Battle of the Books Rules and Goals

Goals

Students: Have fun reading good books from a wide variety of authors and genres.

Educators: Encourage reading, foster friendly competition, and nurture the love of books in young people.

Libraries: Encourage young people to read a wide variety of books and to engage with their local library.

Rules

1. Junior
   One team of six students from grades 4, 5 or 6 will represent each school. A maximum of three team members will be in grade 6. Method of selection of team members is decided by the team coordinator at each school.

   Senior
   One team of six students from grades 7 or 8 will represent each school. Method of selection of team members is decided by the team coordinator at each school.

   NOTE: Up to three substitutes may rotate between the rounds of play. There must never be more than three team members in grade six competing at one time, so keep that in mind when selecting substitute players. No team shall have more than nine players in total (six regular team members and three substitutes).

2. Each team will have a spokesperson designated by the team coordinator. While the team is encouraged to discuss possible answers, team answers will only be accepted from the spokesperson.
   
   

3. The Semi-Finals will consist of three rounds of play, and the Finals will have one round. Each round features a Regular Battle and a Lightning Battle.
   
   

4. Regular Battle questions will be addressed to teams alternately, regardless of the last correct answer. There will be 12 Regular Battle questions per round. When asked a question teams will have 20 seconds to provide the book’s title and author (see booklist).
   
   

5. During this 20-second time period the team to which a question is addressed may have the question repeated as many times as they wish but this will cut into the allotted time to provide an answer. The team may give a maximum of three title and three author guesses per question via the spokesperson.
   
   

6. Five points will be given if the team correctly identifies the exact title, and three points will be awarded for correctly identifying the author’s surname. The author’s first name does not need to be identified.
   
   

7. The Lightning Battles will be featured at the end of each round. Lightning Battles consist of a 2 minute, 30 seconds time period during which each team is asked up to 12 questions. These questions concern details of the books and will not require teams to identify titles or authors. Each correctly answered Lightning Battle question will be worth three points. In the Lightning Battles, teams submit as many guesses as they wish to each question but this will use up time. Scores from the Lightning Battles will be added to the scores from the Regular Battles.
   
   

8. If a team disagrees with the moderator’s initial ruling on an answer the team may challenge the ruling immediately after the Regular question or immediately after the end of the Lightning Battle. A team may only challenge rulings on its own answers. Moderators will either confirm their original ruling or may provide a randomly selected alternative question as a substitution.
   
   

9. When a tie-breaker is necessary each team in the tie-breaker will be asked extra Lightning Battle questions. The spokesperson must provide one correct answer within twenty seconds. No guesses will be allowed and an incorrect answer will result in elimination. The last team standing wins the tie-breaker round.
   
   

10. The top three teams from the Semi-Finals in each municipality will go on to play in their municipal Finals. The gold medal teams from the Finals competitions will go on to represent their municipalities in the Durham Regional Championship.

PLEASE NOTE:

• A warm-up practice question will be given to each team at the beginning of its first Semi-Battle and at the beginning of the Final and Regional Final Battles.
• There may be no assistance from the coordinators or audience members.
• The moderator’s decision will be final in the case of any questionable answer.
• Teams will not be penalized for incorrect answers; in other words, points will not be deducted for incorrect responses.
• All decisions made by the Battle Committee are final.
• Any team demonstrating poor sportsmanship will be not be invited back.

Links to Battle Information

• Battle of the Books
• 2009 Junior Division Battle Booklist
• 2009 Senior Division Battle Booklist
• 2009 Battle Dates
• Sample Questions
• Battle Contact Information
• Battle Hall of Fame