Bounceback

The term bounceback can refer to two distinct situations:

1. the rule in which bonus parts which are answered incorrectly "bounce" to the other team, allowing them an opportunity to receive points for a bonus they do not control
2. (rarely) the situation after a team has negged a tossup, in which the other team has the opportunity to answer

Bonuses

Bouncebacks on bonuses, also known as rebounds or steals, mean that when the team controlling a bonus misses a part, the other team is given a chance to answer the part. Bouncebacks are common in middle and high school quiz bowl, but probably used at less than a majority of tournaments, and are almost nonexistent at higher levels.

Arguments in favor of bouncebacks:

• Teams answering very few tossups get a chance to answer some questions and possibly score some points.
• Teams not in control of the bonus pay more attention to the bonus.
• Teams are rewarded for knowing something their opponent does not know.
• Teams that are very weak in a topic are encouraged to learn something about it to prevent other teams from rebounding their bonuses in that topic.

Arguments against bouncebacks:

• They lengthen matches, especially if the moderating crew has some weak members, meaning that tournaments last longer or have fewer rounds.
• They complicate statistics, potentially leading to a greater turnaround time for reseeding pools.
• They change the nature of bonuses, making them less of a "bonus" for the team that answered the tossup.
• They can lead to game strategies near the end of a game in which a team is better off not answering a tossup.
• Teams controlling a rebounding bonus have to confer quietly to avoid giving information to the other team.

Historically, the most prominent tournament using bouncebacks has been the PACE NSC, which used them until 2022. Several states, including Illinois and Missouri, used bouncebacks at pretty much all high school tournaments before 2005, but now have tournaments both with and without them. NAQT lightning rounds are sometimes played with bouncebacks.

High school formats which use bouncebacks

GATA, IHSA, and MSHSAA-style events use bouncebacks on standard ACF/NAQT style three-part bonuses.

VHSL Scholastic Bowl uses bouncebacks on one-part directed round style bonuses.

PACE NSC used bouncebacks on all bonus styles in the Old PACE format from 1998 to 2010 and on standard three-part bonuses in 20/20 format from 2011 to 2019 and again in 2022. Starting with the 2023 tournament, PACE announced that it was permanently discontinuing the use of bouncebacks.

The official NAC format uses a limited bounceback in which a missed bonus part is offered to the opposing team, but the bonus is stopped after the bounceback opportunity with no further parts read; thus, a maximum of one part per three-part bonus may be offered or converted by the "bounceback" team.

College and open tournaments that used bouncebacks

The 2009 Emergency and 2015 VCU Open experimented with bouncebacks at the open level. The field found the experience generally enjoyable. Many open tournaments tend to run long, which is the main reason bouncebacks are generally not considered at these events, but there are good arguments for bouncebacks being a more logical component of high-level gameplay than high school tournaments.

Tossups

The term less commonly refers to the ability of teams/players to answer a tossup after another team has gotten the question wrong.

While nearly all versions of quizbowl feature bouncebacks on tossups, many TV shows do not. Such programs include It's Academic.