RULES OF THE LEAGUE 2008-09 SEASON  

Teams 

  1.

Each team will consist of four players of which one will be the captain. However, teams may play with a minimum of two players (see Rule 18 regarding absentee players). Once a player has played for a team, they cannot play for any other team in the league for the remainder of the league season. In the Moriarty Cup if a pub/club enters more than one team then a player can represent any team from that pub/club. The players will need to register for the team prior to the start of the cup competition and once committed to a team they must remain with that team for the duration of the cup competition.

  2.

The captains will make themselves known to the question reader prior to the match commencing.

  3.

The home team will provide a question reader for the evening.

  4.

Both teams are expected to provide a non-playing scorer. 

  5.

A non-playing timekeeper should be appointed, either the question reader or scorer, to administer the rules on scoring and timing.

 The Evening

  6.

Matches are to be played on Thursday evenings starting at 8.30pm. This date cannot be altered.

Fifteen minutes grace can be given but the match must commence by 8.45pm at the latest. In the case of this not happening, the non-offending team are allowed to claim the match and Beer Leg (see Rules 19 & 24 regarding points awarded for absentee teams). Therefore, it is strongly recommended to telephone ahead to the match venue if you are going to be late. If this is done, the non-offending team can exercise a degree of leniency.

  7.

Before the commencement of the match, both captains are to ensure the envelope containing the questions has not been opened or tampered with in any way.

  8.

It is the responsibility of the home team to ensure the question envelope is readily available for the match.

The Match

  9.

The match will consist of 8 rounds and a separate beer leg round. Rounds 1, 3, 4, 6, 7 & 8 will be team rounds: of these rounds 3 and 7 will be written rounds. Rounds 2 & 5 will be individual rounds. The Beer Leg round is to be played after the match has finished.

10.

Prior to the commencement of the match, the visiting team captain will call on the toss of a coin by either the question reader or the home captain. The team winning the toss will decide whether to be Team A or Team B. Team A will receive the questions first in rounds 1, 2 and 4, Team B will receive the questions first in rounds 5, 6 and 8.

11.

During individual rounds, there is to be NO conferring by either side. The writing of answers (including spellings) by ANY player is not permitted.

12.

Conferring is allowed in the team rounds but the question reader will only accept answers given by the team captain or their nominated representative.

Timing and Scoring

13.

In Rounds 1 & 8, the team originally receiving the question will have 30 seconds from the end of the last part of the question to answer all 3 parts. The other team will have 5 seconds for each incorrectly answered part for a bonus. Each part of the question is worth 1 point with 1 point per part as a bonus.

14.

In Rounds 2 & 5, the individual receiving the question will have 10 seconds to answer. In the case of a wrong or no answer, their opposite number in the other team will have 5 seconds to answer for a bonus.

In Round 2 if no correct bonus answer is given, any member (including the original recipient) of the team answering first may attempt an answer within 5 seconds for a bonus. If this answer is incorrect, any member of the opposition may attempt an answer within 5 seconds for a bonus.

In Round 5 only the team member who has chosen the same subject will have an opportunity to earn a bonus point. The question DOES NOT become open to the teams.

Each question is worth 2 points in the first instance with 1 point for any bonus.

15.

In Rounds 3 & 7, the question reader will read the same 8 questions to both teams. There will be a 10 second pause between each question and a 30 second pause after the last question. The teams will write down their answers and, after all the questions have been read out, exchange them for marking.

16.

In Rounds 4 & 6, the team originally receiving the question will have 20 seconds from the end of the last part of the question to answer the two parts. The other team will have 5 seconds for each incorrectly answered part for a bonus. Each part of the question is worth 1 point with 1 point per part bonus.

17.

Spare questions will be provided and can be found after the  questions for Round 8. These are only to be used in the event of a mistake by the question reader or an answer being overheard from somewhere else.

18.

In the event of a team playing without its full complement of members, the following will apply in the individual rounds.

In round 2 when it is the turn of an absent player to choose a question number, the team captain will choose the number. This question will automatically be offered to the absent player’s opposite number for a bonus. If an incorrect answer is given, the question will be offered to the other team as normal (see Rule 14). When a player sitting opposite the absent player gets their chosen question wrong, it is straightaway offered back to their team (as if the absent player answered incorrectly) for a bonus.

