[2] Quiz bowl competitions are typically played with a lockout buzzer system[1] between at least two teams, usually consisting of four players each.

A moderator reads questions to the players, who try to score points for their team by buzzing first and responding with the correct answer.

Quiz bowl is most commonly played in a toss-up/bonus format, which consists of a series of two different types of questions.

Delco Hi-Q began in 1948 as a radio quiz competition sponsored by the Scott Paper Company for high school students in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

[10] In September 1990, the Academic Competition Federation (ACF) was founded as the first major alternative to The College Bowl Company.

[18][19] Some formats include a lightning round during which a team attempts to answer multiple questions as fast as possible under a given time limit, usually sixty seconds.

[3][17] Quiz bowl tests players in a variety of academic subjects including literature, science, history, and fine arts.

Buzzer-beaters (also known as speed checks or quick-recall questions) are relatively short, rarely being more than two sentences long, and contain few clues.

"[13] Buzzing in before the entire question has been read and answering incorrectly is called "negging" and may incur a 5-point penalty for a team.

Several variations on the game of quiz bowl exist that affect question structure and content, rules of play, and round format.

[3][35] Most quiz bowl question producers, including ACF and NAQT, publish a distribution of the number of tossups and bonuses per round that will feature material from a given area of study.

[13] The published distribution of ACF quiz bowl emphasizes academic subjects, with very little popular culture.

NAQT is another common variation on the tossup/bonus format that balances academic rigor with a wider variety of subjects, including popular culture and an increased amount of current events and geography content.

[44][45][46] Matches played at the National Academic Championship and its affiliated tournaments are split into four quarters, with differing styles of gameplay in each phase.

[52][58] Players benefit from exposure to a broad range of school, cultural subjects, memorization, and study skills, as well as an improved ability to cooperate and work in teams.

[1] Some events have eligibility rules that dictate who may participate, such as allowing only freshman and sophomore players or excluding graduate students.

[57] Athletic and activities associations in some US states also organize quiz bowl competitions, including Missouri's MSHSAA, Illinois's IHSA, Kansas's KSHSAA, Kentucky's Governor's Cup and Virginia's VHSL.

[68] DECA runs quiz bowl events at their competitions that tests knowledge on business and market topics.

[69] Gallaudet University sponsors a National Academic Bowl for deaf high school students.

[74] Some proponents of reform seek to increase the educational value and fairness of quiz bowl, primarily by using pyramidal questions.

[53][75] Many competitions below the college level are criticized for their use of speed-check questions, which encourage participants to rely more on their ability to buzz in quickly than on knowledge of the subjects tested.

[4][13] The use of "hoses," misleading clues that discourage players from buzzing in too early, is also considered a mark of "bad" quiz bowl.

[13][53] The use of mathematical computation problems in tossups is criticized by some for rewarding fast problem-solving skills over conceptual knowledge and for being non-pyramidal by nature.

[76] Quiz bowl shows have been on television for many decades in some areas and usually feature competitors from local high schools.

The program moved to television as General Electric College Bowl and was broadcast from 1959 to 1970, first on CBS and later on NBC.

The Texaco Star National Academic Championship ran from 1989 to 1991 on Discovery Channel and was hosted by Chip Beall and Mark L.

[citation needed] University Challenge is licensed from CBCI by Granada TV Ltd. and still broadcast in the United Kingdom.

Reach for the Top, a Canadian competition with a quiz bowl-like format, has been broadcast on the CBC in the past.

Quiz bowl has received media coverage due to the number of highly successful game show contestants with backgrounds in the activity.

[82][83] NAQT maintains a list of current and former quiz bowl players at any level who have appeared on TV game shows.