Any adult over 18 years of age, such as a parent, volunteer, older sibling, scout leader, or teacher may be a coach. An individual may only coach one team. A team may opt to have an assistant coach as a stand-in, in case the coach is unable to perform their mentoring duties the night of the battle. Both the primary and assistant coach may participate in the opening processional; however, only one coach is allowed on the floor with the team. Without an adult coach on the floor, the team will be disqualified. Following the processional, the assistant coach must move off the floor and sit in the stands. The coach or another designated adult MUST attend ONE of the mandatory coaches meetings held in December prior to the event. The coach or other designated adult must also attend ONE of the Battle’s logistics meetings in the spring.

Teams of Chautauqua County fifth-graders who attend the same school.

A team is comprised of five students and an adult coach (at least 18 years old). When registering, the online form requires the registration of five students and will not be accepted with less than five initial team members. If a team loses a member before the actual Battle, remaining members may still participate; however, teams must have at least three members to participate on the day of the Battle.

If any type of accommodations are needed, please let us know by April 6, 2021.

Check-in begins for coaches at 12 p.m.; student check-in begins at 1 p.m. (If students arrive with coach, they can check in at 12 p.m.) The deadline for students is 1:45 p.m. Anyone who arrives after 1:45 p.m. becomes an audience member and cannot participate. As long as a team has at least three registered team members by 1:45 p.m., the team will participate.

Team shirts, spirit wear and/or costumes are encouraged; however, costumes must comply with all requirements listed in your school’s student dress code. Please see page seven of the Coach Handbook for more information. If a costume/prop/sign is not in compliance, it may be taken away.

No book titles, character names, or authors are allowed on costumes, signs, team members, or coaches.

No.

No.

Seating is limited, so it is best to not incorporate large, bulky pieces into costumes.

Signs are encouraged. The maximum size is 22″ x 28″, the standard poster board size. Team names may be included on team signs, but titles of books, pictures of covers, author names, and character names should not be used. Team signs will be need to be stored under the mat after the procession.

Yes, that is fine. You probably don’t want it too elaborate, in case it gets itchy.

Costume masks and prop weapons are not allowed for costumes. Therefore, your team would be allowed to wear capes, but NOT wear masks or carry light sabers. See Coach Handbook for details. PPE is permitted.

If the additional signs or props are part of their costumes and not large in size they are welcome to have them, if appropriate. Just remember that the team will need to fit all of their props inside the 5′ x 7′ foot space during the battle.

The book list will be posted to the Battle of the Books website and distributed to team coaches on October 29, 2021.

Each team is provided with a set of books, courtesy of the Battle donors. The books are distributed at the mandatory coaches’ meetings in December and must be picked up at that time. A limited number of copies of the books are available to borrow at Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System branches. Battle books are subject to the same borrowing period and fines as other library materials. If possible, books will be available in audio format, although some Battle questions will address visual details in the books, such as illustrations and photographs. Remember, all questions will come from the specific editions given to the teams, see page 10 of the Coach Handbook for ISBNs.

There may be questions that ask, “In which book is there a chapter called….” All parts of the books provided in the sets to the teams will be considered fair game for questions.

The moderator may ask questions about setting, theme or genre. All parts of the books provided in the sets to the teams will be considered fair game for questions.

All parts of the books provided in the sets to the teams will be considered fair game for questions.

Questions could contain a quote or passage taken from the book. All parts of the books provided in the sets to the teams will be considered fair game for questions.

No. The pictures may be described, but will not be shown.

All parts of the books provided in the sets to the teams will be considered fair game for questions.

While the team may start writing while the question is being read, it is very important to listen to the entire question in order to get the correct answer. Teams must refrain from verbally conferring and talking while the moderator is reading the question.

The moderator reads all questions slowly and clearly. Teams should be familiar enough with the books to know any non-English words.

All parts of the books provided in the sets to the teams will be considered fair game for questions.

All parts of the books provided in the sets to the teams will be considered fair game for questions.

