Pairs Championship

After each round, papers are swapped for marking, after which the answer sheets are collected. Appeals are made to, and corrections to scores will be made by, the IQA jury.

All the questions will be read out (in English) and a summary of the questions and pictures will be projected on to a screen. Any music tracks are played once. The answers are accepted in a number of languages, most recently: English, Estonian, French, German, Dutch, Norwegian (Bokmål), Danish, Hungarian, Finnish, Latvian, Portuguese and Romanian. These being the languages of each country that was represented by at least three people and whose participation was known at least one month beforehand.

Unless otherwise stated, if the name of a person is asked, it is sufficient to answer with the surname, even if that surname is a common name such as Jones or Müller. If an incorrect first name is offered by a pair in their answer, this will render the whole incorrect. Exceptions to the general rule are the names of kings, queens, popes, etc. where pairs are advised to specify the name plus a regnal number or byname – otherwise the answer is taken to refer to the first ruler etc. with that name. So, if the correct answer is Louis XIV, but a pair answers “Louis”, their answer is taken to refer to Louis I and marked wrong.

Answers must be legible. All illegible answers will be counted as wrong. To score a point, the answer needs to be phonetically correct. It is a test of knowledge, not of spelling. The decision whether an answer is accepted lies with the IQA judges present at the quiz. Their decision is final. If necessary the judges will check alternatives answers. Queries made only after the end of the quiz will in no way affect the result of the quiz.

Appeal sheets will be distributed for possible comments about the answers, scoring etc. This is the only method of appealing and must be lodged at the end of the round in question. Don’t forget to identify your pairs name and number on those sheets.

The team that scores the most points wins. Ties are split by counting back looking at best scores, then second-best scores and so on.

The use of external aids such as smartphones, calculators, calendars, etc. is strictly forbidden. If in doubt about anything, ask the main judge ahead of the start of the quiz. All cheating will irrevocably lead to instant disqualification of the pair.