Rules

Data Base of Questions

• Everyone has same questions to practice from
• Do not use rote teaching methods
• Promote think processes
• Ask questions backwards-answer as the question
• Ask why incorrect answer was wrong

• Game is when 2 teams play each other.
• Match/round is a set of games in which all the same questions are used until all scheduled teams have heard them.
• Sometimes the terms, Game & Match are used interchangeably.
• Contest is made up of several matches depending on the number of teams registered.
  • Brackets are used to schedule who the various teams will compete against.
  • Placings on the brackets are determined by each team drawing a number prior to the beginning of the contest.
  • A different set of brackets are used for each age division.
  • The bracket configuration is determined by the number of teams participating.
• The same set of questions are read in each game of a match. A new set of questions will be read during first game of each match played, and the questions will be repeated in each of the remaining games of the match.

• Jr Jr= 8-9 Year Olds
  • Must decide in which age division they will participate
  • Must remain in that age division for all contests in that horse bowl season
  • May move to different division the following year
    • May want to be with friends
    • May be strong enough to play against older kids
    • May need more experience
    • May be needed to make a full team
    • May not want to be an individual
• Jr = 8-13 Year Olds - 10-13 must compete in Jr age group only. 8-9 year olds may choose to participate in Jr Jr or Jr division.
• Sr = 14-19 Year Olds- must compete in age group only
  • Only Sr are eligible to go to Nationals & 4-H Congress

• Selection method is up to each county
• Must fall within age limits as of Jan 1 of current year
• Team consists of 4 kids or 4 kids plus an alternate
  • Can draft individual to join team at contest
  • Can draft outside county for team members for original team (once competed, team members stay the same)
• Junior Juniors may chose to move up or down in divisions as long as they are within age limits
  • 8-9 yr olds may be on Jr Jr team one year & Jr team another year or choose to stay in same age division both years
  • An 8 Or 9 year old may chose to compete at the state level in the Jr Jr division even if they competed on a Junior team during regional competition. The state contest will only use Jr Jr questions.

• Usually seat by skill levels
  • Questions are designed to be more difficult for 1st chair & progessively easier for 4th chair in an effort to build self-esteem & other character building assets in the 4-Hers.
  • Do not play strong players in lower chairs in order to try to win more points during a contest. It only causes all players to be negatively affected & it does not help the team place higher.

• Pressure sensitive kids may do better in one seat lower
• Team captains
  • Decide who will answer bonus questions
  • May protest answers
  • Show good leadership qualities
  • Have played in 2nd chair if pressure sensitive

Jr Jr Division Questions

• 18 questions with 1 bonus in each game of a match
• Incorrectly answered question goes to opposing team to answer
• No dediction for incorrectly answered questions
• No one-on-one competition at county or regional levels
• Only at state contest, the first 8 questions will be one-on-one in each game
• State level only, one-on-one questions are worth 2 points each.

• 30-32 questions with 1-3 bonus questions in each game of a match
• Incorrectly answered questions go to opposing team to answer
• No deduction for incorrectly answered questions
• One-on-one competition during first 16 questions of each game of a match
• One-on-one questions are worth 2 points each

• 30-32 questions with 1-3 bonus questions in each game of a match
• Incorrectly answered questions do not go to opposing team
• 1 point is deducted for incorrectly answered questions, in both one-on-one & open, except bonus which has no loss of pts
• One-on-one questions are asked for the first 16 questions of each game of a match
• One-on-one questions are worth 2 points each

• Regular, one-on-one & toss up questions
  • 5 seconds to begin answer after "Buzzing In" & being recognized by moderator
• Bonus Questions
  • 10 seconds to discuss among team members
  • 5 seconds to begin answer after 10 second discussion
  • May pass notes after answer is started but no more discussion is allowed
  • Need not buzz in to begin answer after discussion period
• Repeating question is not starting an answer
• Must give part of actual answer prior to 5 seconds running out
• Reasonable time will be allowed to finish answer, time may be called if no more additional information is forthcoming

• Jr Jr & Jr divisions only - question gets re-read to the opposnig team if not answered correctly by the first team. After each team has opportunity to answer question, the question is dead.
• Opposing Sr teams do not get a chance to answer incorrectly answered questions. Question is dead after completed in Sr division.
• In all age division, bonus questions are not reread to opposing team. Only team who answer toss up question has chance to answer a bonus question.
• Answers are read to teams after question is dead

• Questions will be taken from the question data base available online at http://4h.missouri.edu/events/horse.
• Older age dividsion have larger percentage of reworded questions

• Specific wording sequence to certain questions

• All questions will be open ended questions. No true/false, no fill in the blanks
• Point values for incorrect answers
  • No loss of point in Jr Jr or Jr divisions
  • Loss of point in Sr division only - 1 pt
  • All regular & toss up questions are worth 1 point for correct answer
• All one-on-one questions are worth 2 points for correct answer (Sr division only, incorrect answer is minus 1 point)
• Exception: No answer after "Buzzing In" more than twice in contest by same contestant or answering question other than their chair during one-on-one competition may be loss of 2 points at judge's discretion

• Usually slightly more difficult & are worth 1 point each. Differ from regular questions in that a bonus question is attached. Only team that answers toss up question correctly wins opportunity to answer bonus question.
• If a toss up question is incorrectly answerd (by both teams in Jr Jr & Jr division), the bonus question moves to the next regular question. That regular question then becomes a toss up question with the bonus attached. The bonus will move until the toss up qusetion tp which it is attached is answered correctly.

