Hey guys! Today we're going to talk a little about captaining! In this post we'll be going over the basic essentials of being a captain for your team, and in the next post we'll be going through challenges, rebuttals, appeals, and some other fun stuff! :P But first off, why do we need to know how to be good captains? For one, we're setting an example for younger/newer quizzers, and like I mentioned in another post, we need to be aware of that because they're the future of TBQ. In other areas though, being a good captain can really help your team win tight and loose rounds, set the tone of a room, and be an encouraging voice to both their team and the opponent. That being said, captaining is obviously something I'm still working on. It takes time to get the hang of captaining, and become the best that you can, because it's just another area of the sport. For example, captains have to be listening well at all times during a quiz because of challenges, rebuttals, appeals, etc. so you can't really doze off - and that can be difficult :P Okay, lets jump right in to these basic essentials of being a good captain!
Like I said, the captain usually has a strong influence on the tone of the round/room because they are the ones "leading" the team, and they are usually the ones speaking the most out of their team. Just try and make sure that the attitude you're projecting is one that you'd be proud of; kind, generous, gracious, confident, etc.. 2. The captain should have a good understanding of the material and it's meaning If you know what's in the material, that's good, but you won't be able to challenge/rebut/appeal effectively if you don't know what it means. In the same way, if you know what the material means but you don't know the actual phrasing then you will have a lot more challenges/rebuttals than necessary because your answers will probably be pretty sloppy. It's just a good idea to try and have both of these boxes checked before a tournament. 3. The captain should present themselves with an encouraging and positive attitude Not all the time, of course, but occasionally you'll come across a situation that's just kind of negative, and there's nothing that you can really do about it. In a situation like this, try to remember that you can make the best of it by just being positive - not only in your own thoughts, but in your words and attitude as well - because blowing it off and getting on with the day is the healthiest thing to do for you and your team. 4. The captain should be generous, and watchful for small sacrifices they can make for others Just like in other areas of life, quizzing presents us with opportunities to deny ourselves so that others can benefit. It's usually not for the other team (unless your team is like 150-200 points ahead), but either for your teammates or other individuals when individual points are important (i.e. a quiz off, a round robin, etc.), or if someone is just having a rough time and getting a correct ruling is really what they need to raise their moral. Sometimes this can be as simple as just sitting on a question (or a few) if you have all the points you need, and some other quizzer(s) would really benefit from getting one. Several times I've just sat, if I know that I'm okay and I realize that someone else is in a tight spot - and you know what? It comes back to you in good ways. 5. The captain should have good arguing skills, and display maturity If you want to be a captain, a good one, then arguing skills are vital. Again, this is usually just something that you have to grow in, through experience. I know that I've been trying to get better at this for a few years, but still I'm finding ways that I could be challenging/rebutting/appealing better, and it's a fun process! Maturity. If you don't display this, your challenges/rebuttals/appeals can easily frustrate both the other team and the quiz master/content judge. I wrote a short post on "Quizzing Etiquette" a while ago, but one of the most important things I mentioned, was to give your answers/arguments in a very confident, but calm and articulate manner. Speak clearly with good enunciation (admittedly, I sometimes have a problem with this because I'm soft-spoken ;P) and try not to give any more information than necessary - it makes for a sloppy answer, difficult ruling, and easy challenge. So there you go! Like I said, in the next post we'll be diving more in depth into how to do challenges, rebuttals, appeals, etc. in the best and most full-proof way possible - it'll be a fun time!
See y'all then! And as always, until next time... Keep calm and quiz on (and out)! Your fellow quizzer, Mallory
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Hey Guys!
