The Official Forum - A Game from an Alternate Universe

I'll be a "Quizmaster" this coming weekend for a Bible Quiz meet that our church is putting on. Kids memorize large chunks of the Bible, divide up into teams, and compete to see who knows the most both of the actual scripture, and of the context around it. The Quizmaster asks questions and then judges whether the answers are correct. There is also a scorekeeper and a "Jump Judge". But, they want me to be a Quizmaster since I've been a referee.

As I was looking over the various material they handed out, it looked familiar and I thought perhaps it wouldn't be too difficult. There are teams, coaches, players, substitutes, a scorer and a timer, time-outs, fouls, violations and penalties. But frankly, I'm not sure I can handle it.

1. At the training, we were told that if we forget a rule or interpretation, we can ask a quizzer or a coach, "since they all know the rules better than we do!"

2. We are supposed to use our best judgment in deciding if an answer is correct or not, and if we need to, we can look it up in various references we will have available at the table, and we can also ask the coaches or other adults in the room what their opinion is.

3. There is a thing called a "foul" but kids hardly ever get them, and there are Quizmasters who have never called a foul.

4. There is a whole page of "do-over" questions which can be used if someone goofs, such as if a Quizmaster pronounces a word wrong, or if there is a foul called on a certain question.

5. We are encouraged to take food and water out into the "quizzing area" and to feel free to eat or drink as necessary.

6. At the end, a member or each team and each coach confer with the scorekeeper to be sure that they all agree about all the different nuances of the score.

7. There are no 30-second time-outs, only 60's and no resuming play procedure -- it's not needed since the teams are always out of their huddle before time is up.

8. Team captains can challenge a ruling, and it's legal for a captain to challenge in favor of the opponent, and they do!
It starts to sound like a game from an alternate universe, which I guess, in a way, it is!