Starting a Bible Quiz Team / League

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Young people across the country getting into Bible quizzing, gaining an intense desire for the word of God, and entering a deep relationship with its author. Bible quizzing is a great way to encourage young people to study the Scriptures. Through quizzing they will experience a deep fellowship commitment with their own team, their competition, and, most importantly, with Jesus Christ.

By starting a quiz program you are taking on a noble and rewarding task. The goal of this booklet is to provide you with necessary materials and information so that your ministry will run smoothly. We have divided the process into the four steps listed below.

Since each individual and group is unique, you may wish to add your own creative ideas to those we have provided. You are free to copy any portion of this booklet for use in starting your quiz league.

The following four steps, along with a lot of prayer, will get your quiz league off and running.

1. Recruiting
2. Scheduling
3. Obtaining Equipment and Materials
4. Planning Your First Quiz

1. Recruiting

We have listed recruiting first because you will want some idea of who is participating before you plan your schedule. Of course, recruiting is an ongoing process, and once a program is started you will find that its participants themselves will do a great deal of recruiting. Your main goal should be getting both students and adult leaders excited about the prospect of starting a team. Listed on this page are three commonly used methods of introducing people to quizzing.

Word of Mouth

Perhaps the best method is to spread the word to everyone you know. Have in mind the location and date for your first event, and be positive that this event will take place. Talk to every contact you have in a church, public school, and Christian school. You may also get interest through advertising, recruitment, letters, and assemblies.

Quiz Demonstrations

One effective way to promote quizzing is through quiz demonstrations. Even before any quizzers are involved, you can demonstrate quizzing to a youth group by having them try out quizzing for themselves. The system described in the WBQA Information manual has been found to be quite successful . Since most people are unfamiliar with quizzing, this a great way for them to discover how much they will enjoy it. To those who are interested, you should be ready to hand out scripture portions, rules, and sample questions for the first quiz.

Written Correspondence

You may also wish to send out letters. You will be able to reach a large amount of people, but without personal contact you will probably receive a low percent of response. However, it is worth the effort for even one response, and by mass mailing you are giving the maximum number of groups an opportunity. A sample letter is shown on the next page. Advertising in a newspaper, newsletter, or other media is also a great way to reach a large amount of people.

 

Sample Letter

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PBQ

Pittsburgh Bible Quizzing

August 2001:

Dear Youth Leader,

I am writing about an exciting opportunity for your students in grades 7 through 12. PBQ is expanding to incorporate more churches and schools throughout western Pennsylvania. We hope that you will be included.

What is Bible Quizzing? Simply stated, It is a tool that will motivate young people to learn God's word, work together, and expand their horizons. Teams compete once a month at a church in the area, as students enjoy fellowship, fun, and Christ-centered competition.

How does a quiz work? As questions are read, teams jump up from quiz seats which electronically determine the quizzer who is up first. The winner of the jump can score points by correctly answering the question from that day's material. Teamwork, knowledge, strategy, and physical skill are all attributes of a good quiz team.

What is PBQ? Pittsburgh Bible Quizzing is one of a network of quiz leagues across the country meeting locally and sending teams to regional and national events. Over 100 area teen-agers are currently participating in PBQ.

Who can be involved? PBQ is inter-denominational. Since questions are not interpretive and come directly from the Scripture text (NIV), teenagers from different denominations can quiz and fellowship together.

What will we be studying? This season, students across the country are learning the books of 1 and 2 Corinthians. Each week, one new chapter is studied, so no prior knowledge is necessary.

How do we get started? League officials will meet with you, explain the program, and present a demonstration. They will also provide help to new teams learning the skills involved in the competition. I hope that you will call me at 673-8084 or write to me at 2001 Washington Boulevard, Glassport, PA 15045. We are looking forward to your involvement in this quiz season!

In Christ,

John Isett

Quiz Coordinator, PBQ

2. Scheduling

Once you have your first date set and an idea of who will be involved, you will want to schedule your quiz year. You may eventually want to rotate churches, but for starters, we suggest you find the largest, most central, most available church or school. It will add a lot to your event if you can use a faculty that has not only rooms for quizzing, but also a recreation room or gym, as well as a large "main" meeting room.

