Hey there, beautiful children of God! How's your summer break going? I hope it's been very relaxing so far! Summer is a great time to think of new goals, dreams and projects to launch, so I just wanted to encourage you to take an hour or two this week, and brain storm some new things to try your hand at this year! Because of the way the Lord wrote your DNA, and designed your personality, there's a pretty darn good chance that the things you're interested in today, will have something to do with your purpose in this world and in His kingdom - may this summer be an amazing time of exploration and discovery! If you haven't seen the first part of this series, Captaining - Part 1, we discussed the basic essentials to being a good captain for your team, and I would encourage you to check that out :P. To build on that today, we're going to be diving mostly into how to give convincing challenges! I had mentioned in the previous part of this series that we were going to go over challenges, rebuttals and appeals in this one, but as I was writing it I quickly realized that challenges were by far the most common, important, and difficult. So I decided to spend a little more time on this one, and really dig into how to do them in the best ways! (I'm going to be saying "challenges/rebuttals/appeals" several times in this post, so for readability reasons, I'm going to abbreviate it into "C/R/A)". So lets get into it! First off, these are the main rules of challenging (you can check out the section on challenges in the rule book, beginning on page 15, by clicking the "Official Rules" button link on the side bar of this page):
And that's pretty much the gist of it. But there's a lot more to challenging than meets the eye. There's a lot of sportsmanship to be displayed when giving C/R/As, and part of that is knowing when to stand, and when to sit. When to stand:
When to sit:
On another note, in order to make the best arguments possible, define the points of view from which you could be standing, and which one(s) will best set you up for success. So far, I've identified two main points of view for C/R/A: Technologically and Theologically. And here's what I mean by those labels: Technologically C/R/A is coming from a standpoint on the rule book, which (in the event of a challenge) can include how multiples are given and where their multiples came from in the material, important grammar mistakes when giving a multiple or finishing a question, pronunciation issues (very rare), etc.. It's really important, as mentioned in the previous part of this post, to know the rule book in order to technologically C/R/A in a clean manner, and with effective results. Theologically C/R/A is what quizzers usually employ. Challenging from this POV is what happens when a quizzer leaves out a piece of the answer, and the challenger is arguing why that piece of information is important (if you're challenging negatively) or unimportant (if you're challenging positively). Whether it is important/unimportant to...
Both of these can be given in a very respectful, sportsmanlike manner, but I personally try to argue from the theological POV when possible, and technological when I have to. I feel like this reflects what I believe the main purpose of quizzing to be, but it's a personal choice that I would encourage any captain (or quizzer, in general) to consider. But of course, both of these POVs, in any given challenge, can really just depend on the quiz master. Although there is probably more deviation within the theological category, because the rules are just the rules, and pretty much everyone has a slightly different interpretation and understanding of the Word :P When you give your challenge, try to find one or two (preferably two) strong points and focus on those, trying to keep yourself short and to the point, with articulate and persuasive language (including inflection, volume, emphasis, vocabulary, organization of ideas, and presentation of the heart of your opinion). But, all of that being said, the best challenges come from an area of conviction (admittedly found more often in theologically-based arguments rather than technologically-based ones :P). Believe in what you're arguing, and have a heart planted deeply into the Word that we're playing these fun games with, with understanding through revelation from the Spirit inside you. I hope this helped you guys today! I know there was a lot of information, but I hope a few of the points stuck, so they can give you a little boost over the hurdles along our quizzing journeys :P
In the next part of this series, we'll be going over rebuttals, appeals, and how to deal with C/R/A-related disagreements, inside and outside the quiz areas! I pray that you are all having a fantastic week, and summer break, and that it continues to be blessed! Love you guys! Keep calm and quiz on (and out)! Your fellow quizzer, Mallory
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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 Hey y'all! How's studying going? It can begin to get really hard to find motivation this time of the year, but it's also a great time to look back at your resolutions and goals! What did you want to achieve? How can you better work towards those now, with new and inspired zeal and experience from this season? I know that one of my goals at the beginning of the season was to memorize all of the material. And even though I haven't done it perfectly (and procrastinated for most of the season... :P) I still managed to learn a good amount of it, and I'm proud of that. Be proud of what you've accomplished, no matter how insignificant you may think it is, because you made an effort to learn the Word of God and to get better at a sport - never be ashamed of work and time that you committed to quizzing! God is proud of you! As you can see from the title, today we're beginning a series on how to deal with "high-stress" competition. This post is going to cover why we get stressed out, and ways to deal with it before and during the competition. The next part of this series will discuss the base of the stress, how to kill it at it's root, and finally all the wonderful benefits that come from that (which are not only quizzing-related)! So here we go! Why we get stressed out about quizzing Basically, most people are (either