questions, to which a designated member of either team may respond.
2.    Regular questions, to which any member of either team may respond.
3.    Toss-up questions, also open for response by any member of either team. The only difference between a regular and a toss-up question will be that a toss-up question will have a bonus question attached to each and in general will be somewhat more difficult than the regular questions.
4.    Bonus questions, which will be worth a pre-determined 2 points.  All parts of the bonus question must be answered before any points will be awarded.  No part of the bonus question will be repeated, nor will any additional information be given to the contestants relative to the question.

2. Starting the Contest

1. Teams are assembled and seated at their respective panels and each contestant given the opportunity to check the equipment.
2. A team captain is designated and sits in the assigned spot.

4. A coach is identified by each team.  There may only be one designated coach per team and the team coaches are the only two people in the audience who may speak during the match.

5. The question packet is opened by the moderator and verified to be the correct set by the judges.
6. The moderator reads the first question (as with all succeeding questions) until the completion of the reading of the questions or until such time as a contestant activates a buzzer.
   1.    Once a contestant activates a buzzer, they must be verbally acknowledged before they can answer the question.  After they have been acknowledged, the contestant has five (5) seconds to start a valid answer.  First answers will be considered valid answers.  An acknowledgement penalty of one (-1) point will be deducted from contestant’s score and their team if they answer a question before being acknowledged.
   2.    If a buzzer is activated during the reading of any question, the moderator immediately will cease reading the question and the contestant activating the buzzer shall have five (5) seconds after having been recognized by the moderator to begin the answer to the question.
      1. The repeating of the question by the contestant shall not be considered the initiation of               an answer.
      2. It shall be the responsibility of the moderator and the referee judges to determine if an actual answer is started within the 5-second period.
7. If the answer to any question, whether read to completion or not, is incorrect, the question shall not be repeated for the opposing team.  If an answer is not given or is wrong, the moderator will not give the correct answer because questions are used for each round and at both area competitions.
8. If the time in which to answer a question elapses without a contestant activating a buzzer, there shall be no loss of points nor awarding of points to either team.
   1.    If a bonus question was attached to an unanswered toss-up question, the bonus question is then transferred to the next question.
9. If the answer to a question is begun during the 5-second allowable time and the answer is incorrect, that team loses the point associated with that question.
   1.    If a member of a team activates a buzzer and an answer has not been started within the 5-second allowable time, there will be an appropriate 1 point penalty imposed against the team activating the buzzer.  (Junior and Senior Divisions)
   2.    If a bonus question is attached to an incorrectly answered toss-up question or to a toss-up question which was unanswered following the activation of the buzzer, that bonus question is transferred to the next question.
10. If the question is correctly answered within the 5-second time limit, that team scores 1 or 2 points depending on whether it is Part 1 or Part 2 of the contest.
    1.    If a bonus question is attached to the correctly answered toss-up question, the moderator then reads the bonus question and a 10-second discussion period is permitted for team consultation to determine the answer.  The end of the 10-second period is signaled by the timer.  At the signal from the timer, a 5-second period is then permitted for the team captain or designee to begin the answer.
    2.    Successful completion of the answer will result in that team being awarded the number of points designated for that bonus question.
    3.    All parts of the bonus questions must be answered correctly with no partial points permitted, regardless of the number of parts of the question answered correctly.
    4.    Failure to answer a bonus question results in no penalty (loss of points) to the team.
    5.    No part of the bonus question will be repeated nor will any additional information be given to the contestants.
11. To encourage full team participation, bonus points will be awarded in each match to teams which have each team member correctly respond to a question other than bonus questions.  This bonus shall be worth 2 points.  After having earned this team bonus once within               a match, both teams are eligible to earn an additional bonus of 2 points by repeating the process specified for team bonus awards.
    1.    To obtain these bonus points, each member of the team seated at the time must have correctly answered a question.  If a team member who, already having answered a question correctly, is replaced by an alternate, and that team has not yet earned the bonus points, it will be necessary for the alternate to also answer a question correctly before the bonus points may be awarded.
    2.    No contestant will be credited with a second correct response until the first team bonus has been awarded.

12. Either team captain or the moderator may call for a “time out” for clarification of a rule, to permit replacement of a team member, or to allow for unexpected problems.  These “time outs” may be called only after a question has been answered and before the start of the next question.
13. There is no talking allowed by any team members while seated during the match (unless they are identified by the moderator or during a bonus question.)  Offenders will receive one warning by the moderator and will receive one point deduction every time it occurs after the warning.

3. Part 1:  One-on-One Competition

1. The moderator shall clearly indicate the start of one-on-one play.
2. Each question shall be addressed to only one member of each team, beginning with the number 1 contestants of each team and progressing with subsequent questions to the numbers 2, 3 and 4 contestants, respectively.
3. The moderator shall indicate prior to the reading of each question which two contestants are eligible to respond.
   1. If any contestants other than the two designated contestants respond, that team will lose two points.
   2. If any contestant responds more than twice to questions directed to another contestants, they shall be replaced at the panel by the alternate if available.  If no alternate is available, the remainder of the match will be played with less than the full team, and all questions normally addressed to the eliminated contestant will be addressed only to the opposing contestant.
4. There will be no bonus questions asked during the one-on-one period.