Find the best day and time and keep it as consistent as possible (i.e. "second Saturday of each month").

A sample schedule is listed below. You may also choose to accumulate material throughout the year.

A sample schedule is as follows:

October

1 Corinthians 1-4

November

1 Corinthians 5-8

December

1 Corinthians 9-12

January

1 Corinthians 13-16

February

2 Corinthians 1-4

March

2 Corinthians 5-8

April

2 Corinthians 9-13

3. Equipment and Materials

A listing of contacts for equipment and materials is provided in the Resources Section of the WBQA newsletter. You will need the following equipment:

Electronic Quiz Seats

You will need a quiz box and pads. We recommend one of the following three sets.

1. Quiz Time: This battery operated set is the lowest priced and is extremely reliable.

2. Electronic Quizbox: This set includes timers and an option to connect to a scoreboard.

3. Quiz System: Similar to Electronic Quizbox with benches also available.

Depending upon the equipment and options, you will spend between $200 and $450.

Scripture Portions

Scripture portions are available from the WBQA at a low cost. Most denominations are using the New International Version. Each new quizzer and coach should receive a scripture portion for the material you are covering.

Questions

Questions are available from WBQA and from other denominations. WBQA questions are taken word for word from the scripture text, so as to encourage direct study and memorization of the Scriptures. Since these direct textual questions are not interpretive, quizzers from different denominations can compete together on an equal basis.

It is a good idea to provide sample questions to quizzers and coaches. Questions are an excellent study aid, as they help teens to learn the Scripture, and familiarize them with the format of the questions in an actual quiz. Some sample questions are provided in the WBQA information manual. Question books are also available.

For your actual quizzes, you will want to order Quiz Generator, a computer program to generate sets of questions. With minimal work, you will be prepared with as many sets as needed.

Score sheets and Rules

Rules and also a summary are included in the WBQA information manual. A copy of the scoresheet can be downloaded and printed at www.wbqa.org.

4. Planning your first quiz

The following are components of a good quiz day:

1. Opening / Devotions

Open with prayer and a short devotion on the material being studied.

2. Preliminary bracket

Each team should quiz at least 3 preliminary quizzes. You will want to print the questions for each round prior to your quiz day. You may call WBQA for question sets, or order the Quiz Generator. Depending on the number of teams, you may want to run quizzes in more than one room. Some sample brackets are provided at the end of this section.

3. Playoffs / Championships

After Preliminaries, teams place into a playoff or championship round. For example, you may wish to run 3 playoff quizzes.

1st
8th
9th

2nd
6th
7th

3rd
4th
5th

The three winners advance to the championship quiz.

4. Awards

Announce the top individual and team places for the day. You may wish to give ribbons for each quiz and/or accumulate the statistics and give trophies at the end of the quiz year. Also give some kind of team awards to the top three teams.

5. Fellowship

If time permits, it is extremely helpful to have a recreation and fellowship time. The more time quizzers spend with each other, the more they will want to return for the next quiz. Some groups schedule their quizzes on a Saturday afternoon, then have a fellowship time in the evening.

Sample Brackets for League Quizzes

Before the quiz, teams should draw numbers to determine the preliminary bracket. The following brackets each consist of three quizzes per team up to 20 teams. If you need additional brackets, you may call WBQA or order the Bracketmaker software. You may also be able to adjust these brackets to fit your needs.