consciously or subconsciously) concerned about what their family, team mates, friends, and opponents will think of their performance. And often times those standards and expectations can just be our own, and not anyone else's. When we think too much about what other people think, that insecurity is based on what we think of and expect from ourselves, because chances are that in reality most of us have great, supportive adults in our lives. But if someone actually does expect something from you, that you constantly feel pressured to live up to, it would be a good idea to take a good hard look at that person and the expectation, and consider if it is actually valid. How to deal with performance-related stress before the tournament A good way to kick stress out right off the bat is to do your best to prepare for the competition. This does not mean that you have to study until three o'clock in the morning every night - that would be an example of how to wear yourself out and end up not doing as well as you could ;). It just means that you should make quizzing a top priority - that you should go out of your way to spend more time studying; in the car, the shower, getting ready in the morning, listening to the material while doing chores or cooking, and those little fifteen-minute windows of possibility throughout our days that we look over. Also, rest and recuperation are imperative to both your preparation effectiveness, and your stress level. Allow yourself to rest if you need it, even if you feel like to need to study every moment possible, because pushing yourself too hard is not healthy at all. How to deal with performance-related stress during the tournament If you're stressed out during the tournament, it can cause you to make mistakes and get upset when you could be having fun - its not cool :P In order to deal with this "in action" tension, there are several different methods; using calming essential oils, breathing techniques, and even doing jumping-jacks and push ups between rounds and during time outs are common, and some people even like to fill up on caffeine to get the job done (you just have to keep an eye on the crash :P). But in the end, reminding yourself of the reason you're quizzing is the strongest way to get rid of stress during the tournament. It really doesn't matter how well you do at the end of the day, because it's just for fun, and your worth does not come from your performance. So that's all I have for you guys today! Don't forget; in the next part of this series we'll be discussing the base of all performance-related stress in quizzing, and then the benefits of kicking it out of your life!
Stress and worry are literally the most useless emotions known to the human race :P And, there's no reason to have them as companions in our every day life (or at all). Go forth then, in the power Jesus has equipped you with, to overcome and destroy these parasites! Good luck to everyone in their final days of preparation for regionals, and during your time of preparation for nationals! I look forward to seeing you all again soon! Keep calm and quiz on (and out)! Your fellow quizzer, Mallory Hey guys! How's it going? We've got some time of awesome preparation on our hands! Whether you're in prep for nationals, or cramming for regionals in a couple weeks, God is with you and He is enabling you to do your very best - no matter what. :) Today I'm gonna touch specifically on the subject of doing multiples! Giving multiple question/answer combinations is a basic necessity once you start pre-jumping earlier, and it gives you way better chances at getting it right. The guidelines for doing multiples are on page 12 of the official rule book, and those are great to read over, in order to get a feel for how they're supposed to go. Here are the main points:
But obviously, there are a lot of differences in how you can do multiples because of the different question types, and there are specific rules for them as well. Lets go over those real quick... Generals & Situation: All of the questions have to come from the same passage I have a few posts about generals, but I think the one that mainly discusses pre-jumping and multiple-ing is my 7 Secrets to Rocking Generals - Part 1, and Part 2. Also, the categories on "Questions" and "Technical Quizzing" will have some great related posts as well! According To's: All of the questions have to come from the same verse I haven't done according to's for very long, and I haven't really ever made it my specialty, but I've learned a little about them anyway. The main thing in my opinion, is to try to get all the main areas of the verse, and to not bother saying the inverses of the questions you already asked - it'll just take up time. Book & Chapters: All of the questions have to come from the same chapter These questions (and Contexts) pair nicely with general question quizzers, I think, because both types give only a few words for the quizzer to go off, and the quizzer has to pin-point where the phrase originates, and then complete it. These usually start at the beginning of a verse, but sometimes at the beginning of a statement which could be in the middle of one - just try to become familiar with the passages inside and out :P Contexts: Question multiples may come from anywhere - different verses, chapters, and books You really have to be a good reflex jumper in order to specialize in these, because they're kind of unpredictable, but they're also a lot of fun, and easy to multiple on! Memory Verses: CANNOT be answered with multiples Doing multiples on according to's is probably the most common at higher-level tournaments. The quizzer typically jumps on the reference and then gives all of the possibilities they can from that verse, and that takes a lot of work to be able to do! I whole-heartedly commend anyone who has made according to's their question specialty! :P For all the other types (except memory of course) multiple-ing is slightly less frequent, but nonetheless necessary. The pre-jump information narrows down the search most of the time, but that is often only enough to figure out which passage the question is coming from, and not enough to figure out what exact question it is, so it's a good idea to ask a few different variations, once you think you know where it's heading. So there we go!