• Only asked in Jr & Sr division & at the state level of Jr Jr division
  • Jr Jr & Jr divisions only, question gets re-read to opposing team if answered incorrectly by first team
• Worth 2 points for each coreectly answered question
  • No loss of points in Jr Jr (state only) & Jr division
  • Loss of 1 point if answered incorrectly in Sr division
• Sr division, question does not get reread to opposing team if incorrectly answered
• First 16 questions of each match (first 8 questions of Jr Jr at state level only) , all one-on-one questions, no bonus questions

Point Values

• Worth 3 points each
• No partial points awarded
• No loss of points for incorrect answers
• Only team that answers toss up question correctly, gets a chance to answer the bonus question
• Bonus question is dead after being answered correctly or incorrectly, opposing team does not get to answer in all age divisions

• 10 seconds to discuss among seated team members. Notes may be taken during the discussion period.
• 5 seconds to begin answer, do not have to buzz in on bonus questions, do not have to wait to be recognized
  • Includes time deciding who will answer question
• Captain answers unless they announce another chair will answer instead (after question is read & discussed but before answer is started)
• After answer is begun, other contestants may write down part of the answer & pass it to the contestant answering the question.
• No verbal communication between contestants is allowed after the 10 seconds discussion period is over
• Note paper should be discarded after match

• Team bonus points are a reward for having a well-rounded knowledgable team. Points are awarded for when all players have answered a question correctly during a game.
• Team bonus points are not awarded for answering any particular question rather when all seated players have answered a question correctly, excluding bonus questions (bonus questions are team effort).
• 2 points awarded whenever all seated players have answered a question correctly
• Tent (card) should be laid down when question is correctly answered by contestant
  • If substituted contestant has answered question correctly, their card must be turned Back upright & replacement contestant must answer a question correctly before team bonus can be awarded
  • If contestant fails to lay down tent (card) after answering a question correctly, it may be laid down whenever the error is noticed & verified with scorekeeper.
• Numerous team bonus points can be awarded during each game
• Answering bonus questions does not count towards team bonus points

• Protest can only be initiated by coach or team captain
• Protest must be asked in a professional & courteous manner. Protests not asked in this manner can cause loss of a point for team regardless if protest is upheld
• Time will be allowed to refer to reference material to support protest
• Excessive protests prolong contest & create a negative atmosphere. Loss of one point may be deducted if excessive protests are not upheld, at discretion of judges
• Ruling of judges, officials &/or coordinator is final.
• Protest must be asked immediately after question was asked, answered & is dead & before next question is started. No protest is allowed past this point - No Exceptions!
• No audience or parental input is allowed
• Abuse of protesting is grounds for removal of coach, parent, contestant or audience participant from this & further mathces up to and including team elimination from present & further matches at the discretion of the judges or other officials. Loss of one point may be deducted if excessive protests are not upheld at descretion of judges

• Double Elimination
  • Must lose twice before being eliminated
  • Contests with 8 or more teams within each age division will be played as double elimination until final 4 teams are deteremine. Then top 4 teams will play in round robin format to determine contest winner by accumulated points in all round robin matches only.
• Round Robin
  • Contests with 7 or fewer teams within an age division will be played in round robin format with all teams playing each other once. Winner will be team with highest accumulated score of all matches played.
    • Wins & losses do not count - only points earned
    • If there is an undefeated team that is not the highest scoring team, both teams will advance to state regardless of number of teams eligible
    • Ties are not broken in round robin competitions.
  • In double elimination format, only top 4 teams go to round robin competition
    • All teams start with zero points
    • Wins & losses do not count - only total points earned
    • Each top 4 team plays every other top 4 team

In double elimination contests only, in all age divisions:

• First tie breaker
  • 5 regular questions are asked, worth 1 point each, highest scoring team is declared the winner after all 5 questions are asked.
• Second tie breaker
  • In the Jr Jr & Junior division, if still tied after first tie breaker, 5 additional regular questions are asked in sudden death format - first team to score a point wins.
  • In the Sr division, if still tied after first tie breaker, 5 additional regular questions are asked in sudden death format - first team to score a point is the winner or first team to lose a point loses the game.

• All Jr Jr teams or individuals automatically advance to state. All 8 & 9 year olds are eligible to compete in Jr Jr division at state contest but may not participate on both a Jr Jr & Jr team at state level. Only Jr Jr questions will be used at state Jr Jr contest.
• At regionals:
  • If 4 or less teams compete within an age division - 1 team advances to state
  • If 5-7 teams compete within an age division - 2 teams advance to state
  • If 8 or more teams compete within an age division - 3 teams advance to state
  • During round robin competition, it is possible for a team to be undefeated & still not be the highest scoring team of contest. This undefeated team in eligible to compete at state in addition to the other qualifying teams
  • If more than one team is registered in a regional contest, only teams that participate at regionals may advance to state level