National History Bowl

Middle School, Intermediate, & Elementary School Divisions Homepage

2024 National Champions:
Middle School – Alice Deal Middle School, Washington, DC
6th Grade – Horace Mann School, Bronx, NY
Elementary – Mayfield Junior School, Pasadena, CA

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The National History Bowl Middle School, Intermediate, & Elementary School Divisions Overview

National History Bowl

The National History Bowl is a quiz competition for teams of students, testing knowledge of the history of all eras and all parts of the world. Founded as one of the first two IAC events in 2010, the National History Bowl has welcomed tens of thousands of students since then in a competition celebrating knowledge of all facets of human history. The National History Bowl consists of a network of Regional Tournaments, which are held both in-person and online from late October through early April. For students in 8th grade and younger, the annual IAC Middle & Elementary School National Championships includes the National History Bowl National Championships. Teams are eligible to compete at the National Championships if they qualified at a Regional Tournament, or if a team has at least one student qualified for the National History Bee National Championships.

  • Eligibility: Students in 8th grade and younger. Schools and Homeschool Associations can enter as many teams at a Regional Tournament as they want; Nationals does not require qualification at Regionals as long as one player on each team has qualified for Nationals in the National History Bee.

  • Competitors:  Teams. Up to 4 students play at once. At Regional Tournaments, teams can have up to 2 alternates. There is no limit on team size at Nationals.

  • Divisions: At Nationals, beginning in 2025, the Age Divisions are Middle School (8th Graders and younger), Intermediate (all students 6th Grade and younger), and Elementary School (all players must be in 4th grade and younger). Beginning for the 2024-25 academic year, Regional Tournaments will feature a Middle School Division for students in 8th Grade and younger, and some may also feature an Intermediate Division for students in 6th grade and younger and/or an Elementary School Division for students in 4th Grade and younger.

  • Competition Style: Buzzer-based except for 2nd quarter bonus questions and 3rd quarter 60 second rounds, on which team members can collaborate.

  • Inquiries: Contact ems-info@iacompetitions.com

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IAC Competitors

Competition Format

For students competing in the Middle School, 6th Grade, Intermediate, and Elementary School Divisions, the National History Bowl is a two-stage competition, consisting of the Regional Tournaments, and the National Championships. Teams can compete at Nationals without having competed at Regionals if at least one team member has qualified for the National Championships in the National History Bee. Students can also qualify for the International History Olympiad by competing in the National History Bowl.

Stage
1

Regional Tournaments

The first stage of the National History Bowl are the Regional Tournaments. The Regional Tournaments are held in one of three ways:

1. Together with Varsity and Junior Varsity Regional Tournaments in the National History Bee and Bowl. 60-80 of these are held each year both in-person around the USA and online. Tournaments typically consist of 4-6 preliminary rounds and 1-3 playoff rounds depending on the field size. Of the 60-80 Varsity/JV Regional Tournaments, approximately 10 will offer a separate Middle School Division.
2. Together with National Academic Bowl Regional Tournaments.
3. As a stand-alone online tournament.

The Regional Tournament season runs from late October to early April each academic year. A list of tournaments is maintained on the website here; registration is done by clicking on the tournament you wish to attend, and filling out the registration form on that tournament’s website.

At Varsity/JV History Bowl tournaments, if there are less than 4 History Bowl teams with all students in 8th grade or younger, they will compete together with Junior Varsity Division teams. If there are 4 or more such teams, they will compete separately. In such a case, if there are sufficient teams to also offer a separate Intermediate Division (for teams where the oldest student is in 6th grade or younger), then we will do so. Otherwise, teams like this will play together with Middle School Division teams.

To qualify for Nationals, however, a team just needs to finish in the top 50% of teams in whichever division it is eligible for, finish with a .500 winning percentage or better in its prelim rounds, finish in the the top 50% of teams in the overall competition (if it is a team playing in an older division; for example, a Middle School team playing together with Junior Varsity teams, or an Intermediate team playing together with Middle School teams), finish with a .500 winning percentage or better in its preliminary rounds against all teams, or win a playoff game. If a team is the sole team in its age division, then it qualifies automatically. Schools that qualify for the National Championships at Regional Tournaments are not required to bring those same students to the National Championships.

Each tournament runs on one of four question sets which are labeled A, B, and C. Past questions can be found on the website here for practice. Chronologically, C Set is offered first, beginning in the fall, followed by B, and then A, which is first played in February. However, C and B Set tournaments take place throughout the later months of the Regional Tournament season as well. Teams can thus play up to 3 times each year: once on each question set. No Regional Tournament requires prior qualification, and out-of-state teams are always welcome at all tournaments, even those designated as a State Championships.

For all questions on the National History Bowl Regional Tournaments for Middle School and Intermediate Division teams, please email ems-info@iacompetitions.com.

Stage
2

National Championships

The second stage of the National History Bowl for the Middle School, 6th Grade, & Elementary School Divisions is the National Championships which is held on Memorial Day weekend at the Hyatt Regency Orlando. All teams play six preliminary matches, with the top teams playing 1-4 playoff rounds.

All schools and homeschool associations that qualified at a Regional Tournament in the National History Bowl can compete. Schools and homeschool associations can also field a team (or teams) in the National History Bowl National Championships if at least one competing student on each team qualified for the National Championships in the National History Bee. All students on a team at the National Championships must attend the same school or homeschool association. There is no limit on team size at Nationals (i.e. a team can carry an unlimited number of alternates), but no more than four students can compete at once. Solo-student and dual-student teams are welcome to compete and play at a discounted rate. At Nationals, we will have three separate age divisions: Middle School (students 8th grade or younger), Intermediate (all students must be 6th Grade and younger), and Elementary School (students 4th grade and younger). At Nationals, teams in all three age divisions will only play other teams in the same age division. Younger students can compete in older divisions (e.g. a 6th grader can play on a Middle School Division team).