The following preliminary brackets include three quizzes per team:

4 Teams

1 2 3
4 1 2
3 4 1
2 3 4

5 Teams

1 2 3
5 4 2
3 5 1
2 1 4
4 3 5

6 Teams

1 2 3
5 1 4
4 6 2
6 3 1
2 5 6
3 4 5

7 Teams

1 2 3
3 6 7
2 4 6
5 3 4
6 1 5
7 5 2
4 7 1

8 Teams

1 2 3 4 5 6
5 3 8 7 6 1
2 7 5 8 1 4
6 8 2 3 4 7

9 Teams

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
6 1 7 3 4 8 5 9 2
8 5 1 2 7 4 9 3 6

10 Teams

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
6 1 9 2 10 8 7 3 4
8 4 1 5 9 2 3 6 10
10 7 5

11 Teams

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
11 7 4 3 9 5 10 6 2
9 10 11 2 4 8 6 1 7
8 3 10 5 11 1

12 Teams

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
5 11 8 12 1 7 6 3 10 2 9 4
9 10 5 11 7 2 3 4 12 8 6 1

13 Teams

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
8 12 2 6 3 7 13 10 5 9 4 1
10 7 4 12 9 13 2 6 11 5 1 8
3 13 11

14 Teams

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
8 10 13 14 12 7 2 6 11 9 3 4
6 9 1 11 4 8 3 14 5 13 7 2
12 13 5 14 1 10

15 Teams

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
5 12 7 2 13 8 15 6 11 14 10 1 9 3 4
6 7 10 11 3 14 12 9 13 4 15 2 8 1 5

16 Teams

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
5 3 13 15 12 8 6 10 16 14 9 1 2 4 7
9 15 6 11 7 14 12 2 5 3 16 4 8 1 10
16 13 11

17 Teams

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
6 15 11 1 7 10 2 16 5 3 9 13 8 4 17
5 3 8 11 13 2 14 10 4 17 6 1 9 12 16
16 17 14 15 12 7

18 Teams

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
9 12 14 18 3 7 15 10 5 17 4 13 6 1 16 2 11 8
5 7 17 8 15 1 12 16 2 14 6 18 11 9 4 3 13 10

19 Teams

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
8 18 10 14 9 16 17 13 1 3 4 7 11 6 2 19 15 5
5 7 13 2 12 8 15 16 11 6 19 14 18 3 9 1 10 4
12 19 17

20 Teams

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
11 18 7 12 13 19 15 20 17 14 4 8 6 3 16 9 1 10
8 15 2 3 10 20 19 16 1 18 9 13 17 7 4 5 12 14
20 19 5 2 6 11

Components of a Good Quiz Day

1. Opening and Devotions. Open with prayer and a devotion on the material being studied. Make any necessary announcements and rules clarifications.

2. Preliminary Bracket. Teams draw numbers to determine the preliminary bracket. For a half day, each team should have three preliminary quizzes; for a full day, we suggest six apiece. Allow a half hour per round when you map out the schedule, and keep a leader board on which to tally team standings. The following is a sample bracket for a 15-team event:

 

Room 1

Room 2

Room 3

Room 4

Room 5

Round 1

1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

10 11 12

13 14 15

Round 2

8 15 10

11 1 7

9 4 3

6 2 14

5 12 13

Round 3

12 6 9

3 14 8

2 13 11

15 7 5

1 10 4

Round 4

14 5 11

9 13 10

6 15 1

2 8 4

12 3 7

Round 5

8 1 12

4 11 15

10 7 14

13 3 6

5 9 2

Round 6

7 4 13

15 12 2

3 10 5

14 9 1

11 6 8

3. Playoffs. After Preliminaries, teams place into a playoff or championship round. Teams are ranked by 10 points for each first place, 5 points per second, and one point per third. Total score points are used to break ties. If time is short or there are less than 9 teams, you may wish to place the top 3 teams directly into championships. The following brackets have worked well for many groups:

Teams are ranked 1st through 9th after preliminaries

Short 9 Bracket (Half Day)

1st
8th
9th

2nd
6th
7th

3rd
4th
5th

The three winners advance to the Championship Quiz

Full 9 Bracket (Full Day)

A

1st
2nd
3rd

B

4th
5th
6th

C

7th
8th
9th

D

2nd (From A)
3rd (From A)
1st (From B)

E

2nd (From B)
3rd (From B)
1st (From c)

F

2nd (From D)
3rd (From D)
1st (From E)

Winners of quizzes A, D and F advance to Finals

4. Championship and Awards. Everyone should gather for the championship quiz. As soon as this quiz ends, present awards to the top 3 teams and announce the top individual places for the day. You may wish to give ribbons, medals or trophies. Announce any future events and close with a time of prayer.

