Rules of Play

Toss-Up Questions

1. The moderator will read a ten (10) point toss-up question.

2. The first player on either team to buzz will have the opportunity to answer within five (5) seconds.

3. If correct, the team is awarded ten points, and offered three (3) ten-point bonus questions.

4. If incorrect, the team is penalized five (5) points, and the question is restated for the opposing team.

5. The first answer stated by a player will be considered his or her final answer regardless of whether or not a player states multiple answers or quickly corrects himself or herself.

6. The opposing team will be awarded ten points for a correct response and no penalty for an incorrect response will be given.

7. If a contestant buzzes before the moderator has completely read the question on a toss-up question, the moderator is to stop reading immediately and allow the contestant five seconds to answer. The moderator is not to finish reading the question. If the contestant answers the question incorrectly, the moderator reads the complete question from the point of interruption to the opposing team.

8. The timing judge is to allow five seconds after the completion of the reading of a toss-up question; if no contestant has hit the buzzer, the judge will call "time." When this situation occurs and time has been called, no contestant is to be recognized, and the moderator is to read the answer and provide a new toss-up question.

9. Contestants must wait until the buzzer judge acknowledged both the individual team member and the school before answering a question. Only the acknowledged contestant's answer will be recognized. If a contestant answers before being acknowledged, his/her team shall be penalized five points, and the question will be restated for the opposing team with no penalty for an incorrect answer.

10. If team members confer during a toss-up question prior to any of the contestants hitting the buzzer, being recognized, and answering the question, that team is to be disqualified and penalized five points. The moderator is then to reread the question to the opposing team.

11. If the buzzer has been hit, the opposing team will be disqualified from a future chance to answer the toss-up question if team members confer while the first team is answering. No penalty points will be awarded in order to help keep consistency in the rules for toss-up questions.

12. Conferring may be defined as any action the moderator thinks involves communication in any form from one team member to another member of the same team.

Bonus Questions

1. If a contestant has correctly answered a ten-point, toss-up question, his team is offered three ten-point bonus questions.

2. The Bonus Questions may not be waived and must be read in their entirety. 

3. All team members may confer during the reading of the bonus questions and for five seconds thereafter in order to reach a decision, which must be presented by the team captain or his designee.

4. At the end of five seconds, the timing judge will call "time," and the moderator will call for an answer from the team captain or designee. Team members may not pass notes or papers after "time" is called at the end of the bonus, and no additional time will be allowed for conferring. If an answer is received before the end of time, the team captain must say, “We have our answer.”

5. If correct, the team will be awarded ten points per correct response.

6. If incorrect, the team will be awarded from zero (0) to twenty (20) points, depending on the number of questions answered correctly.

7. After hearing the moderator read each bonus question, a team may elect not to answer. The team captain will tell the moderator that the team declines the bonus questions. The moderator then reads the answers to the bonus only.

Disqualification of Questions

1. If an answer is called out from the audience or the correctness of a bonus question or part thereof is signaled by unengaged team members or coaches, the question may be disqualified. No points will be awarded, and the game will go on to the next toss-up.

2. If a question is challenged or determined to be ambiguous, the moderator has the right to disqualify a question.

3. When a moderator or the buzzer judge makes a mistake of any kind that causes the disqualification of a question, the team losing the chance to answer the question is to be given a free question in the same format as the disqualified question.

Challenge to a Question or Answer

1. The team coach is to indicate an objection by raising a hand and telling the moderator that he has an objection.

2. If a competitor objects to a question or answer, the objection must be presented to the moderator and judges by the team's coach. Once the toss-up sequence is completed, the challenge may be addressed.

3. When an objection is made, the moderator will direct the timing judge to immediately stop the clock and start it again when the moderator so indicates.

4. The decision made by the moderator on any objection is final.

5. Once a new toss-up or bonus question has begun, no objections can be made to a previous question or answer.

End of the Competition Time Period

1. If the buzzer goes off to indicate the end of a competition time period and the moderator has started to read a toss-up question, that toss-up question is to be completed. If the question is answered correctly, the moderator will then provide a bonus question. If the toss-up is answered incorrectly, the opposing team is to be given a chance to answer the toss-up question, and, with a correct answer, the chance to answer the bonus question.

2. If a moderator runs out of questions prior to the end of a varsity match, he or she may read unused toss-up and bonus questions from the junior varsity match of the same day. If a moderator runs out of questions prior to the end of a junior varsity match, he or she may read unused toss-up and bonus questions from the novice match of the same day. If a moderator runs out of questions prior to the end of a novice match, time is called.

3. If the time period has expired and all qualified toss-up and bonus questions have been completed and the score is tied, the match will be in overtime.  The moderator will read a toss-up question. If the contestant hitting the buzzer first answers the toss-up question correctly, that contestant’s team will be considered the winner and no bonus question will be read. If the toss-up question is answered incorrectly, the opposing team is given a chance to answer the question.  No penalty points will be deducted during overtime.   This will continue until one team answers a toss-up question correctly and is declared the winner.   The overtime toss-up question will receive the same score as any other toss-up question, 10 points.

Moderator Time-out

1. If, in the opinion of the moderator, excessive noise from the team or the audience interferes with the competition, the moderator shall call a time-out until the competition can continue.

2. The moderator may call a time-out to seek advice, clarification, or to meet any emergency need. If the emergency involves audience member(s) calling out or signaling answers to contestants, the moderator may ask the said audience member(s) to leave the match or site.

3. No substitutions will be made during a moderator time-out.

4. A moderator (or judge) must call time-out to discuss listed answers he/she believes to be wrong, or team answers he/she believes to be acceptable, but not the listed answer.

Completion of the Match

The moderator is responsible for ascertaining the score. The moderator may be assisted by the judge and by the scorekeeper, but the moderator’s decision as to the official score is final. The moderator is responsible for sending the moderator reports to both the Commissioner and Coordinator and contact information is on the moderator form. 

Validation of Scores

Using the Moderator report sent digital the night of the match and the printed copy sent to the district/tournament coordinator, scores will be validated and submitted to NAQT.

Question Security 

The coordinator and moderators are responsible for shredding any printed copies of NAQT questions and deleting the digital files to ensure questions security.