Event Costs and Policies for Academic Bee and Bowl Regional Events – In-Person Events (Updated 9/9/26)
Please read the following information carefully. Registration and participation in International Academic Competitions (IAC) implies acceptance of all policies below, particularly our policies regarding preregistration, late registration, cancellations, refunds, and reader requirements.
Event Costs
National Academic Bowl
Preregistration prices (at least 8 days ahead of the event) for the 2026-2027 academic year are:
$85 – Academic Bowl team of any size
Buzzer System Discount
Teams receive a $10 discount per buzzer system brought, up to a maximum of $50. This discount applies to Academic Bowl registrations only.
National Academic Bee
$30 per student
National Qualifying Exams ($20 per exam)
Biology
Citizenship
Humanities
Mathematics
Spanish
US Geography
US History
Registration Requirements and Deadlines
Advance registration for the Academic Bowl is REQUIRED. Registration for the Academic Bowl will not be accepted via email or any other means; all Bowl teams must register online. The National Academic Bee and the six National Qualifying Exams still do not require advance registration (though recommended) and have no cancellation fees. Preregistration by credit card includes a 5% online processing fee.
| When You Register | Additional Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| At least 8 days before the tournament | None | Standard registration price |
| Fewer than 8 days before the tournament | +$15/team | Registration must be completed by 11:59pm Eastern time |
| Fewer than 5 days before the tournament | +$25/team | Registration is only permitted by contacting the Tournament Coordinator and is not guaranteed |
Cancellations and Refunds
Team Cancellations
There is a $40 cancellation fee, regardless of team size, if a registered Academic Bowl team does not attend and the cancellation occurs after 11:59pm Eastern time 5 days before the tournament.
For a Saturday tournament, this deadline is 11:59pm Eastern time on the Monday before the tournament.
If the cancellation fee remains unpaid, it must be paid before the team may participate in the next IAC event.
Refunds
Refund requests made at least 5 days before the tournament will be honored, minus a $10 cancellation fee.
No refunds will be given after that deadline.
Because National Qualifying Exams can be taken online at any time, exam registrations cannot be refunded. However, exams may be rescheduled.
Financial Aid
Students that are eligible for Free or Reduced Lunch can apply for financial aid from Quizbowl For All (QB4ALL) to cover their tournament registration. To request financial assistance from QB4ALL, please fill out this form.
Reader Requirements
Schools are required to bring at least one coach, parent, or other adult reader/scorekeeper for every one or two Bowl teams they bring, with a minimum of one reader per school. This also applies to the host school, and for the Academic Bowl, applies to teams of any size. Schools that do not provide the required readers must pay a $125 penalty fee per missing reader. These penalty fees are used to hire additional readers for the tournament.
If you do not indicate that you are bringing reader(s) when you sign up, and we only find out about it on the day of the tournament, or if you drop your reader within 5 days in advance, an additional $50 penalty per missing reader will be assessed.
| Number of Bowl Teams | Number of Required Readers |
|---|---|
| 1-2 teams | 1 |
| 3-4 teams | 2 |
| 5-6 teams | 3 |
| 7-8 teams | 4 |
| …and so on | 1 reader for every 1-2 teams |
Reader Exceptions
Schools entering students participating in the Bee and/or exams ONLY do not need to bring readers.
Team Rosters
We will ask you for your team rosters ahead of time in order to make sure your divisions are correct and to calculate your entry fee more efficiently. You do not have to have your rosters finalized, nor do you have to specify which students are participating in the National Academic Bee or the National Qualifying Exams until the morning of the tournament.
Team Names and Eligibility
Teams do not need official school approval and are permitted to register using a pseudonym if this would help facilitate their participation.
However, all teams must consist of students from the same school, even if the school is not sponsoring the team. The only exceptions to this are 1) our homeschool policy and 2) non-magnet and non-selective public high schools may have students from their feeder elementary schools play together with their students on a team.
Payments
An official invoice and confirmation will be emailed to you upon submission. If you do not receive an immediate confirmation, please email help@iacompetitions.com to get confirmation. Payment must be made by one of the following options:
- At the tournament by cash or check (made payable to “International Academic Competitions”)
- At the time of registration by credit/debit card (which includes a 5% online processing fee).
- We do not accept payments sent by mail in advance of any regional/state tournament!
Returned Checks
Any checks of $500 or less that are returned will incur a $30 charge, while any returned checks greater than $500 will incur a $50 charge.
Nonpayment
No one is ever turned away at a tournament for lack of payment, but if you haven’t paid your registration fees by the end of the event, there will be a 15% penalty charged to you, and you will not be allowed to participate in the next event until your balance is paid.
For any other questions pertaining to registration matters, contact help@iacompetitions.com.