Based on their performance in those rounds, teams then advance to either the Upper Bracket or Lower Bracket rounds early in the afternoon; only teams in the Upper Bracket remain eligible to contend for the National Championship. The top Upper Bracket teams advance to the playoff rounds in the evening. There are numerous other competitions that take place on Nationals weekend at the same hotel (e.g. the National History Bee, National Geography Bee, National Science Bee, US History Bee, etc.), so students can take part in all of them if they are eligible to do so.

Registration for the National Championships is done on this page which outlines the costs for each team size. Nationals weekend will also feature many other events, including the Opening Ceremonies, a Family Quiz Night, Universal Studios Night, Intro to Model United Nations, various talks and receptions, and the Jeopardy! Charity Games. A full schedule of Nationals Events is available here.

For all questions on the Middle & Elementary School National Championships, please email ems-info@iacompetitions.com.

Bonus
Stage

International History Olympiad

Students who compete in the Middle School, 6th Grade, Intermediate, and Elementary School Divisions of the National History Bowl can qualify for the International History Olympiad! Students qualify for the International History Olympiad by finishing in the top 25% in their age division at any Regional Finals tournament or National History Bowl Regional Tournament, or in the top 50% at the National Championships of the National History Bowl or National History Bee. There are other qualifying methods as explained here, but qualifying through performance in the National History Bowl or National History Bee is the most common approach.

The International History Olympiad is a week-long event with numerous competitions, field trips, family activities and more. In each event, medals are awarded to the top 3 competing students in each age division. US students compete for their state; students from other countries (or students in the USA who were born abroad or who have foreign citizenship) represent those countries. Two of the most prestigious events at the Olympiad are the International History Bowl World Championships and the International History Bee World Championships; an overall Olympiad Championship title is also awarded in each age division; please view the website at www.historyolympiad.com for further details on all events and to register.

For all questions on the International History Olympiad, please email david@iacompetitions.com.

National History Bowl Practice Resources

Study Guides

Study Guides for this current academic year’s B and C Set Regional Tournaments

Past Questions

Past Questions from Regional Finals and National Championships

IAC National Capitals Study Guide

International History Olympiad

This site has additional questions linked though some are in different formats

Quiz Bowl Packets

This site has links to hundreds of thousands of additional questions; most of which are not history-themed, though a good many are

Rules & FAQs

Please see the files here that pertain to the National History Bowl

Students and teams can compete up to four times each academic year at Regionals, once on each set of questions: A, B, C, and D. No Regional Tournament requires prior qualification.

No, we welcome teams of solo-students frequently, and have even had several National Champions who have been solo-student teams!

There is no difference in terms of content focus, but there are some differences in difficulty. B Set is meant to be slightly harder than C Set, but A Set is meant as preparation for the National Championships, so it is notably a more challenging set than B or C. Still, it is accessible enough for teams to play even if they have not played

The hotels where we have room blocks, especially the host hotel, provide us with meeting space to hold the competitions and with sleeping accommodations for our staff, which we need to fly in from around the country. They do this in return for a commitment to fulfill a large number of sleeping room bookings over the course of Nationals weekend. For students who live near the Nationals host site for whom it would make sense to attend Nationals as a day trip and go back to their home each night, this rule does not apply.

Yes! They are actively encouraged to do so, and if they do so, they would play in the Junior Varsity Division which includes students in the 9th and 10th grade. Students cannot transfer qualification in the National Championships at the Junior Varsity level to the Middle or Elementary School level National Championships. For more information on how the National History Bowl works for students in 8th grade and younger, please visit the National History Bowl Middle School, Intermediate, & Elementary School Divisions Homepage.

Yes, this is permitted, though this must be for non-selective public high schools, or for private or selective public schools that have grades 8 and younger attached in the same school.

National History Bowl Results

Past National History Bowl Regional Finals Results

Certain Varsity / JV tournaments also had Middle and Elementary School Divisions; Middle School History Bowl tournaments have not been held as stand-alone events.

Past National History Bowl National Championships Results

Past National Champions

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Year Division National Champion City State
2023 Middle School Ransom Everglades School Miami FL FL
2023 Elementary Speyer Legacy School New York City NY NY
2022 Middle School Longfellow Middle School Falls Church VA VA
2022 Elementary Burleigh Manor Middle School Ellicott City MD MD
2021 Middle School Challenger Strawberry Park San Jose CA CA
2021 Elementary Challenger Strawberry Park San Jose CA CA
2020 Middle School Team History Scholars San Jose CA CA
2020 Elementary Centennial Lane Elementary School Ellicott City MD MD
2019 Middle School Daniel Wright Junior High School Lincolnshire IL IL
2019 Elementary Challenger Almaden San Jose CA CA
2018 Middle School Team Pi-oneers Cupertino CA CA
2017 Middle School BASIS Independent Silicon Valley San Jose CA CA
2016 Middle School BASIS Independent Silicon Valley San Jose CA CA
2015 Middle School Longfellow Middle School Falls Church VA VA
2014 Middle School T. H. Rogers School Houston TX TX
2013 Middle School Stoller Middle School Portland OR OR
2012 Middle School Longfellow Middle School Falls Church VA VA