The Battle of the Brains tournament is a tradition at the VOGS German Convention. Schools may enter one team of three students to compete with other schools’ teams at the Middle School or High School levels. The teams are asked trivia questions on topics ranging from culture to geography and must give the correct answer to earn points. Three teams compete against each other at a time, and whichever team earns the most points moves on to the final round. During the final round, which is held just before the closing ceremonies, teams will be asked more challenging trivia questions in German, testing not only their knowledge but also their linguistic skills.
Rules Teams are to consist of three members (no exchange students). Each school is allowed one team. Questions will be inEnglish, with some answers in German covering topics such as language, culture, politics, history and vocabulary. The reading of the question will stop as soon as someone presses the buzzer. No other team may try to guess after an incorrect answer has been given. A team must wait to be recognized. Students should begin their answer within 3-5 seconds. The panel of scorekeepers and timers will serve as judges to questionable responses. Their decision is final.
Scoring All questions are of equal value +10 for the correct answers and -10 for incorrect answers. Dependingon the number of teams involved, there will be several heats Saturday morning with a championship heat (conducted in German) on Saturday afternoon to determine the final winners.
There will be a junior level competition held on Saturday for teams of middle school students.