Code of Conduct

It’s important that all players adhere to our Code of Conduct, which is considered part of the competition rules. The organisers want everyone to enjoy playing in a fair competition and so all players are expected to abide by the rules listed in this section, and to play within the spirit of the competition.

Thank you for your understanding and for following these rules.

If you have any queries, please contact [email protected]

You must ensure BOTH of your hands are visible at all times when a question is in play that could come across to you or your team. We know this feels a bit awkward, but it will ensure other players can see that you are not searching for an answer online.

Some people have a device of some sort to fiddle with (in view) like a Rubik’s cube or a pen, whilst others interlock their fingers and hold them close to their face. It really doesn’t matter how you do it, just as long as BOTH of your hands are visible.

Make sure you’re looking at directly at your screen. Wandering eyes cause concern for your opponents as you could be reading something on screen that isn’t part of the game. We know that playing on tablets or phones can make this and showing your hands quite tricky. In this case, please explain your set-up to your opponents, showing them if you can. If they know that you have to tap the screen to see the chat window, and they can clearly see this is all you’re doing, then that will help.

In the individual rounds only one answer can be offered at each stage. It would be possible for a player to give a clue to their team by saying both answers they think it might be. So, when the question comes to you as an individual, and you think the capital of Italy might be Rome or Madrid, by saying ‘Rome… no… no… Madrid’, you could have signalled an answer to your team, and so this is not allowed. You can only give one answer. You can wait until the very end of the time to do this so you don’t accidentally blurt out the wrong answer.

If two answers are given, your first answer will be accepted and the question will pass straight to the other team, so your team can’t give your second answer.

When the question passes across to the team (or the opposition team), the captain should select the player who will answer. Players should be signalling if they think they know the answer, so there should be no discussion.

You can discuss questions freely only in the team rounds as these questions do not pass to the other team.

Fortunately, this league has had no complaints of anyone making inappropriate comments to other players, or doing anything that might be construed as offensive or intimidating to anyone.

Please ensure all players are treated with respect. Racism, homophobia, sexism etc. will not be tolerated.

• Firstly, team captains should ensure their team members are clearly visible, facing their cameras and with the hands displayed, and remind their players to comply with the rules if necessary. It’s much easier for the captain to do this than for a player from the other team to be put into a position where they feel they have to do this. 
• If a player isn’t following the rules, then ANY other player or spectator can politely remind them to do the above.
• If a player refuses or repeatedly breaks the rules, the match can be stopped and the organisers can be summoned. There is a ‘call host’ button in Zoom, so you don’t have to leave the breakout room to do this. If you are playing in a private Zoom room, you will need to stop the match while you contact an organiser via text/phone/email.
• The officials can remove a player from the match if necessary or can disqualify a whole team from a match. We very much hope that everyone will play in the spirit of the game and that this won’t be necessary.
• It is very important that issues are dealt with at the time as it is difficult to sort them out retrospectively as it is very difficult to issues after the fact. 

If a player, or team, fail to comply with the rules repeatedly, the organisers will remove them from a match or from the whole competition.