If you'd like more information on the guidelines for multiples, there's a button on the right hand side of my page that says "Official Rules" and that will take you directly to the online booklet. Also, I believe that the app for Teen Bible Quizzing includes the rule book as well, so that's an awesome and convenient way to get familiar with it too. :) Man, isn't this an awesome ministry we get to be part of? It's giving us the tools and motivation to dig into God's Word, and opportunity to play games with it along side other youths who are seeking the Lord as well. I'm SO excited about next season, with 1-2 Corinthians, and I've got some plans and ideas for the blog that I'm really looking forward to - I'll try to give y'all a sneak peak here in a few weeks! :P Anyways, God loves you sooooooo much! He calls you beautiful, perfect, holy, anointed, gifted, and blessed to be a blessing! We are all made on purpose with a purpose - don't let the devil deceive you into thinking that you don't have anything significant to give, because he's just terrified about what will happen when you begin to flow in the gifting and calling that God has placed specifically inside of you! Have a wonderful day and week my friends! And as always... Keep calm and quiz on (and out)! Your fellow quizzer, Mallory Hey guys! Today I thought I would talk to you a little about "next level quizzing". This can be both from the perspective of rising to your next level and improving yourself, or from the perspective of rising to the level of the best. Where are you in your goals right now? Where do you want to go? How hard are you willing to work? Also, you may want to check out my post about different levels of quizzing which has correlating, color coated, printable study guides! To me, there are three main areas in which we can focus on becoming better: studying, jumping, and answering questions. Studying - Time, Quality, and making a Schedule Time is essential; you may get a lot from the material from focusing well over short periods of time, but soaking in it is a good idea - especially for captains/co-captains (so that we get a deeper understanding of what's going on). We need to make sure that the time we are spending studying is actually having an effect - that we not only have quantity, but also quality. If we're not paying attention, we might not get much (if anything) out of the session. A sacrifice of time, together with our full attention, can have some awesome results! Making a schedule is also a good idea if you're having trouble getting into it. Knowing what to study and fun ways to do so is very helpful when you're struggling to find motivation. If you don't make a schedule regularly, my post "Composing a Simplistic Study Outline" would be a great place to start! Jumping - Pre-jumping, Team Strategy, and Reflex/Timed Styles Pre-jumping is a basic necessity for taking quizzing to the next level. It can seem a little daunting, since you have to finish the question and answer it, but after some practice it becomes a piece of cake! You have to get out of your comfort zone to pre-jump sometimes, and you have to assume that you know all the answers, so that you don't have to analyze it before you jump - as my old coach used to say, "Think on your feet, and not on your seat". In tournaments, its a good idea to have a team strategy. For example, someone to jump on memory verses, someone to jump on according to's, generals, etc. so that everyone knows what to focus on in the quiz round. Also, team strategy through splitting up the questions helps the individual quizzers know what to practice/study, and helps the team to support each other and share the load against a good opponent. The way I see it, there's two pre-jumping styles: reflex and timed. The timed-style is usually what the memory and according to quizzers use. They practice jumping on their question specialty, so that they jump right as the necessary information is revealed (i.e. just as the first syllable of the verse, or verse reference, is said) which is pretty consistent for these types. The reflex-style, on the other hand, requires the quizzers who specialize in pretty much all other types of questions, to hear what the quiz master is saying, and then anticipate when the unique information will be given. For general questions, it can be anywhere from two to five syllables, for situation it can be as little as the first sound, and contexts are kind of unpredictable. Question specialty - Why, How, and Studying Accordingly Pretty much all of the top quizzers choose and focus on a specific question type, and we call that their question specialty. When you have one type of question to focus on, it makes practices more intense, study time more beneficial, and tournaments simpler. Also, you're better able to help your team, by giving them some near-guaranteed points per round, as the fruit of your work. Most people find their question specialty either their first or second season, and that just by figuring out what they enjoy the most and what they're best at - and then they usually sick with and build on that for the remainder of their quizzing career. You can switch your question specialty later on (I'm focusing on according to's right now for my team, even though my original specialty was generals), but it can be difficult. Of course, each question type requires slightly different skills, and many different ways to study and practice them. In my post about Behind the Scenes of Top Ten Quizzers, I asked five different people what their number one tip would be for their question type - two according to quizzers, two general question quizzers, and one memory quizzer. And since I specialized in generals, I wrote a Part 1 and Part 2 about how to rock those! Taking yourself to that next level is definitely a challenge, but it's nothing you can't handle! I would encourage you, that while you're improving yourself, to not lose focus of why we're doing this.
In the end, the person who places thirtieth at a tournament could be getting more from the material, and growing more in their walk with the Lord through quizzing, than the person who gets first. Ask Him why He said what He did, and what those weird parables mean, why the drops of His blood and sweat had your name written on them. When we do well in quizzing, as we're learning to do, we have to make sure that it's actually accomplishing some eternal good - or else it means nothing. But the awesome news is, that once Jesus is the foundation and center of our motivation, quizzing becomes so much easier! It destroys any performance-related stress, gives the sport real purpose, and enables you to grow closer to God while participating in an awesome and fun ministry! I hope that these things help you along on your quizzing journey, and motivate you to keep chugging along in your walk with the Lord! Thanks for reading! Keep calm and quiz on (and out)! Your fellow quizzer, Mallory |
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