Academic Bowl Rules and Guidelines

Due to uncertainity of schools/programs’ out of state travels policies and the liability risk of hosting large scale events at host schools during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all regional competitions will be conducted virtually via Zoom. We are hoping to be able to host the National competition on Gallaudet University’s campus in May 2022. Click here to open the .pdf file for the 2022 Academic Bowl Rules and Guidelines manual. Here are the summary of the new updates:

1. Registration: Registration will take place from Wednesday, Sept. 15 at 6pm EST to Friday, Sept. 17 at 4pm EST. There will be a registration fee of $250.00.
2. Ranking Test: All registered teams will take one ranking test from January 19 – 28, 2022. The results of the ranking test will determine the top 20 teams for each Regional competition. More information about the Ranking Test can be found in Section 6, “Ranking Test Procedures” in the 2022 Academic Bowl Rules and Guidelines manual.
3. Regional Competition Format: We are hosting our Regional competitions online via Zoom. We are bringing back the pool play matches. The results of the Ranking Test will be used to seed teams in their pools. The results of the pools play will determine the teams’ standing on the tournament bracket. The tournament bracket will start with an Opening Round then progress through the Round of 16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals/Consolation, then the Third Place and Championship matches. More information on the match procedures can be found in the Rules and Guidelines manual.
4. National Competition Format: We are hoping to host the National competition in-person at Gallaudet University campus. The in-person competition is slightly different than the Regional competition format. Please read the Rules and Guidelines manual to become familiar with the different rules and procedures for the virtual and in-person competitions.