Suggestions for Host Churches
Thanks for being willing to host this event! We have grown to about 250 people. So I know this is a large task for you. Hopefully this packet of information will be helpful. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. I'm also the one who will be putting out the registration form, and so will need information from you regarding meal costs and activities. Thanks again!
Paul
Tournament Organization
Each sponsoring church will be responsible for organizing the tournament at its location. The sponsor will be contacted 6 weeks prior to the tournament by the Youth Supt. for the necessary information for the registration form. The Youth Supt. will prepare, mail, and collect the registration form. Registrations will be due two weeks prior to the tournament to allow the sponsoring church time to prepare.
15-17 quiz rooms will be required, depending upon the number of teams attending the quiz. Each room needs to be marked clearly with it's number. Each room should be set up with a table and 14 chairs. (5 for each team, 1 for each coach, 2 for judges). The rooms should be numbered from 1 to the maxium number. Usually the lower numbered rooms are for middle school and the upper numbered rooms are for high school.
Each station should be manned with a Quiz Master and Score Keeper, with a Jump Judge for the rooms without electronic seats. This requires the commitment of at least 35 adults. As the host church, you need to gather a minimum of 25 adults. The other slots will be filled by adults coming with their teams. Training of staff will be led by the Quiz Coordinator at 8 a.m. on the morning of the tournament with those staffing the stations to fully explain their responsibilities and the specifics of timing, scoring, etc. These details are all outlined in the NYI Bible Quizzing Official Rules. Staff may be gleaned from the local church (a great way to involve the adults), area churches, or from the chaperones coming from the quizzing churches. Coaches should not be used to staff stations. The sponsoring coach should be in touch with the quiz coordinator ahead of time to know what adults might be available.
We strongly encourage you to meet with your adults prior to the meet to go over the questions and perhaps do a "mock meet" so they can see what it is like to have kids jumping and challenging. The hour that we spend training them on the morning of the tournament is rarely enough to help new people feel confident. There also is a CD with a video of two quiz rounds available.
A central score-keeping station should also be established where staff can turn in their scores, and the tournament Score Keeper can maintain a running total of individual and team scores. NWYM will provide score sheets, questions, schedules, and the score keeping computer. It would be helpful to have a photocopy machine in the room.
Housing, meals, and activities are also the responsibility of the hosting church. Registration and collection of money should occur as teams arrive on Friday and Saturday.
Worship is also the responsibility of the hosting church(es). Traditionally this has been led by a team of youth, but that is not a requirement. This is a time where we all meet to participate in gathered worship to start the day off in the right spirit. It is our hope that your youth will give some thoughtful, prayerful consideration to the spirit of worship, what elements of worship they would like to involve and how it can be appropriately led. Even if the kids themselves do not do the up front leadership, this is an excellent opportunity for them to get some hands-on experience in leadership and discerning the will of God in relation to worship. Please encourage them to assume this role. Our worship time is 9:00-9:30.
STAFFING:
Preassign a minimum of 25 judges as quiz masters, scorekeepers, and jump judges and notify all judges of their assignment prior to the tournament. Let them know of the 8 a.m. training time. Consider the mix of people and personalities when assigning judges to each room. If possible place at least one experienced judge in each room. If not, make sure that there is someone in the room who will take charge and not be thrown by the new experience.
Distribute instructions to all judges ahead of time. Ask judges to read through the instructions and the scripture passage used in the quiz competition prior to the training session on Saturday morning. A copy of the information distributed to the judges is enclosed.
Roles
Quiz Master:
- Must know the quizzing rules.
- Pronounce questions slowly and clearly.
- Be very familiar with the content of the books being quizzed.
- Should call, at his/her discretion, a foul or error on a coach or team for conduct that is not in line with sound Christian standards.
- Should determine "correct" or "incorrect" on answers, seeking input from Score keeper when difficult. For "quoted" verses, be exact! For content questions beginning with "according to...", be very close. Do not let small things slide. The quizzers don't expect you to. On challenges, the Quiz Master should consult a Bible ( or the provided scripture portion) before ruling on the challenge.
- Begin by saying "Question". This should call for complete silence. Then say "Question number..." and proceed with the question.
- Mentally keeps track of 5 seconds allowed after conclusion of question before calling "Time."
Score Keeper
- Correctly keeps track of individual and team scores.
- Announces the quiz-out or error-out of a quizzer.
- Announces when Question 16 has been reached and that points will then be deducted for errors.
- Totals scores at the end of the match.
- 5. Sends the score sheet to the central scoring station after each match.
Jump Judge:
Identifies the first quizzer whose weight leaves the seat. This is needed only in the jr. high rooms which do not have jump seats.
SCHEDULE:
In general, our schedule will be:
| 8:00 |
Judge & Scorer Training |
| 9:00 |
Worship (45 minutes) |
| 9:45 |
Quizzing begins |
| 12:00 |
Lunch |
| 12:45 |
Memory Verse Recite-Off |
| 1:30 |
Quizzing |
| 5:00 |
Dinner |
| 6:00 |
Activity (keep at or under $5) |
FORMS:
Judge sign-up sheet
Check-list
BIBLE QUIZ CHECK-LIST
____17 quiz rooms with one long table and 14 chairs (5 for each team, 1 for each coach, 2 for judges) and numbers on the doors
____39 judges minimum. (25 of these should be from the hosting church)
____Two training rooms large enough for 15-30 people some distance away from the sanctuary. (can be one of the quiz rooms).
____An overhead projector in one of the training rooms
____An overhead projector for the worship team (if needed)
____Sanctuary or room for the morning worship.
____Quiz Central that can be set up for computer/printer use and has a table and chairs for 3-4 people. A copy machine is helpful
____Dining - floor or table seating for 200
____Breakfast arrangements for those staying Friday night in churches
____Lunch arrangements
____Dinner Arrangement
____Housing
____Saturday evening's activity ($5 or less)
____Leadership of Saturday morning worship
____Pre-meet training of staff from your church