Name & Purpose: Guardians of the Word Quizzing’s is about 2 Timothy 1:12-14. Our prayer is that each quizzer entrusts their faith and love in Christ Jesus and to guard the Word of God in their hearts, minds, and souls.
That is why I (Paul) am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He (Jesus Christ) is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day. What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
2 Timothy 1:12-14
Quiz Directors: We have two Directors. They are brothers who quizzed in 1990 over the book of Acts. They are responsible for the entire Guardians of the Word quiz program.
Fees: Any extra funds we collect help cover coaching materials, quiz equipment, etc. Here is what you should expect to pay during the season.
- Registration fee of $40/quizzer. It covers basic study materials for each quizzer and some for each family.
- If there is interest, we might do a team T-shirt. Families will pay for their shirts. The design will be decided by coaches, quizzers, and parents.
- Tournament fees are collected prior to tournaments and are paid to the various host churches. The fee is typically, $10/quizzer, which includes lunch provided by the host church.
Travel and Sleeping: Families are welcome to arrange their own travel, but most churches provide guy/gal separate sleeping areas with several adult supervisors. We encourage carpooling so the teams can fellowship.
Overnight Stays: Some tournaments require an overnight stay on Friday night, but most do not. Sometimes the gals stay at a hotel and split the cost. A travel plan will be discussed with parents prior to each tournament. Tournaments are typically 8:30am to 3:30pm on the 1 st or 2nd Saturday of the month. We have noted in the schedule which tournaments require an overnight stay.
Attendance: We require that quizzers attend at least 75% of all practices and tournaments to remain in the program. We require at least one parent to attend 50% of practices and tournaments. While we encourage 100% participation by both quizzers and parents, we understand illness and family needs come up. If parents bring younger children, they are responsible for supervising them and minimizing distractions. We love family
involvement.
Parental Discipleship: This is a discipleship program that works best when parents directly invest in discipling their children in the Word of God. While coaches do most of the work during practices and tournaments, we leave it to parents to decide how best to support quizzing in their home. Some quizzers are self-motivated and some need some parental encouragement. Some families have used quizzing to supplement family devotions.
Study Assignments: We have no minimum study requirements. However, we will hand out quick and easy take- home assignments. All assignments are open book, so quizzers will need their scripture booklets to answer them. Quizzers are required to complete and hand these back. We want quizzers to see scripture from different perspectives. The who, where, when, how, and why.
Skill Levels: We have no minimum skill level requirement. That said, while we will accept a few 10- & 11-year- olds, please know it will not be a good fit for all 10- & 11-year-olds. Our goal is that this is a positive experience. As parents, you know your children’s abilities best. We have seen when a younger sibling joins an older sibling that this can work well. Quizzing is about building skills in studying the Word of God and being able to answer
Bible questions under time pressure. While knowledge is important, it is not our end goal. Godly character matters. Each quizzer has unique God-given abilities and spiritual openness. We support each quizzer on their journey to draw closer to the Lord.
Teams: Before practices and tournaments, the coaches will place quizzers onto teams. Quizzers should not expect to be assigned to a designated team for the whole season. It will change per practice and tournament. We anticipate having over a dozen quizzers for our group, so they will likely make new friends. When forming teams, we have several factors to consider. We weigh the skill level of each quizzer, and how best to place them into the appropriate division at tournaments so they have a positive experience. Some quizzers will want to be in the higher divisions, and some will want to be in the lower divisions. We take this into consideration and encourage quizzers to advance as far as they want to. There are regional and national levels they can qualify for.
Team Leadership: We will assign some quizzers to fill the role of Captain or Co-Captain on their assigned teams. They can make challenges, appeals and rebuttals. These roles go to quizzers who are the most studied. Sometimes quizmasters make mistakes when ruling on an answer. Sometimes the other team doesn’t follow the rules. We give these leaders extra training. We also encourage these leaders to contact teammates during each week to encourage Bible studies.
Code of Conduct for Quizzers: These rules are meant to promote a positive quizzing experience for everyone and to reduce distractions. We reserve the right to ask quizzers to leave the program if they do follow these guidelines.
- Be respectful of other quizzers, coaches, quizmasters, and scorekeepers.
- Be on time for practice and tournaments.
- Always bring your scripture booklet to practices and tournaments. We do not use cell phones.
- We have a zero-tolerance policy for cell phones during practices and tournaments, except to take pictures when appropriate. If in doubt, ask the coach if it is ok.
- Dress modestly. No tight or revealing clothes.
- Stay together as a team during tournaments. No going off on your own.
- No hanging out in the restroom.
- Have good sportsmanship during wins and losses.
Code of Conduct for Coaches: We prefer coaches to be parents and grandparents of our quizzers. Both Quiz Directors have children quizzing. Basically, coaches shepherd their team during tournaments, keep score, encourage good character, attitudes, and sportsmanship. During practices they act as quizmasters and make decisions on if answers are correct. These are rewarding times to mentor teens. We will provide parents with names and contact information for all coaches. We expect all coaches to maintain a positive Godly environment. Some of these guidelines may not apply to parents toward their own children.
- Coaches are to encourage Godly character, attitudes, and sportsmanship at all times.
- Coaches are to ensure their teams remain in public areas where other people are congregating.
- Coaches are to treat each quizzer equally.
- Coaches are not to touch quizzers, except an occasional high-five or a pat on the upper shoulders.
- Coaches are not to be alone with any single quizzer.
- Coaches are not to message quizzers privately. Parents and Quiz Directors must be included.
- Coaches are not to discuss any topic with quizzers that a reasonable person would deem inappropriate. If the Bible passage has topics of a sensitive nature, the Quiz Directors will work with parents to ensure it is discussed in an appropriate way.
Awards: All quizzers will have many opportunities to win individual and team awards at tournaments. At the end
of the season, we will hand out various awards. There will be an end-of-season party.