Virtual Quizzing
The whole idea of "virtual quizzing" is to provide a means by which quizzers can quiz when it's impractical or impossible to gather together for in-person, traditional quiz meets. The goal of virtual quizzing is to have fun together, share in fellowship to some degree, and worship God through quizzing while in physical isolation from each other.
Virtual quizzing tries to capture as much of the quizzing experience as possible; however, there's much it can't replicate. Much of the "sport" of quizzing like physical seat jump timing, lip and speech analysis, and mid-quiz strategy communications are practically impossible in a virtual context. Intra-team and inter-team mid-quiz encouragement, a standard practice in traditional quizzing, is also practically impossible. Therefore, while virtual quizzing is scored and statistics will be reported, these scores and statistics will not count for any official standings beyond the virtual context.
The following are the specific processes and rules that need to be followed for virtual quizzing. These are all considered overlays to the existing processes and rules of traditional quizzing.
Required Equipment
To participate, each quizzer will need a desktop or laptop with a webcam and mic. Strongly recommended, you'll need some sort of headphones. It's theoretically possible to use a smart phone or tablet as a quizzer, but it's significantly more difficult.
For spectators, any web-enabled device should work OK. Just remember to mute yourself and turn off video.
Process
Quizzes are scheduled for 30 minutes in duration instead of the standard 20 minutes. Quizzes should be started on time regardless of whether all participants are in the Zoom conference.
Meet Discussion
Everyone involved in the virtual quiz meet (quizzers, officials, coaches, spectators, etc.) should join the PNW Bible Quizzing Slack forum. If you need an invitation for access, contact Gryphon.
Once signed in, join the #virtual-meet channel. This is a chat location area for the meet itself, almost like room 1 during a break in quizzing. Announcements will happen in the #virtual-meet channel. If you need help with anything, please ask in this channel. Those who are able to render assistance, please do so. Non-meet general chit-chat should happen in the #general channel.
Quiz Setup
A designated official from each virtual "room" (likely but not necessarily the quizmaster) will be responsible for setting up a Zoom conference for each quiz in his or her virtual "room."
Either that person or a district IT administrator managing all Zoom accounts (which is Gryphon for PNW Quizzing) should set the following settings for the Zoom user account (set in settings under the user account):
- Meeting
- Host video: On
- Join before host: On
- Require password for participants joining by phone: On
- Mute participants upon entry: On
- Private chat: Off
- File transfer: Off
- Always show meeting control toolbar: On
- Screen sharing: Off
- Breakout room: On
- Allow host to assign participants: On
- Virtual background: Off
Links to these Zoom conferences should be posted in the #virtual-meet channel. These link posts should include all Zoom connection information including ID and password. An easy way to get this is from within Zoom, select Manage Participants and click the Invite link followed by the Copy Invitation button.
Room officials can use a private Slack channel for any necessary back-channel discussions. It will be up to each room's officials to self-organize in whatever way they consider best in this regard.
Prior to a each quiz starting, a short announcement should be made in #virtual-meet with a link to the Zoom and the teams involved. When the announcement happens, everybody with interest in that quiz should join the Zoom.
When connecting to Zoom:
- Chat pane open
- Participants pane open
- Mute audio (unless you're the quizmaster)
- Video off (unless you're the quizmaster)
- In the participants pane, change your name:
- Quizzers, change to your team name and full name: "XYZ2 Firstname Lastname"
- Officials, change to your job title and full name: "QM Firstname Lastname"
- For everyone else, change to your full name: "Firstname Lastname"
Quizmasters, as quizzers arrive:
- Check the roster versus participants pane to confirm present status
- Ask each quizzer to unmute and say hello to confirm audio functionality
- Assign each quizzer to a break-out sub-room for their team
Quizzers should remain on mute unless answering or challenging. Quizmasters should keep video and audio on (unless muted briefly to cough).
Quiz Operation
Prior to each question:
- All quizzers should type their bib number into the chat window text entry field, but don't click enter.
- The quizmaster should type a series of dashes, but not type enter.
During the question preamble, the quizmaster will press enter upon the final call of "question". When a quizzer wants to signal a jump, they press enter. Note that the ordering of responses in the chat window will sometimes not appear in the same order for quizmaster compared to quizzers or spectators. The quizmaster's display ordering is the only official ordering.
