UCLA
Residential Life

College Bowl Match Rules and Judging Criteria

It is a team’s responsibility to have reviewed the match rules and judging criteria before a tournament gets underway.

Team/Tournament Commitment and Communication

  • Only registered players will be allowed to play in a scheduled match/tournament.
  • Players must be committed to a team throughout the duration of the tournament (community tournament and all-hill tournament).
  • All communication between College Bowl Staff and competing Teams will be directed to the Team Captain via email.

Rules for Team Registration and Tournament Play

  • All players must be On-Campus/Housing Residents. Teams represent a particular floor/building community and may have no more than two members (of six) that do not live within that community. Only one player who does not live within that community may be playing at any given time.
  • A competing team is composed of four (4) players and two (2) alternates. A team must have a minimum of three (3) players at each match in order to compete. Any team with less than three (3) players will be disqualified.
  • A player may only be registered on one team each year. Residents who register to play for multiple teams or in multiple building tournaments will be disqualified from participating.
  • Teams must be registered online 4 days prior to tournament date.

Match Rules

Questions will test participants on their knowledge and skill level on a variety of subjects consisting of art, entertainment, geography, history, literature, science, sports, and the University of California system.

General Rules:

  • A match will consist of three rounds: rapid-fire, versus, and pyramid.
  • A match will last until all questions are read and all questions will only be read once.
  • The judges will announce the category before reading the question.
  • The team with the highest point total at the end of the match is the winner.
  • Each time a player buzzes and is recognized by the judge, they have 8 seconds to answer the question.
  • The first answer spoken is the one that is official, unless the judges request clarification. Judges will deliberate on ambiguous responses.
  • Any questions, concerns, issues or debates that arise during the competition that are not covered in these rules will be subject to the discretion of the judges. All judges’ decisions are final!

Round Specific Rules:

Rapid-fire Round:

  • There will be 16 total rapid-fire questions asked, each worth 10 points.
  • During the Rapid-fire round, if a player buzzes in before the judge finishes reading the question and does not answer correctly, the judge will finish reading the question and the opposing team has 8 seconds to confer with each other and answer. Only one player from each team will be allowed to offer an answer.

EXAMPLE QUESTION: What was the first residence hall built on the Hill?

Versus Round:

  • There will be 8 total versus questions asked, each worth 20 points.
  • During the Versus round, only the players going against each other can answer the question.
  • The team that scored the most points in the rapid-fire round will be considered Team A, and will get to choose the first round of versus questions. In case of a tie, the team to score the last points in the rapid-fire round will be considered Team A.
  • Player 1 (closest to the judge) from Team A will choose the first category and face Player 1 on Team B. Players 2-4 of Team A will get to choose from the remaining categories to face Players 2-4 of Team B.
  • Once each player on Team A has chosen a category, Player 1 on Team B will get to choose from the remaining categories and face Player 1 on Team A. The same will occur for Players 2-4 on Team B.
  • If Team A has 3 players, while Team B has 4, they can designate who will answer the last question against Player 4 of Team B.
  • If Team B has 3 players, while Team A has 4, Player 1 of Team B will answer the question against Player 4 of Team A.
  • Teams may now take 22 seconds to rearrange themselves.

EXAMPLE QUESTION: Name this American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor who will succeed David Letterman as the host of its late-night franchise.

Pyramid Round:

  • There will be a total of 8 pyramid questions.
  • Each pyramid question can be worth 30 points, 20 points, or 10 points. Each pyramid question is broken up into three parts that vary in difficulty level (most difficult, difficult, least difficult).
  • The point value earned depends on when the player buzzes in to answer the question.
  • The judge will read aloud each part of the question, with the corresponding point value and pause for 2 seconds after each part.
  • Once the judge has begun to read the next point value question, a team can no longer buzz in to answer the previous part’s point value.
  • If a player buzzes in before the judge finishes reading a part and does not answer correctly, the judge will finish reading that part, and the opposing team has 8 seconds to confer with each other and answer. If the opposing team answers incorrectly, the judge will continue reading the question and any player on any team can buzz in to answer.

EXAMPLE QUESTION: For 30 points, its name was chosen in 1948 when it played in its original state of Minnesota; For 20 points, the intent was to specifically reference the state’s official motto. For 10 points, identify this NBA team that has since located west, and supply that official state motto.

In case of a tie after the pyramid round, additional rapid-fire questions will be asked one at a time to determine the winner of the match.

(Rules subject to change. Final rules will be emailed to team captains.)

Judging

Judges for College Bowl shall be derived from Residential Life Faculty in Residence, Professional Staff, faculty members and designated College Bowl personnel.

All decisions by the judges are final.