5. Fellowship Time. Recreation and fellowship times are extremely beneficial. Quizzers who spend time with each other will want to return for the next event. Some groups schedule events on a Saturday afternoon, then have a fellowship time in the evening. Even if this time is short, it is critical to include this opportunity somewhere in your schedule.

Conducting a Quiz Demo

The quiz demo is the traditional way to introduce Bible Quizzing to an unfamiliar audience. We are continuing this tradition, but with a new twist. In our experience, the best way to present quizzing to a group of prospective youths is to let them try it themselves. We sometimes do take experienced quizzers to the demo. They come along, however, not to quiz but to help others learn to quiz. In a sense, the roles are reversed.

Role reversal demos have enabled us to show youths how much they themselves will enjoy quizzing. Instead of being impressed by the knowledge of experienced quizzers, they are delighted to discover their own abilities. The following is the outline for the demos we have been running.

Questions

The key to role reversal demos is to prepare questions to which participants with no preparation will know the answers. Write these questions on cards beforehand. Five categories of knowledge which have been especially effective are Christmas songs, commercials, sports, nursery rhymes, and Bible questions. The following are examples of some of the questions we have used from Christmas songs:

Christmas Songs

Away in a manger, no crib for what? A bed
We wish you a merry Christmas and what? A happy new year
Hark the herald angels sing, glory to whom? the Newborn King
Silent night, holy night, all is what? Calm
O little town of what? Bethlehem
Who lay down his sweet head? The little Lord Jesus
Bearing what we travel afar? gifts

Sports

How many innings in a baseball game? 9
How many periods in a hockey game? 3
Which baseball team plays in Cleveland? Indians
How many quarters in a football game? 4

Quotations

A penny saved is what? A penny earned
Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man what? Healthy, wealthy, and wise
A stitch in time saves how many? Nine
To be or not what? To be
Give me liberty, or give me what? Death
What keeps the doctor away? An apple a day

Basic Bible Questions

For God so loved the world that he gave whom? His one and only son
You are the salt of what? The earth
Who built the ark? Noak
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be what? Your name
Which disciple betrayed Jesus? Judas
Where was Jesus born? In Bethlehem
Before the rooster crows you will disown me how many times? Three
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit what? The earth
Knock, and what will be opened to you? The door
A wise man built his house on what? The rock

Could you answer these questions? As you prepare your questions, remember that they must be easy to answer. Any Bible or other questions you use in a demo should be simple so that anyone can answer them. The challenge in a demo is learning the quizzing, so keep the questions short and elementary.

Preparation

1. Prepare enough questions for 3 quizzes. It is best to have one quiz for each of the categories you will be using.

2. Talk to the leader of the group and set an allotted time for the demo. Anything from 15 minutes to two hours can work, but 30 to 45 minutes is preferred.

3. If available, bring along 4 to 6 quizzers. (If you are just starting your league, this will not be necessary) They themselves will not be quizzing, as in a traditional demo. They will, however, be helping to teach and coach others who are experiencing quizzing for the first time.

4. Be there in time to set up all equipment beforehand and briefly meet and pray with the group leader.

Demo Outline

1. Briefly introduce yourselves and your quiz program. Find out the names of the youths to whom you are presenting quizzing.

2. Break the audience into teams. If available, let one or two of your quizzers coach each team. Give these "coaches" 5 minutes before the quiz to explain to their team what will happen in the quiz. It has been our experience that this is an excellent way for a group to meet the quizzers personally and find out that they are "real people" and how much they enjoy quizzing.

3. Get the young people on the quiz seats and begin the quiz, providing as much explanation as necessary. All technical rules need not be observed, as the purpose of this demo is to give the participants the flavor of the competition and fellowship of quizzing.

4. You may vary the amount and length of quizzes to suit time constraints. Be prepared to run 3 full quizzes, as you may find them asking to do more.

