Online Tournament Guide

Anti-Cheating Measures

Contents

    It is a common concern that cheating will be more frequent in online quiz bowl. Certainly, there have been high-profile accusations of, admissions to, and arguments about cheating at online tournaments.

    NAQT is not in a position to make definitive statements about the prevalence or effect of cheating in online quiz bowl We will certainly take every opportunity to learn as the year goes on so we can provide guidance to hosts and coaches (and properly conduct any online tournaments that we might choose to run directly).

    For now, we have a few suggestions intended to prevent such issues from arising in the first place. We also outline the responsibilities of hosts, players, coaches, and NAQT itself in maintaining question security (which apply equally to online and in-person tournaments).

    Before the Tournament

    This section is primarily written for tournament directors, but coaches should take note of the first and fourth points as well.

    During the Tournament

    After the Tournament

    NAQT doesn’t want to give the impression that cheating is widespread or that you are likely to encounter these problems at your tournament. However, concerns about cheating seem to be sufficiently more common at online tournaments (relative to in-person tournaments) that tournament directors should be prepared for the possibility.