How y'all doing? Ready to use these next few months to get tuned up to crush the competition (nicely) at Q2016?! :D There's been something that I've wanted to talk about for a while, but just never got around to it. And that is, finding the balance of Quiz-Winning-Strategy and The good sportsmanship we as quizzers, need to display while quizzing. This is a hard subject for a lot of quizzers - both novice and experienced. On the one hand, you don't want to be super 'nice' and just sit back, or act like you don't care when you lose, but you also don't want to completely trample everyone, leaving them feeling discouraged, or be a bad sport when your team takes a loss. Now, I'm all for strategy, and giving you and your team your best chance at doing your very best, but even more so, I'm for letting each quizzer (ESPECIALLY the newer, novice quizzers) have their chance to show what they've learned, and are learning, and to use the skills they're building up. . One of the things you need to remember, is that as crazy as it sounds sometimes, in quizzing, you could end up being on a team or have to quiz with pretty much any quizzer you ever see. So it's usually a good idea to try and make the best impression you can, not only in the halls of the church or before or after the quiz, but when you're on the jump seats as well. A few, specific, ways you can have good sportsmanship, is by,
A good rule of thumb, is to ask yourself if what you're doing lines up with the main purpose of quizzing; learning the Word, and having good, positive fellowship where we build each other up, while having a fun competition. I think we quizzers do a pretty great job at showing good sportsmanship most of the time, and that makes me really happy. Whenever I've gotten to talk with one of my competitors, whether I know them or not,something as simple as joking around about the tournament, makes that positive, relaxed, friendly, atmosphere expand. And the other thing about showing good sportsmanship and having a genuinely good time with your competitors (and team mates) is that everyone just performs better - simple as that. One time recently, I was in a very stressful situation at a quiz tournament. I'd not only been stressed about how I'd done throughout the season and how I would place, but I had a bunch of other more personal worries that were weighing on my mind. All of that kind of just exploded, and a little less than half way through, it started showing between rounds, and during timeouts, and so on. It was just not a very good day. A little before the half way point, I got some help in readjusting my sights, and not beating myself up about stuff, and that helped me a ton, to say the least. Those first three rounds, I'm not positive, but I think I got like 0/3, 0/2 and then 0/2 again, or something along those lines. The next day, when we would do the second half, I was in dead last place with many, many negative points stacked against me. After chatting a little bit with my friends, both team mates and competitors, and some of my friends' moms, I felt even better than I did the day before when I got that readjustment. I joked around with people about the errors, and when I did that, it made me think more along the lines of, 'Oh, those are just questions that I jumped on, and had either bad luck, or wasn't prepared for, but that's okay; they're just questions.' rather than, 'Dang, look at all that mess I have to make up for today. It would have been a lot easier if I just had a big fat zero and could start today on a clean slate.' because, no matter how bad you want to, you can't change how you did, and I had to accept that in order to keep giving it my best. In that second half, I had several less errors, and a lot more correct (at least, a 'lot' from my standpoint at that tournament :P). I didn't make my goal, that I'd wanted so badly, but by the end, I could honestly say, 'You know what, I'm okay with that. I'm disappointed, a lot, but that's only normal. I know that I'm capable of doing better, and that's exactly what I am going to do.' and to make myself open up my quiz portion again, when I got home, I had to focus on two simple things:
I know I might have gotten a bit off subject with some of that, but I wanted to share with you guys what has been the hardest part of my quizzing career so far, to try and encourage you to push yourself back up on your feet if you're disappointed with how this season has gone, and to tell you that even the smallest, most insignificant thing you do, could help a quizzer rise up out of their valley. Good job showing good sportsmanship guys; keep it up! :) Had a great time quizzing with all of y'all at Extravaganza, and at the Dallas Invitational, and am really disappointed we have a looming few months before we meet again for Q. No matter how you've done this season, remember that you've studied, and heard the Word probably a lot more than you would have without quizzing, and that's something you can hold your head high about. A huge congratulations to how everyone did at these last two tournaments! Super exciting to see SNU's regional teams who will be representing our great region at nationals! And good luck to the Regional, District, and Local teams we'll be seeing at Q; lets make this a tournament to remember! :D Thank you again, for reading, and as always, keep calm and quiz on (and out)! Your fellow quizzer, Mallory |
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Trending Posts:Author:Mallory is a graduated Teen Bible Quizzer originally from the Southern region, moved to the Northwest, coaching quizzing over the book of Matthew. Check out our
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