Teams will consist of a minimum of 2 members and a maximum of 6. Only a maximum of 4 students can play at one time. A student can sub for another student ONLY between rounds. If your team has 6 students, there will be 4 starters and 2 people on the bench. The more students you have in your bowl team, the better it is for your team. This way, each student can study one of the 6 scholastic bowl categories.

Topics and Study Materials

The following topics are selected for this year's Islamic Scholastic Bowl. The topics are:

1. Topic I: Companions
2. Topic II: Quran
3. Topic III: Geography
4. Topic IV: Culture
5. Topic V:History
6. Topic VI: Current Events (Study current events starting from December 1st, 2007)

Packets will be available for study by January 21st, 2008.

Preliminary and Semifinal Rules

1. A preliminary/semifinal competition consists of three rounds, with a total of 42 questions. A round consists of 7 questions each from 2 categories, with a total of 6 categories covered by the end of competition. Questions for the entire competition are printed in one packet, with each round clearly marked. Appropriate point values are pre-assigned.
2. Each team is allowed 6 members, with no more than 4 members participating per round. Teams are allowed to shuffle their players ONLY between rounds. Judges should announce which two categories are being played in each round so that each team may arrange itself accordingly.
3. To begin the competition, judges should explain the rules of Round 1 to the competitors. This round is free-form, with the judge reading the point value of the question first, then proceeding to read the question aloud. Only after the judge has finished reading the ENTIRE question may the competitors buzz in. The first team to buzz in must answer within 10 seconds. A correct answer wins points and an incorrect answer does not penalize the team. If an incorrect answer is given, then the floor is reopened once the judge has said ‘incorrect’. The question may now be answered by the next to buzz in for half of its original point value, with a 10 second limit given on the response. Only two teams can attempt to answer any single question, after which, if both teams are unsuccessful, the judge will give the answer and proceed to the next question. The entire round consists of 14 questions from two categories. Judges are to begin from the beginning of the packet under the heading of ‘ROUND 1’. Judges will also remember to tell the teams which two categories are represented in Round 1. Be sure to announce the score in between each round.
4. Round 2 follows with the next two categories of questions which follow in the packet. The rules for Round 2 are exactly the same as round 1, except that teams are penalized for incorrect answers. For example, if a team were to respond incorrectly to a 200 point question, then 200 points are deducted from their running total. If another team were to then respond to this same question incorrectly when its value has been halved to 100 points (when the floor is reopened), then that team is penalized 100 points. Remember to mention which two categories are quizzed on in Round 2.
5. Round 3 then follows in the same fashion as Round 2: incorrect answers are to be penalized. Mention in which two categories the teams are being quizzed.

   Preliminary Competition Point Summary

   Round #	Initial Point Value	Second Attempt	Penalty	Time to Answer
   1	Given Before Each Question	Yes, ½ initial point value	No	10 seconds per attempt
   2	Given Before Each Question	Yes, ½ initial point value	Yes	10 seconds per attempt
   3	Given Before Each Question	Yes, ½ initial point value	Yes	10 seconds per attempt

Finals Rules

1. The finals competition consists of three rounds, with a total of 42 questions. Questions for the entire competition are printed in one packet, with each round clearly marked. Round 1 and round 2 consist of one question related to each category, thus there are six questions per round. In round 3, questions will proceed “jeopardy”-style with each team captain choosing the category and point value.
2. Each team is allowed 6 members, with no more than 4 members participating per round. Teams are allowed to shuffle their players ONLY between rounds.
3. To begin the competition, judges should explain the rules of Round 1 to the competitors. This round is free-form, with the judge reading each question aloud. Only after the judge has finished reading the ENTIRE question may the competitors buzz in. The first team to buzz in must answer within 10 seconds. A correct answer wins points and an incorrect answer does not penalize the team. If an incorrect answer is given, then the floor is reopened once the judge has said ‘incorrect’. The question may now be answered by the next to buzz in for half of its original point value, with a 10 second limit given on the response. Only two teams can attempt to answer any single question, after which, if both teams are unsuccessful, the judge will give the answer and proceed to the next question. Judges are to begin from the beginning of the packet under the heading of ‘ROUND 1’. Each question in this round is worth 100 points.
4. The rules for Round 2 are exactly the same as Round 1, except that teams are penalized for incorrect answers. For example, if a team were to respond incorrectly to a question, then 200 points are deducted from their running total. If a team were to then respond to this same question incorrectly when its value has been halved to 100 points (when the floor is reopened), then that team is penalized 100 points. Each question in this round is worth 200 points.
5. In Round 3, a “jeopardy”-style game will be played with each team captain choosing the category and point value. For example, a team captain could say “History for 300 please.” Judges will then ask the appropriate question from the packet. The team with the lowest score will start off the round. After a question has been read, any team will be allowed to buzz in to attempt an answer. If a team answers a question correctly, then they will be able to select another question. An incorrect answer will result in a penalty as in Round 2. Following an incorrect response, the floor will be open for answers immediately after the judge says ‘incorrect.’ If no team is able to answer the question after 10 seconds, the same team will be able to choose another question. Note: in round 3, a board or display showing the category-value matrix will be necessary. An assistant who is keeping score will cross off each box on the matrix when that question has been asked.
6. Judges will not announce the winner of the final competition. This will occur during the award ceremony.

   Round #	Initial Point Value	Second Attempt	Penalty	Time to Answer
   1	100 points	Yes, ½ initial point value	No	10 seconds per attempt
   2	200 points	Yes, ½ initial point value	Yes	10 seconds per attempt
   3	"Jeopardy Style"	Yes, ½ initial point value. Last team to answer a question correctly gets to choose next question.	Yes	10 seconds per attempt