4. Part 2:  Completing the Contest

1. The moderator will continue reading questions (and bonus questions if applicable) until all questions have been asked.
2. If a question is thrown out either due to poor reading by the moderator or a decision of the referee judges, it will be replaced by another question so that the total number of questions to be asked remains constant.
3. Following the final question, the team with the highest number of points shall be declared the winner of that match.
4. In the event of a tie after the designated number of questions, 5 additional regular questions will be asked.  If a tie still remains after the overtime, the first team to win a point (or because of a loss of a point by the other team, has a 1-point advantage) will be declared the winner.
5. Once the moderator has declared a winner based on the scores, there shall be no protest.
6. There shall be no protest of any questions or answers following the declaration of the winner.

5. Protests of Questions and/or Answers

1. A protest of a question or answer to a question may be made only by one of the team captains or the coach of either team and then only at the time a particular question is read or the answer is given.  There will be only one coach recognized for each team.  The moderator and the referee judges will consider the protest, and their decision in all cases is final.
2. When a protest is made, play will be stopped until the protest is resolved.  A 1-point penalty will be assessed if the protest is not upheld.
3. If a protest is sustained, the moderator will take one of the following actions as is deemed appropriate:
   1. A question is protested before an answer is given and the protest sustained — discard the question.  No loss or gain of points will result for either team.
   2. An answer is protested (either correct or incorrect) — at least one of the referee judges and the moderator or both referee judges determine the validity of the protest.  Points will be added or subtracted as appropriate.
   3. A question is protested after an answer is given (correct or incorrect) — at least one referee judge and the moderator or both referee judges determine the validity of the protest of the question.  The question may then be discarded at no loss of points or the question may be allowed with the appropriate gain or loss of points as in (b) above.
   4. An interruption of play for rule clarifications or comments will be considered a protest.  In such a case, the moderator will say “Your comment or question will be considered a protest, do you wish to proceed or withdraw it?”.  If the question is withdrawn, play proceeds.  If not, the protest procedure is followed.  A reminder to reset the buzzers will not be considered a protest.

4. Abuse of protest provisions may result in one or more of the following:
   1. dismissal of team coach from the contest area.
   2. dismissal (or replacement) of team captain.
   3. dismissal of entire team with forfeiture of any points or standing.
5. Spectators, parents and visitors may not protest any question, answer or procedure during the course of play.  They may, however, submit in writing to the contest officials any suggestions, complaints at the conclusion of the contest.  Unseemly behavior, unsportsmanlike conduct or any actions which are generally accepted as detrimental to the contest may subject the perpetrators of such actions to dismissal from the immediate area of the contest.  An interruption of play by a person other than the team captain or coach may result in a one point penalty.  The moderator imposes the penalty.
6. No source of information is infallible.  There may at times be answers given to questions which are in agreement with the recommended sources which are in fact erroneous.  Every effort shall be made to eliminate such questions, but in the event of such occurrence, the referee judges and moderator may challenge the answer and if there is unanimous agreement, may elect to accept only the correct answer or to discard the questions with no loss or gain of points to either team.

6. Recorders and Cameras

1. Recorders may not be used at any time during the conduct of the match.  Sample copies of the first round of questions and answers will be posted on the Georgia 4-H Animal Science Website after the State Horse Quiz Bowl Competition.  Those counties interested in sample copies of the first round of questions will be able to download the questions from the Horse Quiz Bowl section.
2. No recording devices such as video tape cameras, movie cameras or any other type of camera requiring auxiliary lights may be used during conduct of a match.  Photographs will be permitted only before or after a match and then in only such a manner as not to be disruptive of the contest.
3. Recordings of any type may not be made during the matches.  Any individual that is seen recording or taking any type of notes during the competition inside the competition rooms, will be asked to leave the competition entirely.

AWARDS

1. Team Awards
   1. Team awards will be based on a predetermined procedure of play.
      1. The exact procedure to be followed must be determined by the number of teams participating and the time allocated for the contest.  Questions per match will vary due to these factors.
      2. Insofar as possible, double elimination brackets will be used.
      3. Insofar as possible, every team will have an opportunity to participate in a minimum of two matches.
   2. The rank of teams will be determined on the basis of their position within the double elimination brackets.  To place teams eliminated in the same round, the losing team which has the most points will be awarded the higher rank.

EQUIPMENT FAILURE

It shall be the responsibility of each contestant to assure themselves that all equipment is operating correctly at the start of the match.

1. Failure During a Match

1. If the device being used ceases to function during a match or is believed to be malfunctioning, a “time out” may be called by any contestant, the moderator, or by either coach.
2. If after checking it is determined that there is an equipment malfunction, the faulty part(s) will be replaced and play resumed.
3. Scores accumulated up to the point of the “time out” shall stand and all further points awarded during the remainder of the match added to or subtracted from this total.
   1. If both referee judges or one referee judge and the moderator deem it advisable, points awarded for the two (2) questions asked immediately prior to determination of equipment failure may be recalled and two (2) additional questions used.

2. Under no conditions shall there be a replay of a match in which there was equipment failure.

   QUESTIONS

Each county participating is required to submit 20 typed questions, per team.  Questions must be original, not from previous years and from official resources. Submitted questions will be considered for rounds in the contest. Questions will be submitted in the survey link:

Click Here – Question Submission Survey

If a county has both a Junior and Senior team, they must provide 20 questions for each age division (for a total of 40 questions). Questions must include answer and source sited.

   Example: What are the two types of vision horses have?

    A: Monocular and Binocular (HIH 1220-1)