What is available if I am flying to St. Louis?
There is a free shuttle from the St. Louis Lambert International Airport to the Renaissance Hotel.
What is the cost of the National Finals for quizzers and coaches in 2025?
Coach and quizzer registration remains the same for the sixth year in a row at $195. Registration includes Saturday’s ice cream fellowship, lunches (Monday-Thursday), Thursday night fellowship and food, Friday’s formal banquet, welcome bags, finals program, T-shirt, lanyard and more. (This is heavily subsidized by the generous sponsors of this year’s National Finals!!) The Renaissance St. Louis Airport Hotel cost is $119 for up to four people in a room, and includes free parking (the regular rate is $138 plus parking).
What are some activities to do in St. Louis besides the actual BQ event?
Please note a tornado went through St. Louis on Friday, May 16 and some venues may not be opened or limited in what they offer.
- The Gateway Arch and the free museum on 1st floor is highly recommended.
- Six Flags, Eureka, MO is only 34 miles away.
- St. Louis Union Station complex houses more than 13,000 animals at the St. Louis aquarium, 200-foot St. Louis wheel, a carousel, an 18-hole miniature golf course, a ropes course, 3-D lightshow in the Grand Hall on the hour, a train shed and more.
- Forest Park is 500 acres, larger than New Yorks Central Park!
- City Museum. Not your typical museum-very interactive.
Are there places to eat near the hotel?
There are multiple restaurants within a few miles of the hotel. Of course, don’t forget the Steak & Shake just down the street!
I’ve heard we should come to National Finals based on the time zone where we live.
There is some merit to that. Let’s say the National Finals is in Florida and you are on the West Coast. The time for quizzing is 8:30 am every morning. That would be 5:30 am west coast body time for your team. Then think about your mental alertness at 3-5 pm. Your team will be very tired. It was just the opposite when we were in California and we started at 8:30 am, it was already 11:30 for the East Coast teams. So at 4 pm in California it would be 7 pm for the east coast teams. You work hard all year! A day or two earlier to get the body adjusted is not that much more expensive to keep your quizzers sharp.
What should I expect when I arrive?
This largely depends on what day you arrive and the time zone you are coming from, as well as your budget. Some teams start arriving on Wednesday and Thursday. We have no official meetings or rooms available for practice at this time. Those teams just find a quiet place to study or practice, and then relax or go sightsee. On Friday afternoon, we are hoping to have one or two quiz rooms available for practice, with more quiz rooms available on Saturday. Registration opens at 5:00 p.m. and the new coaches’ orientation is at 7:15 p.m. At 8:00 p.m. we will have the Ice Cream Social for everyone to fellowship. This will all take place on the 12th floor (which is the top floor.) This largely depends on what day you arrive and the time zone you are coming from, as well as your budget. This year we have teams arriving on Wednesday and Thursday. We have no official meetings or rooms available for practice at this time. Those teams just find a quiet place to study or practice, and then relax or go sightseeing. On Saturday we are hoping to have several quiz rooms available for practice, with more quiz rooms available on Sunday. Registration opens on Saturday at 5:00 pm with the New Coaches’ Orientation at 7:15 pm. At 8:00 pm on Saturday we will have the Ice Cream Social for everyone to get together for fellowship. All these events will all take place on the 12th floor, which is the top floor of the hotel.
What’s the Senior Shootout after the Sunday morning service?
We have all of our senior quizzers, who are quizzing on a team, come to the front of the room. They are seated at tables facing the audience and the multiple quiz boxes have all been linked together. We normally average 26-32 seniors going for the questions over the material we are quizzing on. Every question is worth a gift card or cash and in some instances both. At last year’s Senior Shoot-Out, one quizzer earned almost $200 in cash and gift cards. Is there an opportunity for a quizzer to minister, in Fine Arts categories, at National Finals? Absolutely. Those that would like to share a 5 to 7-minute devotion, sing, play an instrument, minister through drama or minister on the worship team please contact Pastor Bernie Elliot
What’s new in Adult Quizzing this year?
After all the Teen Bible quizzing is completed, on Thursday we have traditionally done Adult Quizzing. This year the Veteran Division will quiz over Acts chapters 1-3. The Fun/Novice Division will quiz over Acts chapter 2. Our quizzers will now be the quizmasters and judges. Seniors (graduates), who have competed at their last National Finals, will have first choice for a position to officiate. Before we do the Adult Quizzing, we will do an Adult Quoting Bee over Acts chapter 2. There will be three age groups this year! The registration for Adult Quiz will be on site and 100% of the registration fee goes into the BQ Scholarship Fund.