For Students/Advisors:

How do I register a team for the PSPA Challenge Bowl?
Complete the registration form and email the completed form to &cHNwYWNoYWxsZW5nZWJvd2wgYXQgcHNwYSBkb3QgbmV0& by October 1, 2025.

Can I register a team without an alternate and then add one later?
Yes. An alternate may be added to your team by emailing the Challenge Bowl Chair until two weeks before the event (Friday, October 24, 2025).

What is the donation requirement?
Every year, we pick a different charity to support! Some teams decide to donate with either cash or check (there is no minimum). Other teams decide to bring a collection of items such as a food drive that their whole class collects. The charity for 2025 is Angels and Dragonflies (to be confirmed). The donation is due at 4:30 PM the day of the competition.

What time does the challenge bowl end?
Expect the challenge bowl to go to about 10 PM. We will be doing door prizes all night and a grand prize at the end!

Can I watch it online?
Unfortunately, it will not be streamed online and recording of any kind is strictly prohibited. This is in order to protect the integrity of the question bank.

What is the schedule?

• 4:00-5:00 PM – Team and Faculty Advisor registration with donations due at 4:30 PM
• 5:00-6:00 PM – Team and Faculty Dinner in competition room-Format and rules will be reviewed
• 5:30-6:15 PM – Guest and conference attendee dinner in separate room
• 6:15 pm – Guests may enter the competition room
• 6:30-approx 10:00 PM- CHALLENGE BOWL!

Can a team come to the PSPA Challenge Bowl without a faculty advisor?
No. Talk with your school to find an advisor for your team.

Do the Challenge Bowl team members and the faculty advisor need to be PSPA members?
Yes. Student members and faculty advisors must be current PSPA members at the time of the registration deadline. PSPA membership numbers need to be supplied on the registration form.

How do I know if our school has the right accreditation status to participate?
Schools with the following ARC-PA accreditations are allowed to participate:

• Accreditation – Provisional
• Accreditation – Continued
• Accreditation – Clinical Postgraduate Program
• Accreditation – Probation
• Accreditation – Administrative Probation

Our school has two programs, can both programs have a team?
Within a single school, each PA program with its own accreditation may have a team.

What happens if we arrive after 5PM on the day of the Challenge Bowl?
At a minimum, three students and a faculty advisor need to be present at 5PM for the team to compete. Any individuals who arrive after 5PM will not be allowed to compete. If your team does not have three students and a faculty advisor at 5PM, the team will not be allowed to participate. Remember that donations are due earlier, at 4:30 PM and a donation from every team is required for participation.

Are there prizes to be won?

• Charity prizes: The school who brings the largest monetary donation and the school who provides the largest item donation will each win a prize.
• Challenge Bowl winners: The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place schools will each win a prize.
• Spirit prize: The most spirited team will win a prize.
• Door prizes: We raffle off tickets to the students throughout the entire bowl. Any student who attends is eligible to win!

Should we eat dinner before coming to the Challenge Bowl?
Dinner will be provided for Challenge Bowl team members and team faculty advisors, starting at 5PM

What is the dress code?
This is a fun casual event and we encourage you to show your school spirit, many teams wear school t-shirts or sweatshirts. See this great photo of Mercyhurst, the 2024 Spirit winner! Some teams even bring their Mascot!

What buzzer system do you use?
Details on our buzzer system available by request, please email &cHNwYWNoYWxsZW5nZWJvd2wgYXQgcHNwYSBkb3QgbmV0&.

For Guests/Parents/Visitors:

Can parents or significant others of the team attend the Challenge Bowl?
Yes. All guests who are not conference attendees, student team members, or team faculty advisors should register online and will need to pay the $20 admission fee. This can be done online in advance or at the door.

Should we eat dinner before coming to the Challenge Bowl?
Dinner will be provided for guests who have registered for the Challenge Bowl from 5:30-6:15PM.

What time is the general public permitted to enter the Challenge Bowl event?
The doors to the competition hall open at 6:15PM.

For Conference Attendees:

What do tickets to the Challenge Bowl cost?

Tickets are free for conference attendees. Please register for the Challenge Bowl when you are registering for the conference so we know you are planning to attend.

Should we eat dinner before coming to the Challenge Bowl?
Dinner will be provided for conference attendees who have registered for the Challenge Bowl from 5:30-6:15 PM.

For any questions not answered here, please email pspachallengebowl@pspa.net