Code of conduct

As part of our commitment to safeguarding and fair play, British Quiz Association (BQA) and International Quizzing Association (IQA) events, including both in-person and online activities, are run in accordance with the following code of conduct and fair play policies.

Code of Conduct In Brief

1. All players, moderators, volunteers, and staff, herein called ‘participants’ at British Quiz Association(BQA) and International Quizzing Association (IQA) events are expected to treat each other with respect. No participant should engage in exclusionary behaviour, which includes, but is not limited to:
   1. threats of violence;
   2. discriminatory jokes and language;
   3. ridiculing or insulting other participants;
   4. unwelcome sexual attention.
2. Participants should not engage in harassment of other participants. In general, if someone asks a participant to stop engaging in a particular behaviour, then they should stop.
3. Any tournament official may find that a player as an individual or as part of a team during the tournament has committed misconduct. Misconduct includes disruptive behaviour, unethical behaviour, any violation of this Code of Conduct, or other unsporting conduct. Officials may interpret these categories broadly. Teams are responsible for the conduct of all persons associated with that team.
4. All instances of misconduct should be reported to the tournament director(s) or proctor. Alternatively, they can be reported via email to secretariat@quizzing.com.
5. Instances of misconduct may result in sanctions to be determined by the tournament director or directors of the BQA and/or IQA. These sanctions include, but are not limited to:
   1. suspension of a participant from one or more matches
   2. loss of game(s) for a team
   3. score adjustment
   4. or expulsion of that participant and possibly their entire team, if they are part of a team, from the tournament.
6. Unless the tournament director decides otherwise, other staff and volunteers may not impose sanctions, except that a moderator must eject from a game any person found to have committed misconduct a second time during that game (i.e., a tournament director may give the staff greater powers to sanction than this minimum).
7. Sanctions may be appealed as detailed in parts 20 and 21 in the full Quizzing Code of Ethics and Fair Play.

Fair Play

The BQA and IQA expects all participants to play fairly, and they take cheating at tournaments very seriously. To this end, they have put the following rules in place:

Online Events

1. In order to play in online events, all competitors must have a webcam angled in such a way that the event host can be satisfied the player cannot be cheating
2. In certain events, a player’s hands must be visible during play
3. Players performing at a higher level than expected, either because they are a new player that there are no in-person stats available for, or they are a player who has performed outside of the range anticipated for them based on previous in-person scores, will be required to participate in the next quiz in a breakout room that is monitored one-on-one.
4. In the case of the World Quizzing Championships, a player in an online proctored event who thinks they might get into the top 20, must request a private one-on-one proctored breakout room for their score to count in the final rankings.
5. During active gameplay, participants must not consult reference materials or make use of communication devices such as phones or computers during gameplay. Post-game periods during which protests are discussed and adjudicated are not considered to be “during active gameplay”.
6. Players must leave their question paper(s) and mobile devices etc. on their table if they leave the room. It is preferable that players wait until the end of a quiz or round of a quiz before leaving the room. Comfort breaks are provided.
7. Participants who believe another participant may be cheating are able to report such behaviour to the Tournament Director or proctor directly or via email: secretariat@quizzing.com.

In-Person Events

1. During active gameplay, participants must not consult reference materials or make use of communication devices such as phones or computers during gameplay. Post-game periods during which protests are discussed and adjudicated are not considered to be “during active gameplay”.
2. Players must leave their question paper(s) and mobile devices etc. on their table if they leave the room. It is preferable that players wait until the end of a quiz or round of a quiz before leaving the room. Comfort breaks are provided.
3. Participants who believe another participant may be cheating are able to report such behaviour to the Tournament Director or proctor directly or via email: secretariat@quizzing.com.

BQA and/or IQA reserve the right to suspend or expel participants from tournaments who are suspected of rule-breaking.

After the tournament, any suspected wrongdoing will be referred to the directors, who will review the evidence available and determine any sanctions that may need to be enacted, which could include a ban from BQA or IQA events for an indefinite or stipulated amount of time.

Please email us to report any violations of the code of conduct or suspected cheating. The person reporting the suspected cheating must have witnessed the incident(s) themselves: secretariat@quizzing.com