Science Bowl - Competition Format - Round-robin - Tiebreaks

Tiebreaks

In the event that two or more teams are tied for one of the top spots in a round robin group, the result of the Division Team Challenge (DTC) is used as a tiebreak.

In previous rules, there were several tiebreak procedures, applied in the following order:

1. The head-to-head record of all the tied teams is compared. The team(s) with the best record against the other tied teams win(s) the tiebreak.
2. The team(s) with the fewest losses win(s) the tiebreak.
3. The result of the Division Team Challenge (DTC) is used. The DTC is a lab-based activity where up to five team members worked together to solve a challenge in 15 minutes using the materials provided. The time for the DTC was extended to 30 minutes for 2008.

In years before that, there was no DTC, so the following procedure was used in its place:

1. If more than two teams are still tied, each team is placed in a separate room and is read ten toss-up questions. Each team's score is determined by the number of questions answered correctly minus the number answered incorrectly. The team(s) with the highest score win(s) the tiebreak.
2. If exactly two teams are still tied, the two teams compete head-to-head, receiving five toss-up questions (no bonus questions are used). All the usual toss-up rules are in effect, including the interrupt penalty. The team with the higher score wins the tiebreak.

If a tie still existed after this procedure, it is reapplied until the tie is resolved. These last rules are still used for the Middle School competition.