Laming

Laming was a quizbowl rule found at some trash tournaments which allowed a team to dismiss a bonus (by saying "Lame" or some such) if its subject was not to the team's liking and the next bonus in the packet would then be read.

Teams would usually be allowed one lame per match.

History

Fred Bush is credited with inventing the lame in the late 1990s. While saved communication is sketchy from that time period, lames were still considered experimental as of 1999. [1] While lames increased the writing burden by requiring two extra bonuses per packet, laming quickly went from a gimmick to nearly standard practice in trash events.

Variants

Saving (or claiming) is a laming variant wherein the opposing team has the option of saving a just-lamed bonus for itself. The saved bonus will be read for the opponent at the next opportunity.

Punting is similar to laming, only substitute bonuses are not required. When punting rules are in effect, an eligible team rejects a bonus but forces the opposing team to answer it. The punting team scores points on what the opponent fails to answer (e.g., team A punts a 3-part question; team B answers two parts correctly. Team A collects 10 points on the punt). At Maryland 11, this was referred to as "screwing", similar to the concept in the game You Don't Know Jack.