National Geography Bowl

Middle School, Intermediate, & Elementary School Divisions Homepage

2024 National Champions:
Middle School – Hillsborough Middle School, Hillsborough, NJ
6th Grade – Seven Bridges Middle School, Chappaqua, NY
Elementary – Reeves Elementary School, McKinney, TX

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

The National Geography Bowl is a quiz competition for teams of students who attend the same school or homeschool association. Teams consist of two students who play at any time; a third student is permitted as an alternate. The National Geography Bowl is contested solely at the IAC Middle & Elementary School National Championships. Questions come from all aspects of geography, including political, physical, and cultural geography, and reference all parts of the world.

Eligibility: No prior qualification is required. All students on a team must attend the same school or homeschool association with the exception of homeschooled students not belonging to an association who may join school teams in accordance with the IAC Homeschool Policy.
Competitors: Teams of 2 students, with 1 alternate permitted. There are 3 age divisions: Middle School (8th grade and younger), Intermediate (6th grader and younger), and Elementary School (4th grade and younger). Younger students can compete in older divisions (e.g. a 6th grader can play on a Middle School Division team).
Competition Style: Online buzzer-based quiz tournament
Inquiries: Contact ems-info@iacompetitions.com

Competition Format

The National Geography Bowl is a single-stage competition consisting solely of the National Championships, which will be held online on Saturday, May 17. Students can also qualify for the International Geography Championships by competing in the National Geography Bowl.

Stage
1

National Championships

Each team in the 2025 National Geography Bowl National Championships will play six preliminary rounds. There will be an even multiple of four teams in each age division; we will search for standby teams as necessary to ensure that the draw is filled to an even multiple of four. Teams will then be seeded based on their players’ performances in the National Geography Bee Regional Finals.

Teams will all play 3 opening rounds of preliminaries. Then the top teams, based first on Rank Points, and then on Game Points will advance to the Upper Bracket where they are eligible to contest for the National Championship and will play 3 more rounds. Other teams will play 3 Lower Bracket consolation rounds. Rank points are given out on the basis of 4 for a win, 3 for second place, 2 for third place, and 1 for a fourth place finish. Please see the National Geography Bowl Official Rules for details on how Game Points are calculated.

The top teams will then compete in the Semifinal round, and the Semifinal winners will contest the Final round (and 3rd place round if needed). The exact number of teams who make the playoffs, and whether the playoff rounds will consist of 4 teams per match, 3 teams per match, or 2 teams per match will be announced once registration closes and the field size has been finalized.

Bonus
Stage

International Geography Championships

Students who compete in the Middle School, Intermediate, and Elementary School Divisions of the National Geography Bowl can qualify for the 2026 International Geography Championships which will be held in Summer 2026! Students qualify for IGC by:

having a score of 75 or higher on any version of the Varsity / Junior Varsity Geography National Qualifying Exam in the 2024-25 or 2025-26 academic year if they were in 9th grade or higher in the year they took it.
having a score of 65 or higher on any version of the Varsity / Junior Varsity Geography National Qualifying Exam in the 2024-25 or 2025-26 academic year if they were in 7th or 8th grade in the year they took it.
having a score of 55 or higher on any version of the Varsity / Junior Varsity Geography National Qualifying Exam in the 2024-25 or 2025-26 academic year if they were in 6th grade or lower in the year they took it.
placing in the top third at a National Geography Bee regional event (or first or second place in the case of small fields)
placing in the top two thirds in their age division at the 2025 or 2026 National Championships of the National Geography Bee
placing in the top two thirds in their age division at the 2025 or 2026 National Championships of the US Geography Championships
making the playoffs in their age division at the 2025 or 2026 National Championships of the US Geography Bee
playing on a team that finishes in the top 50% in any age division at the 2025 or 2026 National Championships of the National Geography Bowl

The International Geography Championships 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 IGC are the International Geography Bee World Championships and the International Geography Bowl World Championships; an overall IGC Championship title is also awarded in each age division; please view the website at www.geochampionships.com for further details on all events and to register.

For all questions on the International Geography Championships please email igc@iacompetitions.com.

National Geography Bowl Practice Resources

Official National Geography Bowl Sample Packet

Past Geography Bee Questions

Please see past Geography Bee questions for further questions with which to practice. If you are looking for additional questions formatted in the style of the 2nd quarter or 3rd quarter, please see past questions of the National History Bowl, many of which have geographical, as well as historical content.

Rules & FAQs

National Geography Bowl Official Rules

National Geography Bowl Official Rules

Can solo student teams compete?

Yes, solo student teams can compete.

If one student attends an elementary school, and another student attends the middle school that that school feeds into, can they combine and form a team?

No, this is not permitted in the National Geography Bowl. All students on a team must attend the same school or homeschool association, with the exception of homeschooled students not belonging to an association, who can form a team in accordance with the IAC Homeschool Participation Policy.

What is the cost to compete?

For the 2024 National Geography Bowl National Championships, a team of two or three students costs $375 ($335 if registered and paid for by the end of 2023), and a solo student team costs $195 ($175 if registered and paid for by the end of 2023).

Is there a question distribution file? How much of the tournament focuses on American geography?

There is no formal distribution file, but approximately 20-25% of the questions will focus on geography of the USA. Roughly 10-15% are on Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Roughly 20-25% is on Asia. Roughly 15-20% is on Europe. Roughly 15-20% is on Africa. Roughly 5-10% is on Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica.