What to Expect during the Day
An Ethics Bowl has three competitive components:
- round robin, involving all teams
- semi-finals, with four highest scoring teams
- final round to determine the winning team
What happens in a round?
The room is set up as illustrated below. A moderator conducts the proceedings, poses a question related to cases the students have researched, and keeps track of time. Three judges evaluate team performances. (The audience does not participate.)
Steps in a Round
Each round involves two cases, and each team takes the “lead” on one case. The following steps show Team A as the lead on the first case:
Case #1
Moderator flips a coin, winning team chooses to lead or pass on Case #1. Moderator poses question for Case #1.
- Team A has 2 minutes to confer; 5 minutes to present position on Case #1.
- Team B has 1 minute to confer; 3 minutes to respond/ask questions.
- Team A has 1 minute to confer; 3 minutes to respond to Team B.
- Judges have 10 minutes to question Team A. (See Sample Questions.)
- Judges score both teams for Case #1 and write feedback for both teams.
- Moderator poses question for Case #2.
- Team B has 2 minutes to confer; 5 minutes to present position on Case #2.
- Team A has 1 minute to confer; 3 minutes to respond/ask questions.
- Team A has 1 minute to confer; 3 minutes to respond to Team B.
- Judges have 10 minutes to question Team B. (See Sample Questions.)
- Judges score both teams for Case #2 and write feedback for both teams.
