The Quiz League of London
Encyclopedia
Quiz League
of London
(QLL) is a United Kingdom quiz league
based in the capital, London. Founded in 1990 as the Quiz League of South London
, it was southern England
's first independent self-administered Quiz League. The matches themselves often are mostly hosted at pubs or social clubs
.
area and currently (2010-11) has three divisions, formed of eight teams each. The QLL runs the National Team Quiz Festival annually, which features a North v South challenge match between the winner of the QLL's President's Cup competition and a team from England's other premier league, the Merseyside Quiz League. The QLL also runs a individual competition, the Brain of London. Players in the QLL include previous Brain of Britain, Mastermind
winners and other television quiz winners. The league contains quiz teams formed from London Scottish
and Rosslyn Park
rugby clubs among others.
Many team quiz formats exist. The QLL format consists of 64 questions in 8 rounds of 8 questions each asked to individuals on the teams alternately. Correctly answering your own question scores 2 points though it can be passed within the team (if the player chooses not to answer) or over to the other team (if the player or team answer wrongly) for one point.
In the QLL format, there is no conferring as such. Where a player decides not to answer their question, the team captain will normally decide which other member of the team is to answer by assessing the hand signals made by the players on the team and his/her own judgement. The opposition will also use hand signals to decide who is to answer the question in the event of it being passed over. After 4 rounds, the order of answering changes so the team who began round 1 going first begin round 5 going second. This is done by switching each team's questions from A to B or from B to A depending on which questions they started with.
Other formats exist that involve more conferring within teams, list rounds and "pick a category" rounds. The QLL format is played by the main leagues in London and Merseyside
.
Many quiz leagues run individual competitions. The Quiz League of London is the MIMIR quiz (named after Mímir
, a god of Norse mythology
who was renowned for his knowledge and wisdom). Matches are played in groups of four with positions drawn at random and each person has 3 questions addressed to them, in each of 5 rounds.
Time to answer is at the discretion of the question master but a wrong answer or a pass gives any of the other three an opportunity to score a bonus point. The decision as to who gets the first chance to answer for a bonus is determined by offering the question to whoever, at that stage, has made least attempts to gain bonus points or, if there is more than one player who has made the least bonus attempts, the next player in line (e.g. if this happened on the first question, P2 would have the first option on a bonus attempt). As well as a scorekeeper, a bonus counter is needed to track each player's bonus attempts.
Quiz league
A quiz league is an organization running quizzes on a home and away basis, usually in pubs. Like the pub quiz, it is chiefly a British phenomenon although the format has significant differences to a pub quiz due to the usual number of teams and the presence of individual questions.-Team format:Two...
of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(QLL) is a United Kingdom quiz league
Quiz league
A quiz league is an organization running quizzes on a home and away basis, usually in pubs. Like the pub quiz, it is chiefly a British phenomenon although the format has significant differences to a pub quiz due to the usual number of teams and the presence of individual questions.-Team format:Two...
based in the capital, London. Founded in 1990 as the Quiz League of South London
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...
, it was southern England
Southern England
Southern England, the South and the South of England are imprecise terms used to refer to the southern counties of England bordering the English Midlands. It has a number of different interpretations of its geographic extents. The South is considered by many to be a cultural region with a distinct...
's first independent self-administered Quiz League. The matches themselves often are mostly hosted at pubs or social clubs
Social clubs
A social club may refer to a group of people or the place where they meet, generally formed around a common interest, occupation or activity . Note that this article covers only two distinct types of social clubs, the historic gentlemen's clubs and the modern activities clubs...
.
History
The QLL has since incorporated many teams from the Greater LondonGreater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
area and currently (2010-11) has three divisions, formed of eight teams each. The QLL runs the National Team Quiz Festival annually, which features a North v South challenge match between the winner of the QLL's President's Cup competition and a team from England's other premier league, the Merseyside Quiz League. The QLL also runs a individual competition, the Brain of London. Players in the QLL include previous Brain of Britain, Mastermind
Mastermind (TV series)
Mastermind is a British quiz show, well known for its challenging questions, intimidating setting and air of seriousness.Devised by Bill Wright, the basic format of Mastermind has never changed — four and in later contests five contestants face two rounds, one on a specialised subject of the...
winners and other television quiz winners. The league contains quiz teams formed from London Scottish
London Scottish F.C.
London Scottish Football Club is a rugby union club in England. It is a member of both the Rugby Football Union and the Scottish Rugby Union.-History:...
and Rosslyn Park
Rosslyn Park F.C.
Rosslyn Park Football Club is a rugby union team. Founded in 1879, the club became the first club based in England to play rugby internationally when it faced Stade Francais in Paris on 18 April 1892. In 1912, the club played in Prague, Budapest and Vienna in the first rugby matches ever played in...
rugby clubs among others.
Team format
Two teams, one Home, one Away play each other, responding orally to a questionmaster.In the QLL format, there is no conferring as such. Where a player decides not to answer their question, the team captain will normally decide which other member of the team is to answer by assessing the hand signals made by the players on the team and his/her own judgement. The opposition will also use hand signals to decide who is to answer the question in the event of it being passed over. After 4 rounds, the order of answering changes so the team who began round 1 going first begin round 5 going second. This is done by switching each team's questions from A to B or from B to A depending on which questions they started with.
Other formats exist that involve more conferring within teams, list rounds and "pick a category" rounds. The QLL format is played by the main leagues in London and Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
.
Individual format
Mímir
Mímir or Mim is a figure in Norse mythology renowned for his knowledge and wisdom who is beheaded during the Æsir-Vanir War...
, a god of Norse mythology
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
who was renowned for his knowledge and wisdom). Matches are played in groups of four with positions drawn at random and each person has 3 questions addressed to them, in each of 5 rounds.
Time to answer is at the discretion of the question master but a wrong answer or a pass gives any of the other three an opportunity to score a bonus point. The decision as to who gets the first chance to answer for a bonus is determined by offering the question to whoever, at that stage, has made least attempts to gain bonus points or, if there is more than one player who has made the least bonus attempts, the next player in line (e.g. if this happened on the first question, P2 would have the first option on a bonus attempt). As well as a scorekeeper, a bonus counter is needed to track each player's bonus attempts.
External links
- The Quiz League of London
- Quiz Leagues A listing of organisations with information on how to get involved
- Southport and Formby Quiz League
- Calvia Quiz League, Mallorca