Team

A team is defined as a collection of players who combine their knowledge to score points during a game of quizbowl. A typical team consists of up to four players, though in some places like Illinois a fifth player is added. A team may also contain alternates/substitutes and one or more coaches.

In Knowledge Master Open format, there does not appear to be a limit on the number of players that can be on a team at once, so long as they are all students at the same school.

Types of Teams

While the knowledge base and composition of each team is different, there are general archetypes that teams follow. Coaches and other people who determine team composition for tournaments are encouraged to look at the personnel available to them and decide which archetype best suits their players' strengths.

One-man teams

See article on One-man teams

A one-man team consists of one player who scores a lot of tossup points and up to three buzzer rocks, who in general combine to score about 1 tossup per game or less. Literal one-man teams (in which a player completely lacks teammates) also fall into this category.

One-man teams can be somewhat successful at the local high school level, though are rarely competitive nationally. At the college level, literal one-man teams are more common, and have occasionally placed highly at national tournaments.

Generalist + Specialists

The most successful team archetype at the college level, virtually every modern champion fits this description to some degree. At the high school level, this type of team also meets with success, though national competitiveness usually depends on the depth of the generalist. The four members are usually designated #1, #2, #3, and #4 players, in rough accordance with their points per game averages.

The #1 Player

The #1 player has a wide and deep knowledge base and is the team's primary tossup scorer. For most top teams, the #1 player is an excellent generalist who can score points in many subjects against quality opponents. At the high school level, the #1 player often, but not always, serves as the captain.

The #2 Player

The #2 player is an excellent complementary player to the #1, who specializes in multiple categories and supports the #1 with strong buzzes in these areas. On many championship-level teams, the #2 player is also a solid generalist and plays more like a co-#1.

The #3 Player

The #3 player is a weaker version of either the #1 or #2 player. On some teams, the #3 player is a generalist with less depth than the team's #1 but has good instincts and buzzer speed. On other teams, the #3 player fills a specific need by specializing in a category that is a relative weakness for both the #1 and #2 players. In this case, the #3 player is often a solid science player on a team with two strong humanities players.

The #4 Player

The #4 player is a wild card. Most #4 players have command of one or two niche subjects and often fill in glaring weaknesses in a team's knowledge base. At NAQT events, the #4 player is often a trash/current events/general knowledge specialist, due to the large amount of emphasis placed in those categories. The #4 sometimes fulfills the same role as the #3 player, but with a different focus.

Even if a team plays a consistent lineup at every tournament, the roles of players within this paradigm may change. For instance, the 2008 Maryland team featured Jonathan Magin as the team's typical #1 player; however, ICT catered more to Charles Meigs' strengths, and it could be argued that Meigs was the #1 on the ICT team while Magin moved to a #2 role.

Occasionally, the #3 or #4 player serves as the teams' primary winner of buzzer races on giveaways; this "assassin" role is vital among teams where the #1 and #2 are just a hair slower, and it makes these teams that much more aggravating to play against. A good example is MIT 2008's Jason Trigg.

Four Specialists

Extremely common among top-tier high school teams, less common in college. Three of the four specialists are almost always a literature specialist, and history specialist, and a science specialist. The fourth specialist is often a computation specialist in high school formats that place emphasis on computation questions. Other common specialties for the fourth specialist are arts, pop culture/current events, or providing overlap in literature, history, or science.

Whoever Shows Up

This team is made up of whoever can come to a particular tournament, without regard for balancing team strengths. Team members may significantly overlap in their strengths and lack knowledge in one or more major categories, leading to an imbalanced and often weak team.