TOURNAMENT STRUCTURE: PRELIMINARY ROUND

The Game:
The following are the rules and game play for The Sharks Quiz.
The program producers reserve the right to change any of the rules at any time upon notice to participants.

Rounds:
1. Right Corner Round : Eight (8) social literacy questions covering Ghana and Africa.
2. R cube Round: Eight (8) Questions each on Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic,
3. STEM Round : Ten (10) questions on Scientific and ICT literacy.
4. One on One Round : Two (2) questions each on English, Math, Science and World Knowledge

ROUND ONE
Format: Set of Questions posed to one team at a time
Time limit: 3 minutes per school
Questions: General Knowledge questions focused primarily on Ghana and Africa: Current Affairs, People and Places, National Heroes, Country Facts.
Points: All questions are worth 10 points.
Penalty: There are no deductions for wrong answers in this round.
Buzzing: Team members must wait for the host to call on them before attempting to answer a question.
Conferring: Team members are allowed to confer before or after buzzing in.
Bouncing: There are no bonus questions
Score: Scores are mentioned by host at the end of the round.

ROUND TWO: R cube round
Format: Each team is posed a question at a time
Time Limit: 10 seconds for a straightforward question, 20 seconds for an involving question
Questions: Questions bother on Reading, writing and arithmetic.
Points: All major questions are worth 10 points. Bonus is worth 5 points.
Penalty: Incorrect answers result in a 5-point deduction.
Buzzing: There is no buzzer lockout in this round. Team members may buzz in at any time at their own risk. Team members must wait for the host to call on them by name before attempting to answer a question.
Conferring: Players are allowed to confer with their teammates.
Bouncing: If a player cannot answer a question or answers incorrectly, the host gives the other team an opportunity to respond for 5 points if answered correctly or a 5 point deduction for an incorrect answer.
Score: Total Scores for Round 1 and 2 are mentioned by host at the end of the round.

ROUND THREE : STEM like no other
Format: Team vs. Team
Time limit: 10 seconds for a straightforward question, 20 seconds for an involving question.
Questions: Questions bothering on applicable STEM are posed to both schools.
Points: Questions are worth 10 points for a right answer and a 5 point penalty for an incorrect answer.
Buzzing: This is the speed race. Teams may buzz in at any time the question is being read. Team members must wait for the host to call on them by name before attempting to answer a question.
Conferring: Team members are allowed to confer before but not after buzzing in.
Bouncing: If a team buzzes in and cannot answer or answers incorrectly, the question is read fully and then posed to the other team. Team members are allowed to confer before buzzing in.
Score: Total scores are mentioned by the host at the end of the round.

ROUND FOUR: One on One
Format: Team member vs. team member.
Time limit: 10 seconds for a straightforward question, 30 or 60 seconds for an involving question
Questions: 4 Questions on Literacy, Numeracy, STEM and Social Literacy. Questions can take a multimedia form in pictures, videos and sound bites.
Points: All questions are worth 10 points.
Penalty: Incorrect answers result in no deduction.
Buzzing: Team members may buzz in at any time at their own risk. If a question is interrupted by a player buzzing in, the host will stop and ask for an answer, without reading the remainder of the question. Team member must wait for the host to call on him/her by name before attempting to answer a question.
Conferring: Team member cannot confer with other team members.
Bouncing: If a team cannot answer a question or answers incorrectly, the host gives the other team pair the opportunity to respond.
Score: Total scores are mentioned by the host at the end of the round.

MATCH TIEBREAKER (IF NEEDED)

The tiebreaker is a sudden death round. The host asks a toss-up question worth 10 points. Team members are allowed to confer before buzzing in however, and allowed to buzz in before the question is read in its entirety. If the answer is correct, the game is over and the team is declared the winner. If an answer cannot be given or an answer is incorrect, the opposing team has the chance to answer the question in the same manner. If neither team gives a correct answer, the host moves on to another question. This continues until a correct answer is given and one team is declared the winner.

Refer to Quiz Areas (Curriculumn/Reading Materials)

JUDGING

Judges make every effort to ensure a fair game, but the occasional mistake may occur. If the judges become aware of a mistake, every effort will be made to correct it.
Questions are repeated at the discretion of the host or judges. Disputes or discrepancies should be voiced by the coach to the studio judge at the end of a round. If the dispute is determined to be valid by the judges, play stops and the discrepancy is addressed in the sole discretion of the production staff and judges.

Scores may be adjusted, or questions eliminated, if necessary. Play then resumes. Any ambiguity or disputes that may arise concerning the rules of play and their interpretation is clarified or resolved by the production staff and judges. Once an individual round is completed and the next round begins, the completed round becomes final and challenges are not accepted retroactively.

In the event of a tie, the competition is final once a tiebreaker question has been asked and answered correctly and any associated disputes or discrepancies have been addressed. No protests are accepted after the teams leave the studio.

To encourage a positive atmosphere and foster good sportsmanship, all participating schools and teams (including coaches, students and administrators) are presumed to be responsible individuals and will be treated as such and are therefore expected to conduct themselves in a responsible and ethical manner. This includes, but is not limited to, treating all other players, coaches and staff with courtesy, abiding by all decisions of the The Sharks Quiz staff, honestly reporting details of game situations to the The Sharks Quiz Executive Producer, and promptly reporting violations to the The Sharks Quiz Executive Producer.

Coaches and administrators are expected to actively use their influence to enhance sportsmanship in the broadest possible manner and should not engage in conduct that may incite players or audience members during the competitions and tapings. Unsportsmanlike conduct includes any actions or comments by coaches, players, or audience members which are intended to bait, anger, ridicule, or demean others, whether or not the deeds or words are vulgar, or in order to gain an unfair advantage during the competition.

Public criticism of the crew of The Sharks Quiz, and/or any participating team players during the competition or taping will be considered disruptive and unethical.