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.
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Competition Format
The National Geography Bowl is a single-stage competition consisting solely of the National Championships, which will be held in Orlando, FL on Memorial Day Weekend. Students can also qualify for the International Geography Championships by competing in the National Geography Bowl.
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, 6th Grade, and Elementary School Divisions of the National Geography Bowl can qualify for the International Geography Championships! Students can qualify for IGC by finishing in the top 50% in their age division at the National Geography Bowl National Championships. They can also qualify by finishing in the top 25% at any National Geography Bee Regional Finals tournament, or in the top 50% at the National Championships of the National Geography Bee. The complete qualifying methods for the International Geography Championships are explained here.
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 david@iacompetitions.com.