5. Allow 5 to 10 minutes to wrap things up. Explain that a regular quiz is run the same way, except that questions come from the Bible. Be sure to explain that no prior knowledge is necessary. Let your quizzers give them scripture portions and, if available, question lists. Have your quizzers explain to their "team" how to begin studying should they decide to quiz.

6. Remember that the key is to gain the support of the leaders. The purpose of the demo is to show them how much their youths will enjoy quizzing. Provide them with the materials they will need to get started. You may offer to run their first quiz practice.

Summary of WBQA Quiz Rules

1. Each quiz has 20 Questions, plus A/B questions and tie breakers.

2. A correct answer scores 20 points.

3. An error results in a 20-point toss-up to other two teams.

4. An error on a toss-up gives a 10-point free question to the one remaining team.

5. After four correct 20-pointers, a quizzers leaves the seats with a quiz-out.

6. After three errors, a quizzer is errored out and must leave the quiz.

7. A 10-point bonus will be awarded for

a. A quiz out with error

b. The 3rd, 4th, and 5th different individual to answer a 20-point question

8. 10 points will be deducted for

a. An individual's third error

b. A fourth team error and each subsequent error

c. An error on question 16 or later

d. A team's second foul and every second foul thereafter

e. A second overruled challenge

9. No more than 10 points will be deducted for any one error.

10. All teams must jump on questions 18, 19, and 20. Hence an error on 17 would be followed by a toss-up or free question on 17a.

11. The quiz will continue until the last question is answered correctly and all ties are broken

Please see Official WBQA Quiz Rules for more details

Sponsoring an Interdenominational Quiz Event

Sponsoring a quiz event is extremely challenging yet even more rewarding. A wonderful sense of unity and enthusiasm is generated when teens from different denominations quiz over God's word. This appendix lists some factors you should consider in planning your event. The format will work well for existing quiz groups or for starting a new league.

Preparation

1. Date. Pick a day and time that will be open for most groups. Plan far ahead. Saturday is traditionally the best day, but a weekday evening can also be effective for a small event. You may also want to work your event around a retreat, party, or workshop.

2. Location. Find a central location with enough rooms to host the event. A fellowship hall, recreation room, or gym is also a major plus.

3. Promotion. Get the word out early and often. Talk with churches, schools and quiz leaders in your area. Advertise in any media you feel will be effective. Do not be discouraged if your event is small the first time around. Even a small number of teams will give you a solid core group from which to grow.

4. Material. Once you have an idea who is coming, set the quiz material to suit their needs.

5. Times. Choose between a full day or half day format. Is it an afternoon event, or do you have a full Saturday with which to work? You will need at least 3 hours (we recommend 4 or 5) for a half day format.

6. Questions. Questions should be prepared prior to the event. We suggest preformatted sets or quiz generation software. See "Questions for Competition."

7. Rules. Provide each team with rules and sample questions as soon as they commit to attending. Be sure that everybody knows what to expect.

8. Bracketing. Document your quiz schedule beforehand. Have alternate brackets available in case plans change the day of the quiz.

9. Setup. Be sure all quiz equipment is in place prior to the quiz. Copy extra score sheets and rules.

Help Needed

You will need the following help. If you are starting small, you yourself may be filling a lot of these positions. However, you should make it a point to involve as many people as possible. With enough assistance, the event will run smoothly and enthusiasm will spread.

Emcee (Lead person to run the opening meeting)

Devotional Speaker (Usually a pastor, coordinator, coach, or youth worker)

Quizmasters (Ideally one for every three or four teams)

Scorekeepers (One per quizmaster)

Statistician (Collects score sheets and tallies individual and team scores)

Receptionist / Monitor (To welcome people and ensure that everyone knows where they should be)

Registrar (For larger events, to register teams and take fees as they arrive)

Cooks and Servers (If you plan to offer a meal)

Setup / Cleanup Coordinator (Ask for help as far ahead as possible)

Lodging Coordinator (If people need to stay overnight)