World Scholar's Cup

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The Scholar's Challenge is a 120-question multiple choice exam given to each individual competitor to complete within 60 minutes. Prizes are awarded to top participants in each subject and to both top-scoring overall teams and individuals. The award for the highest score in the Scholar's Challenge was formerly known as the Asimov Award, but in 2022, it was renamed the Jac Khor Award in honor of the World Scholar's Cup team member who used to write Challenge questions but died during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A feature of the Scholar's Challenge implemented in 2015 allows participants to select multiple answers per question. Though each question has only one correct answer, choosing multiple answers allows the participant to earn points inversely proportional to the number of answers chosen. For example, if a participant chose one single answer, and if it was correct, they would score a point; if they chose two answers and one was correct, they would score 0.5 points; if they chose three and one was correct, they would score 0.33 points, and so forth. If time was running out, a participant could shade in all five answers and automatically win 0.2 points.

This event is based on arguments, with students picking one of six different prompts associated to each subsection of the given curriculum. Each participant on a team must pick a different prompt. Participants pick one side of a topic and write for, against, or about it critically. Any writing form is allowed. While previously, computers and phones were permitted, a change occurring in late 2022 banned all devices in this event. This rule was likely set due to the rise of ChatGPT, which made it harder for scholars around the world to get their citations and information. There is a rubric that scholars are judged on for their essays on the official World Scholar's Cup website.

At the beginning of the event, students have 20 (Previously 30) minutes to work with their teammates to discuss and research their arguments. Following the collaboration period, students have 40 (Previously 45) minutes to write their essay. There is no word minimum or maximum, and students are expected to cite sources. Following the writing period, students then have 15 minutes to collaborate again with their teammates to edit one another's work, but they may not finish a teammate's essay.

All teams have assigned rooms and arguments. In the room, teams will have 15 minutes to confer within the room before the debate begins. Teams may use World Scholar's Cup materials[lower-alpha 3] or any outside resources to prepare in the 15 minute preparation time. However, devices and external sources are banned afterwards.

Each debater will stand in front of the room for the length of his/her speech. Speakers may use notes, but should not read their speeches in their entirety. Students may speak for up to four minutes, however there is no penalty for speaking up to four minutes. The judge will signal time left using knocks, with two knocks meaning the speaker must stop speaking. Between speakers, teams will have 60 seconds to prepare before the next speaker is called.

Before the end of the debate, the competing teams are required to give positive and constructive feedback to the opposing team for roughly 90 seconds, before the judge(s) announce a winning team. The winning team will then proceed to a designated room and the non-winning team to a different designated room, where each will face another team with the same number of wins and non-wins.

One cultural aspect of the debate is the 'lollipop'. In order to promote positivity and self-improvement, the World Scholar's Cup had replaced the term 'losing' with 'lollipopping' since 2015. This change was also reflected in the debate schedules that each team receives.

The clicker used for the World Scholar's Cup's Scholar's Bowl.

The Scholar's Bowl is a quiz bowl usually held in a theater. Team members work together to answer multiple choice questions that are displayed on a large screen.

In order to answer the questions, each team of students is given a clicker that connects to a scoring computer on stage. Students then choose their answer by pressing their choice letter on the clicker. Students are given 15 seconds to submit their answer. The questions gets harder each time and worth more points than the previous one. There are sometimes rapid fire questions which have to be answered in 5 seconds, worth even more points.

The Scholar's Bowl implements many types of questions, many tend to include references to pop culture, and often include WSC in-jokes. This is often the last educational event of the competition before the awards ceremony.

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The Scholar's Scavenge is an annual scavenger hunt at the Global Round and the ToC, and first took place in 2009 in Singapore.

Students are teamed up randomly and given tasks. At least one person in the team has a camera, and the tasks are completed by taking photos and videos. The tasks may relate to the curriculum, teamwork, organizer, or just silly. Each task is worth a certain number of points depending upon the difficulty. At the end of the scavenge, the leader collects the photos and score them. These scores do not count toward the scores in the competition as a whole, but are only used for this event. Teams with the highest scores can be called for an award in an award ceremony.

External video
Global Round Senior Debate Showcase at The Hague on YouTube (1 hour 7 minutes 46 seconds).

Debate Showcase is an additional event, with the round's top 8 junior and senior debaters taking part. At Regional Rounds there is only one Debate Showcase with both juniors and seniors taking part. Regardless, 8 students debate in each Showcase.

The format mirrors the format of the Team Debate event, but the students instead debate in teams of four on stage in front of the rest of the participants.[4] When all eight speakers have gone, the host of the Showcase invites volunteers from the audience and debaters from the showcase to step forward and share their general thoughts on the topic that was debated.

Additionally, top-scoring debate participants in each round are the judging panel for the Showcase. When it ends, the panel announces the winners.

The Scholar's Ball was first added to the tournament in 2011 at the Global Round in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The idea spawned from a conversation about the competition where one party misheard "Scholar's Bowl" as "Scholar's Ball".

The Scholar's Ball encourages mingling, dancing, and the chance to "look sharp". Students are required to come in formal wear. Some students refer to it as a "pseudo-prom" or "nerd-prom". It was introduced to allow students mingle with students from different countries.

Two students perform in The Scholar's Show.

The first Scholar's Show occurred in 2010 at the regional round held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It originated from several students playing "We Will Rock You" playing during an intermission. When the song was over, Berdichevsky invited any student wanting to showcase their talent to come forward.

Student performances range from vocal and instrumental performances to beat boxing, dancing, drinking hot sauce and magic tricks. The Scholar's Show is held at all two-day rounds, and at each Global Round and the Tournament of Champions.

The Flag March happens at the end of every Global Round and ToC before the Awards Ceremony. In the Flag March, there is one representative (flag bearer) from every country participating. The flag bearers carry the flag of their country and march to the stage,[7] followed by a staff giving a farewell speech.

In 2012, the World Scholar's Camp was created, and took place in Singapore in December 2012. It included seminars and outings to various locations in Singapore.

Camps take place at various schools and cities through the year.[8]

Awards Ceremony

The Awards Ceremony, also known as the Closing Ceremony, takes place just before the end of a round. Traditionally, staff members stand on stage and announce the winners for the entire round. Winners either get a gold medal, silver medal, a pineapple (another form of trophy), or a trophy. The winner of the round gets the tallest trophy, and gets to interact with the props on the stage. Awards are also given to scholars who scored relatively well overall, but did not receive a gold medal or trophy for any particular event. These were initially called Da Vinci Awards, but their name was changed to the Asimov Award in 2023, as the award for the highest Challenge score, which was formerly named Asimov, had been renamed. Later, a certificate will be shipped to all participants.[4]

Began in 2018 ToC, with scholars together saying emotive byes to the Havana theme and destroying the set of it, the Very Emotional Farewell To The Year's Theme is an event where scholars and staff ultimately destroy the year's theme in a (hopefully) non-violent way.[lower-alpha 4] The event happens at every ToC at the New Haven Green.