2024 National Biology Bowl
Instructions
Instructions for Participants of the 2024 National Biology Bowl (Please read carefully)
Before competition day, May 25th, 2024:
1. Make sure you have fast and reliable internet connection. Test your internet connection before the day of the competition.
2. Make sure you have a Zoom account, free or paid (paid account recommended). Test your Zoom account before the day of the competition.
3. Make sure you have a quiet room to yourself on the day of the competition and will not be disturbed from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. Make sure all your family members know not to disturb you.
4. Make sure you have two devices with cameras that can join Zoom meetings. One of them should be a computer or laptop with a large screen, with microphone and speaker turned on. The other should be a phone in Airplane mode, with WiFi turned on but with both microphone and speaker turned off. The phone should be pointed at your computer screen during each round. This phone should be the only phone in your room and can only be used to call your team’s contact person in the case of an emergency. Test your two devices before the day of the competition.
5. Make sure you are familiar with the rules of the Biology Bowl. Make sure you have a copy of the rules.
6. Decide on a number for each team member. Decide on who the team captain is. The team captain will answer the bonus question after a discussion among team members. The team captain will be #2 on the team.
7. Decide on team member designations that are easy for you to remember and for the moderator to call, using a color or your school’s name. For example: Green 4; Chaparral 3.
8. Make sure you practice pressing “A” and “return” to simulate the buzzers in the Zoom Chat.
9. Make sure you have received the Zoom ID's for all Round Robin rounds at 8 am or 8:30 am, 9 am or 9:30 am, 10 am or 10:30 am (all times PDT).
On competition day, May 25th, 2024: (All times PDT)
1. The competition starts at 8 am or 8:30 am PDT. Make sure you wake up well before the time the competition starts.
2. At least 5 minutes before a scheduled round, please log into the Zoom meeting with both of your devices. Sit comfortably before your computer. Set your second device so that it shows your computer screen.
3. Using the first device, log into the Zoom meeting with your real name for the roll call.
4. Individually, show your entire room to the moderator using either device.
5. Change your screen name to your team member designation.
6. The team coaches should turn their cameras off and mute themselves before the round begins and not turn their cameras back on or unmute themselves until the round ends.
7. Before the round begins, all competitors should open their chat box. The scores of the two teams will be updated continuously in the chat box after each question.
8. To simulate the buzzers, press the keys “A” and “return” in quick succession in the Zoom Chat.
9. The competition rules are to be strictly observed.
10. For bonus questions, the team members can discuss the questions openly in the Zoom meeting because the opposing team has no opportunity to answer the questions later.
11. At the end of the round, the team captain from each team must initial below the scores in the chat box using Zoom Annotation. After the team captains have annotated their initials, the scores and the results are final and cannot be contested.
12. Please be ready to compete in the tie-break round at 11:00 am. The seeding of the single- elimination playoff tournament, including the play-in round, will be announced at approximately 11:45 am.
