Battle of the Books- Championship Battle Guidelines

1. Six team members may participate in the Championship Battle. The alternates may watch the battles but may not participate. If a full team is not present at the scheduled time for the battle, we will wait no more than ten minutes. After the battle begins, no late-coming team members may join the battle.

2. A coin will be flipped to see which team will go first. Team captains will draw 15 questions each (a total of 30) for the battle.

3. The moderator will read each question twice. Each team may confer up to 20 seconds. The captain will then stand up and clearly give the author's last name and the answer to the question. Other team members may not talk to the captain or to each other after the captain stands up, nor should there be any communication between the team and the audience.

4. A panel of librarians will award points for each correct author and answer. If the panel determines the answer to be incorrect, the moderator will be instructed to repeat the question for the opposing team.

5. If members of the team answering the question violate rule #3 during a battle, the panel will not award any points to the team for that question. In addition, the panel will deduct four points as a penalty from the team's final score at the end of the battle.

6. While a team is conferring or answering the question, members of the opposite team must not indulge in disruptive conduct such as loud laughing, loud talking or communicating with the audience. If such behavior occurs at any time during the battle, the panel will give the offending team one warning. If the behavior persists, the panel will deduct four points as a penalty from the team's final score.

7. If the battle is tied at the end of the 30 questions, the captains will each draw from the set of tiebreaker questions. The moderator will flip the coin to decide which team is given the first tiebreaker question.

8. Tie breaker questions will be conducted in the same way as the regular questions. Both teams will answer the same number of questions. If a tie remains after the first two questions, two more will be asked, until a winner emerges.

9. The decision of the panel is final. If there are any questions pertaining to the battle, only team managers may discuss them with the librarians on the panel after the battle. If the team managers still have concerns, they may consult with the Youth Services Supervisor.

Note to the audience: Please turn off your pagers and cell phones. Sit back and enjoy the battle by supporting and applauding both teams at the end of the battle. Do not take notes or write down battle questions or answers. Videotaping and audio taping are prohibited except before or after the battle.

Correct Author:	1 point
Correct Answer:	5 points

Correct Author Missed by Opposing Team:	1 point
Correct Answer Missed by Opposing Team:	3 points