Guidelines for Participating in Bible Bowl:

Bible Bowl is for youth participants in grades 3-12. The following guidelines will govern the Bible Bowl event.

• All participants must be registered for Bible Bowl by the final registration deadline given in the dates to remember.
• For the 2025 LTCSW Convention, material from Luke’s Gospel. The convention questions will be taken from the 2011 New International Version (NIV).

Guidelines pertaining to ROUNDS:

• Bible Bowl, for all grade categories, will consist of three (3) rounds, all of which will be conducted in one 2-hour long session. Due to time constraints, it will be very important for all participants and spectators to be promptly in their appropriate places for the beginning of each round. Participants must sit in the same order at the same table.
• Each of the three (3) rounds will be approximately thirty-five (35) minutes in length, with approximately a five (5)-minute break between each round. No breaks will be given during the rounds.
• Each of the three (3) rounds will consist of twenty-five (25) questions with three (3) possible multiple choice answers (i.e., A, B or C) per question. See also “QUESTIONS” and “ANSWER SYSTEM.”

Guidelines pertaining to QUESTIONS:

• Questions will be developed by the Bible Bowl Event Director from the NIV 2011. All questions will cover only textual facts. There will be no questions on interpretation. Participants should be prepared to answer questions in each round from any chapter.
• All questions, followed by the three (3) possible multiple choice answers, will be read aloud two (2) times only.
• Questions are planned to be displayed using PowerPoint slides with a projector.

Guidelines pertaining to the ANSWER SYSTEM:

• An “answer box” will be provided to each individual participant.
• The three possible multiple-choice answers to each question, letters A, B, and C, are inside the answer box located at the assigned table.
• Each participant must privately indicate his/her answer (with the indicator provided) immediately and at the same time inside his/her score box when “answers please” is called. At no time is a participant to look over to attempt to see the answer indicated by another participant.
• If a participant is not ready or fails to indicate his/her answer inside their score box when “answers please” is called, no score for that individual will be given for that question.

Guidelines pertaining to SCORING/POINTS:

• Each participant will have the opportunity to acquire points on each question.
• Each individual correct answer will be worth one (1) points, with a total possible of twenty-five (25) points per round.
• Awards will be based on the most cumulative points earned in all rounds, a possible seventy-five (75) total points. A breakdown of awards is explained below.
• Individual scores will not be supplied to the individual congregations.  The scores can be documented by each scorekeeper before they turn in the participants’ score sheets.

Guidelines pertaining to SEATING:

• Each congregation will be provided with assigned table seating.
• Each table will seat four (4) participants and one (1) scorekeeper.
• Each congregation will be expected to provide a scorekeeper for every table assigned to their congregation’s participants.
• If a congregation does not fill an entire table, participants from multiple congregations will be combined at one (1) table (room size is limited). Either congregation may be asked to provide a scorekeeper for the table.
• An email will be sent to each church coordinator prior to the convention with table assignments and scorekeeper request for combined tables.

Guidelines pertaining to OFFICIALS:

• Reader: The Reader will read the questions and three (3) possible multiple choice answers aloud, keep track of time and have the final ruling over any disputed questions. No question may be asked about the validity of any question during the round. If a question is deemed to be invalid after the round, that question will be thrown out and all will receive credit. Due to our computer scoring, a question can only be challenged immediately at the end of the round in which the question was asked. The ruling of the Reader on any disputed question will be final, with no further discussion.
• Scorekeeper: Reminder: Each congregation is to enroll one (1) adult scorekeeper per table or partial tables registered. The scorekeeper has the responsibility for monitoring the participants with respect to assuring that answers are indicated when “answers please” is called and that those participants adhere to these Bible Bowl Rules. The scorekeeper will be responsible for tabulating the progressive score of participants at their table. The scorekeeper will be supplied with an answer template from which to score each participant’s score sheet. Congregation packets will be emailed to the church coordinator prior to the LTCSW conference to review rules, scoring methods, and table assignments.  The scoring process will be explained immediately before the bible bowl begins, if you feel you need additional information or have any questions, please contact the bible bowl director.

General guidelines:

• SHHHHHH!!! Quiet in the meeting room is essential.
• Doors will be closed at the scheduled start of any round. Participants not inside will forfeit that round. Scorekeepers need to make sure no participant is late.
• No one is allowed to enter or leave the event room while questions are being asked. Please enter or leave the event room during the allotted break times between rounds.
• No talking is permitted while the event is in progress. Everyone is to be as quiet as possible so as to avoid any distraction or disruption of the event.
• No physical contact between individual team members and/or their scorekeepers or spectators is permitted during the round.
• No cell phones at tables.
• As in everything we do, please uphold the attitudes and decorum which reflect the nature of our Lord Jesus Christ. While Bible Bowl is a competition, and each participant is challenged to do his or her very best, our desire is to promote Christ over competition!

 

Award Requirements:

Bible Bowl is not a judged event. Awards to participants will be given according to the following criteria.

• Scoring for awards for all grade categories (Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8, and Grades 9-12) is based upon a point-spread method. The separate point spreads for each Grade Category for Individual Ratings are developed after determining the total points accumulated for all three (3) rounds by each individual participant within each Grade Category. There are three (3) Individual Ratings (Gold, Silver and Bronze) which can be received by each individual participant within each Grade Category.
• Participants will receive individual awards only. No teams scores will be awarded.
• A Gold Individual Rating will be awarded to those individual players achieving a total score of 60-75, a Silver Individual Rating will be awarded to those individual players achieving a total score of 40-59, and a Bronze Individual Rating will be awarded to those individual players achieving a total score of 0-39.
• Individual Awards: Each individual in each Grade Category qualifying for a Gold, Silver or Bronze Rating will receive an appropriately colored plate for their individual plaque.

 

Resources:

Bible Bowl study guides are available online for preparing for Bible Bowl. A few links to study resources are listed on our LINKS page, under resources for events. Bible Bowl resources are usually not published until the Fall.