In Round 5 the absent player’s opposite number will be asked the second question for a bonus point immediately after being asked their own chosen subject question.

League Tables

19.

League tables will be compiled with teams receiving 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a defeat. In the event of a team not appearing, the non-offending team will be awarded 2 points for the win. They will also be awarded the average of the winning scores in their league on that evening (rounded to the nearest whole point) towards their aggregate game points total.

20.

Aggregate game points will be used to decide the league position of teams with the same number of match points. If aggregate game points are equal, the number of game points scored against the teams will decide the league position.

21.

The home team captain is responsible for telephoning the result to the Results Officer as soon as the match and Beer Leg scores are finalized. This call must be made BEFORE 11.00pm on the night of the match. Only by receiving all the results on the night of the match can up to date league tables be guaranteed with the following week’s questions. The score sheets are to be left behind the bar for future collection.

The Beer Leg

22.

After the main quiz has been completed, a Beer Leg will be played. This will count towards the Beer Leg League.

23.

There will be 12 points available to each team on each Beer Leg. The instructions will be read out before the Beer Leg commences. Teams will score one point for each correct answer. There are no bonuses in this round.

24.

In the event of a team not appearing, the non-offending team will be awarded the average of the winning scores in their league on that evening (rounded to the nearest whole point) towards their aggregate Beer Leg points total.

25.

Aggregate Beer Leg points will be used to decide the position of teams. If aggregate Beer Leg points are equal, the number of Beer leg points scored against the teams will decide the Beer Leg league position.

26.

The losers of the Beer Leg traditionally buy their opposite numbers a drink.

Match Fees

27.

The match fees will be £8 per team per match. These monies are to be paid in three instalments. The first payment of £40 must be paid at or by the AGM. The subsequent fees will be calculated and notified for payment, during the remainder of the season.  Failure to pay by the due dates will result in either:

a.  Non-entry into the league at the start of the season

b.  Automatic suspension from the league & non-entry into the Moriarty Cup for non-payment of either of the subsequent fee payments

Awards & Trophies

28.

Perpetual trophies will be awarded to the winners of the two Leagues, the two Beer Leg Leagues and the winners of the Moriarty Cup (formerly known as the Knockout Cup). Individual awards will be made to members of all the above winners plus the runners-up in all these categories.

NOTES

1.

The envelopes containing the questions for the quiz will be hand delivered to the relevant venues. This will normally take place on the Monday before the match is due to be played. Pubs/clubs are strongly urged to put the envelope in a safe place but ensure it is readily available for the match. The Home Captain should retain the score sheet for two weeks after the match in case of dispute due to incorrect results being received. (This may not be noticed until the following Thursday’s match).

2.

Whilst most teams will bring their own pens and papers, it is advisable to have a supply of these on hand.

3.

Due to the layout of some pubs/clubs, it is not always possible for the quiz to take place in a separate room away from noisy jukeboxes, TVs, gaming machines, customers etc. Therefore, pubs/clubs are requested to provide the quietest area in their establishment for the quiz to take place. Spectators should be encouraged but be fully aware they are not to give out any answers, even inadvertently, whilst the quiz is in progress.

4.

In the case of a pub/club entering two or more teams, all efforts will be made when compiling the fixture list to ensure they do not all play at home on any one evening (unless two of them are playing against each other); however this cannot be guaranteed. Therefore, any pub/club entering two (or more) teams must be able to provide totally separate rooms for the matches to take place.

Appendix 1    Instructions to question readers for Round 1

In Round 1, The question reader must read out all three questions before requesting or accepting any answer from the captain or their nominated representative. The question reader must not then indicate whether any answer is correct or incorrect until an attempt to answer (or pass) all three questions has been made. The procedure is thus:

Question Reader:

Asks parts A, B and C with only a short pause between each part.

Question Reader:

After 30 seconds pause – “Answers please “

Captain 1:

Answer A, Answer B, Answer C is given

Question Reader:

(Example) Answer A is correct. Parts B and C to Team 2 for bonuses.

Captain 2:

Answer B, Answer C.

Question Reader:

Answer C is correct. The answer to part B was …

This will avoid any advantage being gained by a team speculatively trying a single answer to check if they are on the right track before giving the rest of their answers.