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
--------------------------------------------------------
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)