Northern California Academic Bee and Bowl
November 21
International Academic Competitions is pleased to announce the 2026 Northern California Academic Bee & Bowl, taking place at Stratford School – Fremont Osgood Campus in Fremont, CA on November 21st, 2026! This tournament will run on our Academic Bee & Bowl Set of questions, and is open to all middle and elementary school students, as long as they have not yet played this set of questions in the 2026-2027 academic year.
Registration Details
- Early Registration closes on November 13th at 11:59 pm Eastern Time.
- Teams can register until 11:59 pm Eastern Time on November 16th with a late fee to guarantee a spot in the Bowl competition.
- After that date, registrations are no longer guaranteed; contact your Tournament Coordinator, Marshall Mullins at marshall@iacompetitions.com to see if space remains and get the late registration form.
- Refunds will be given on a case-by-case basis: email your Tournament Coordinator as soon as you can if you need to drop out of the competition or reschedule to another date. A more complete list of our fees and policies can be found here.
- Individuals who are only participating in the Bee and/or taking exams can pre-register using the form below or at the competition with no late fees; advance registration is preferred.
For further information, please email the Tournament Coordinator, Marshall Mullins at marshall@iacompetitions.com. Thank you, and we look forward to welcoming you to Decatur in December!
To register, please fill out the form below. If you don’t receive a confirmation email within an hour, your registration may not have gone through. Please check your spam folder first, then email your Tournament Coordinator as soon as possible to ensure you’ve reserved your spot.
Registration Form (for event details, including schedule, see below)
National Academic Bee & National Academic Bowl
- Depending on registration numbers, divisions may be combined, using the Small Field Rules as needed.
- Bowl teams and Bee players start with multiple preliminary rounds (see schedule below – Bowl prelims continue after lunch).
- After prelims, the top Bowl teams will play in a single elimination playoff, while the top Bee players will play a fourth and final round.
- The number of teams/individuals in the playoffs will vary depending on the field size; your Tournament Director will announce this on the day of the tournament.
- Plaques for the top Bowl teams and medals for the top 3 Bee players will be awarded in each division. Additionally, the top Bowl teams and Bee players can also qualify for our Middle & Elementary School National Championships in May!
Middle/Elementary School National Qualifying Exams
During the lunch break, we will offer Middle/Elementary School National Qualifying Exams for $20 each. Students take these exams to qualify for the events at Middle/Elementary School Nationals that are not offered at a regional level.
Please note that while students can take up to five exams at a given Academic Bee and Bowl event, we recommend students register to take no more than three exams on site. If students want to take more exams, they are also available online. Students will get 20 minutes to take one exam and 40 minutes total for 2-5 exams.
If your students prefer not to take these exams onsite, they can also take them at their convenience online – see this page for details.
These exams only qualify students for the Middle/Elementary School National Championships. There are also Varsity/JV National Qualifying Exams that can qualify students solely for the Varsity/JV National Championships in Geography, Political Science, Science and US History, as well as the 2028 International Geography Championships.
Tentative Schedule
See below for the schedule for an average sized tournament: Bowl playoff rounds may be added or deleted depending on the size of the field. The schedule will be confirmed the week of the tournament when the pretournament email goes out, usually the Wednesday before the tournament. Students and teams looking for further guidance on the schedule should contact the Tournament Coordinator.
8:15 Doors Open, Check-In Begins
8:45 Please Arrive by This Time!
8:55 Academic Bowl Opening Meeting
9:20 Academic Bowl Round 1
10:05 Academic Bowl Round 2
10:45 Academic Bowl Round 3
11:25 Academic Bee Opening Meeting
11:40 Academic Bee Round 1
12:10 Academic Bee Round 2
12:40 Academic Bee Round 3
1:10 Lunch / National Qualifying Exams
2:20 Academic Bowl Round 4
2:55 Academic Bowl Round 5
3:30 Results Meeting/Academic Bee Finals
4:25 Academic Bowl Semifinals
5:00 Academic Bowl Finals
5:30 End
Teams Attending
Middle School (8th grade and lower)
- Stratford Osgood A
Intermediate (6th grade and lower)
- TBA
Elementary School (4th grade and lower)
- TBA