The question may or may not be specific about the type of drawing, illustration, or photograph. The term “picture” could refer to a photograph, illustration, drawing, or sketch.

No, the character’s name will not be mentioned. The question will either lead directly into the quote or will say, “In which book does a character say, ‘….’?”

Technically, any part of the book is eligible for questions. Keep in mind, however, that our main consideration is to ask questions about what goes on in the books on the list. Any minutiae will tend to be about the book itself (chapter titles, illustrations, special features of the text, etc.).

Each team is responsible for reading the pre-selected books ahead of time. Teams decide how to share this responsibility among members and when to hold team meetings. Teams compete against one another on the floor of the Battle venue. Each team will be located in a grid on the floor. A moderator reads questions aloud and then teams have 30 seconds to talk quietly among themselves and then circle the number of the correct title and the letter of the correct author on the answer sheet. When 30 seconds are up, time is called by the timekeeper, and all pencils must be put down. All answers are strictly from memory. No notes or books may be used. After answer sheets are collected and turned in to the scorekeeper’s table, the moderator announces the correct answer.

After the second reading of the question. Either the moderator or the time keeper will say, “Time starts now.”

The moderator reads the question two times. When s/he finishes reading the question the second time, s/he will verbally announce that the timing period is about to begin. The timekeeper’s stopwatch begins its countdown after the question is read for the second time. When ten seconds are left, the timekeeper will say “10 seconds”. At the end of the 30 seconds, the timekeeper will ring a bell, pencils must be put down, the answer sheet held up for the runners to collect. There is no visible clock.

Actual watches are allowed; smartwatches, cell phones and iPods are not.

All electronic devices are prohibited on the Battle floor. Audience members may use them; however, they should be silenced and earphones used to minimize distractions.

The moderator will ask 10 to 12 questions per round. The last question of each round is a bonus question and will be announced as such. The questions are numbered continuously and do not start over with each round.

Each team will be given answer sheets that are already labeled with their team name.

The answer sheets are approximately 4″ by 3″.

Clipboards will be provided.

Students are strongly encouraged to use the bathroom before the competition and during the scheduled 15-minute intermission break. If necessary, team members are allowed to go to the restroom during the competition between questions. To accommodate a bathroom break request, the coach should wait until the moderator is between questions and then signal a volunteer/staff person who will then accompany the student to the bathroom. The team member will not be allowed to return to the team until the moderator is once again between questions.

No. Floor mats are provided.

There is no penalty for encroaching in another team’s grid; however, team members should refrain from activity that may cause that to happen. Coaches sitting with the teams are responsible for making sure members stay within their slotted space.

Team members must remain seated.

No. Pencils, erasers and pencil sharpeners will be provided. The students do not need to bring anything.

The seating area is approximately 4’ by 7′.

Everyone is dismissed from the stage for intermission. Afterwards, they go directly to their grid space.

You may either cross out or erase one answer and fill in another answer. There is no official requirement for eliminating the old answer, as long as it is clear to the judges which answer is final.

If an answer is wrong, points are neither earned nor deducted. A team earns points only if answers are correct.

You are correct, if the author’s name is wrong, no points are awarded, even if the title is correct.

If only a partial answer shows for the author, no points are awarded. In order to get points, both the title and the author’s names must be circled and correct. If a team is running out of time and cannot circle the letter for the correct author, leave it blank. If the title is correct and the author’s name is entirely blank, one point would be awarded for the answer. That one point would ONLY be awarded if the author’s name is blank. If a letter for the author’s name is partially circled, the answer would be considered incorrect and no points will be awarded.

If an answer is incorrect, no points are awarded, so the score for the answer would be zero. (No points are deducted.)

Coaches will receive their team score approximately seven (7) business days after the event. All scores are final. The names of overall winners and category winners will be posted on the CHQ website the week following the Battle.

Tickets are not required. Children and students who are not part of a participating team must be accompanied at all times by an adult. Children are not permitted to roam the building unattended.

Tickets are not required.