Rules

For participating in November Rain 2023: All Kerala Inter School Quiz Competition Hosted by Kottayam Round Table No. 79 and Kottayam Ladies Circle No.48

Schools participating in the All Kerala Inter School Quiz Competition (hereinafter referred to as the “Contest”) hosted by Kottayam Round Table No. 79 and Kottayam Ladies Circle No. 48 (hereinafter referred jointly as the “organizers”) shall be entitled to participate in the Contest only if they agree to strictly abide by the following terms and conditions.

All teams participating should present at the venue a letter addressed to the Chairman of Kottayam Round Table No. 79, signed by the principal authorising the students to represent their school. All participants should carry their school identity cards and present the same to the organisers as and when required.
Participants should register their team at the venue on 04/11/2023 at 8:30 AM. Teams that arrive after the appointed time may be refused admission by the organisers.

Participating schools, students and their parents / guardians are deemed to have read, understood and accepted the terms and conditions contained herein:

ELIGIBILITY

The contest is open to students studying in Grades 8 to 10.
Maximum of 2 teams can participate from a school for the Quiz contest. Each team consists of 2 students.
JAM and Spelling Bee are not team events, each school can field 3 students each.
An authorization letter issued by the School in the format provided by us is to be uploaded by each participating team while submitting the registration form.
Only Schools located in Kottayam and nearby Districts – Allappey, Ernakulam, Idukki and Pathanamthitta can nominate students to take part in this Contest.
It is the responsibility of each school to ensure that the above criteria are met and if it is found that any false information has been submitted by a team or school then all entries submitted from such school shall stand disqualified.
Organizers reserve the right to refuse any school/team permission to participate in the Contest without assigning any reason.

GENERAL

SPELLING BEE : RULES

Rules and Procedures
1. This competition is designed to test the English spelling skills of individual students and is open to students of schools in Kottayam, (Grades 8 to 10).
2. The spelling bee will comprise 5 rounds. Round-1 (qualifying round) will consist of a written test.
3. This is not a team event, so each participant will be judged individually.
4. Ten individual participants, scoring the highest marks in the qualifying round will be eligible for the remaining rounds.
5. Participants are forbidden from talking/communicating with each other or the audience in any way, while the spelling bee rounds are in progress. Participants found communicating or indulging in any malpractice will be disqualified.
6. Participants are not allowed to bring any items into the hall, other than drinking water. All required material for the contest (paper, pen) will be provided at the venue.

Round-1: Qualifying Round (Written)

1. 30 words will be called out by the announcer. Participants must write down the words correctly in the answers sheets given, as they are called out.
2. The announcer will call out the words in sequence slowly. He/she will repeat it slowly two more times, and then proceed to the next word.
3. After all 30 words have been called out, the announcer will read out all the words once more.
4. Ten participants, scoring the highest marks will be eligible for the final round.
5. If there is a tie between 2 participants, both of them will be eligible to appear for the final round.

Round-2: Identify the item in picture and spell it (oral)
1. Participants will have to identify a picture and spell that word.

Round-3: Choose the right spelling (oral)
1. Participants will have to choose the right spelling from multiple choices.

Round-4: Unscramble and Spell (oral)
1. Participants will have to unscramble the word displayed and spell it correctly.

Round-5: Final Round (oral)

1. The final oral round will be conducted before an audience.
2. The finalists will stand before the audience.
3. The compere will announce the words in sequence to each finalist and ask them to spell out the words orally.
4. When a participant is requested to spell a word, it is recommended that he/she pronounces the word before it is spelt.
5. The maximum permitted time to spell a word is 2 minutes. The participants will be allowed to ask for –
◦ The word to be repeated
◦ The meaning of the word
◦ Origin of the word
◦ The word to be used in a sentence
6. Each word passes to the next participant in line, if unanswered or answered incorrectly.
7. For every third word misspelt or not spelt by a single participant, that participant will be eliminated.
8. The last participant standing will be declared the winner. The top 3 performers will be awarded prizes.
9. Judges may disqualify a participant who does not make an attempt to spell a word.

THE JUDGE’S DECISION IS FINAL IN ALL THE CONTESTS AND IN ALL MATTERS CONCERNING THE CONTEST AND CANNOT BE CONTESTED FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER.

JAM (JUST A MINUTE) : RULES

The challenge is set: to reach that one minute mark, all you have to do is Talk! Just be your smooth talking, winsome self and you are sure to make it!

JAM evolved from the BBC radio show of the same name. In the game, a participant tries to speak for upto a minute on the topic given to him/her , trying not to break any of the rules, while he/she has other players waiting to interrupt on half a mistake, so they can then speak.

The basic rules revolve around these:
The JAMmers are challenged to speak for one minute on a given subject without “repetition, hesitation, or deviation“.
“Repetition” means the Jammer cannot repeat any word or phrase he/she has already said or any other contestant has said in that one minute .
“Hesitation” is watched very strictly: the contestant cannot pause for more than a second .
“Deviation” means deviating from the subject, but has also been interpreted as “deviating from the English language as we know it”, “deviation from grammar as we understand it”, deviating from the truth, and sometimes even logic, although often leaps into the surreal are allowed.

Scoring:
A JAMmer scores points for every second he/she speaks without being challenged. A JAMmer scores a point for making a correct challenge against whomever is speaking, while the speaker gets a point if the challenge is deemed incorrect. However, if a witty interjection amuses the audience, even though it is not a correct challenge, both the challenger and speaker may gain a point, at the moderator’s discretion. A player who makes a correct challenge takes over the subject for the remainder of the minute, or, until he or she is correctly challenged. A speaker also scores a point if they are the person speaking when the 60 seconds expires. An extra point is awarded when a speaker speaks for the entire minute without being challenged.

The game rewards those that make entertaining challenges, even if they do not speak for very long.

Penalties:
a. You stutter, stammer, and generally indulge in “time-wasting tactics”. These include efforts to buy time like interspersing your talk with “uhh”, “aah” etc…
b. Early start and late start.
c. Speaking too fast or too slow.
d. Grammatical errors.
e. Undue stress on words, undue emphasis in the sentences.
f. Repetition of a previously used idea.

The total time is sixty seconds, inclusive of all the time that all the speakers in a given round are allowed to speak.

Points are given in the following manner:
a. Positive points for every second that you speak.
b. Positive points for every correct objection.
c. Negative points for every incorrect objection.
d. Bonus points for being the last speaker.
e. Bonus points for humor.

JAM will be held in two rounds –
A. Prelims –
B. Finals – 6 contestants

Registration – Maximum 3 members per school.

QUIZ: RULES

The quiz shall be a team event with two members per team. No student shall be permitted to participate individually.
A maximum of 2 teams may participate from each school.
A written preliminary round shall be held and only the top five teams from that round shall qualify to participate in the final round.
Only the teams that win the first, second and third places in the final round shall be awarded prizes.
The rules and code of conduct for the preliminary and final rounds shall be announced at the venue immediately prior to the commencement of such rounds.
No arguments or disputes regarding the correctness of answers or the nature of questions shall be entertained.
The Quiz Master’s decision regarding all aspects concerning the conduct of the quiz shall be final.
Any team or participant found using unethical or dishonest means to obtain answers to the quiz questions either preliminary or final shall be summarily removed from the venue.
The organisers reserve the right to refuse admission to all or any of the participants.
The organisers also reserve the right to cancel, suspend or postpone the event without prior notice and participants shall not be entitled to any compensation in that regard.