Quizzers: Only click enter if you are actively attempting to win the jump. (As in, don't jump a second after the first jump, just to signal that you're participating.)
Rules
All normal quizzing rules apply, but there are some exceptions and special cases, outlined here. There may be unforeseen situations that arise in a quiz when a quizmaster will need to make up a rule change on the spot. Quizmasters are granted that authority but are cautioned to use it sparingly and with extreme care toward fairness. The following are specific rule changes:
- Quizzes should start on time regardless of who is in the Zoom meeting.
- Quizzers can come and go from the Zoom meeting without impact to scoring (i.e. the 20-point starting bonus) and without need of a timeout or substitution.
- If a quizzer types enter during the question preamble but prior to the quizmaster typing enter, the jump will be ignored by the quizmaster.
- Normal jump fouls are in effect for when if a quizzer types enter after the call of the question.
- Questions will not be redone and challenges will not be accepted for equipment malfunction.
- An error out does not require the quizzer to do anything other than stay on mute.
- A coach may call for substitutions as normal. Captains may also call for substitutions as if they were coaches.
- Acting Captains
- If a captain is not connected to the Zoom or is unable due to a technical problem to speak in the Zoom, the co-captain is acting captain. If both captain and co-captain are such a state, any other quizzer on the team may act as captain.
- Timeouts
- A quizmaster may use the breakout rooms feature in Zoom to allow for timeouts. If in the judgment of the quizmaster the breakout rooms functionality is overwhelming to manage, the quizmaster may elect to prohibit timeouts in his/her room. In either case, substitutions requiring a timeout may happen between questions in the same way as an error out or quiz out substitution happens.
- Challenging
- To challenge, the quizzer acting as captain should unmute and say "challenge" every second until recognized by the quizmaster. This is purely a signal to the quizmaster of the intent to consider challenging. It's not a challenge in and of itself. The quizmaster gives the quizzer time to consider the challenge, and the quizzer may then elect to ask "may I challenge" or respond with "withdraw". A withdrawn "challenge" signal is not considered a challenge.
- Protests
- There are no protests.
It's encouraged but not mandated that quizmasters attempt to resolve all rulings solo for time efficiency.
Back-Channel Conversations
There are no back-channel conversations permitted between quizzers who are quizzing. Communications in the Zoom chat window are limited to only those which would be considered acceptable to be done loudly in a physical room at an in-person quiz meet.
Back-channel conversations are permitted between any coaches, inactive (subbed-out) quizzers, and spectators so long as these take place outside the Zoom "room".
Back-channel conversations are permitted between the officials.
Practical Zoom Instructions for Quizmasters
- Visit the Zoom web site
- Click "Sign in" near the upper-right of the page
- Fill out the form
- Email:
room1@pnwquizzing.org(orroom2@,room3@, etc.) - Password: Ask Gryphon for the password
- Email:
- Click "Host a meeting" (with video on) near the upper-right of the page
- Join with computer audio (if presented the choice)
- You may need to move your mouse cursor over the video screen to see the menu at the bottom
- Click the "Start Video" option in the lower-left of the screen
- Click the up arrows to the right of the "Mute" and "Stop Video" buttons and set settings as desired
- Click the "Manage Participants" (to open the participants pane)
- Click the "Chat" button (to open the chat pane)
- Adjust the window and pane sizes to your preference
- Set your official name
- In the participants pane, mouse over your account's name
- Select the "More" then "Rename" option (when each appears)
- Change your name as prescribed in the Virtual Quizzing rules
- Turn off "Remember for future meetings" option
- Click the "Breakout Rooms" button/icon
- Create 3 rooms with assignment done manually
- Hover over each room name and rename it to the team name
- Assign quizzers to these sub-rooms as they arrive
- Follow any other Virtual Quizzing rules or procedures
It's strongly recommended that the quizmaster enable (in settings) the meeting timer because at 40 minutes, the meeting will end. Be sure to keep the quiz under 40 minutes. When complete with the quiz, be sure to end the meeting, not just exit.
Each time you start a new quiz, be sure to post it's URL to the #virtual-meet Slack channel.