The National Student Crossword Championships is an annual competition at the IAC Middle and Elementary School National Championships for students of all ages who enjoy wordplay and puzzles. Crossword puzzles are a great test of knowledge and mental agility. If you are interested in competing in this competition, we recommend you try your hand at some puzzles in advance. In the USA, the gold standard for crossword quality is the daily puzzle in the New York Times. Note that from Monday-Saturday, the puzzles increase in difficulty, while the Sunday puzzle is much larger, but only about as hard as a Wednesday or Thursday puzzle. Click here for the NY Times puzzle (paywall applies), here for a great introduction to solving crosswords, and here for a review of each day’s puzzle if you want to hone your skills in advance of the National Championships!
This event is open to all students (including siblings; no IAC Nationals Qualifications otherwise necessary) up through 8th grade. We will have an open division for anyone older than 8th grade. The cost is the same for everyone regardless of whether they are in 8th grade and younger, or in the Open Division. There will be prizes for the top 3 students in each division, as well as for the Open Division.
For 2025, the National Student Crossword Championships will consist of four puzzles, none of which will have any particular subject theme. Two of these puzzles will be miniature puzzles (5 x 5 grids), and two of the puzzles will be larger grids (15 squares by 15 squares; standard New York Times weekday size). One of the miniature puzzles will be easier than the other, and one of the larger puzzles will be easier than the other. The focus here will be more on accuracy than speed. In both parts, students will score one point for each correct letter in the grid. Time will only be used as a tiebreaker between students with identical scores. G__D L_C_ !