Model United Nations
National Championships

Middle & Elementary School Divisions Homepage

2026 National Champions:
8th Grade – Co-Champion – David May, Long Island School for the Gifted,
Huntington Station, NY
8th Grade – Co-Champion – Aditi Kamuni, Daniel Wright Junior High School, Lincolnshire, IL
7th Grade – Keane Miller, The Evergreen School, Shoreline, WA
6th Grade – Baron Block, St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, Austin, TX
5th Grade – Oliver Nowakowski, Carrillo Elementary School, Carlsbad, CA
4th Grade – Zhengyuan Han, The Pegasus School, Huntington Beach, CA

Intro to Model UN
Intro to Model UN

Model UN Nationals Middle & Elementary School Divisions Overview

International Academic Competitions is pleased to announce the second Model United Nations National Championships for students in 4th-8th grade. This will take place on Friday-Monday, May 28-31, 2027 at the International Academic Competitions Middle & Elementary School National Championships at the Hyatt Regency Orlando in Orlando, FL. Please explore this page to learn more about how we are structuring this event, and how you / your student(s) / your child(ren) can qualify and take part in it.

  • Eligibility:  Students who have qualified by winning any award at any regional Model UN conference (whether run by IAC or not), or as part of the Introduction to Model UN in the 2026-27 academic year. Awards won in any previous year (even at the 2026 National Championships) do not qualify a student; the qualification must be done in the current academic year.

  • Competitors:  Students in Grades 4-8. Students must compete as solo students; pairs or teams are not permitted.

  • Inquiries: Please contact us at modelun@iacompetitions.com.

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Intro to Model UN

Competition Format

The Model United Nations National Championships consists of preliminary committees and playoff committees. Please note that the Introduction to Model UN committees are not considered part of the Model UN National Championships, but students who participate in those and win awards in them qualify for the Model UN preliminary committees offered on Sunday.

Stage
1

Preliminary Committees

All students who compete at the 2027 Model UN National Championships begin by participating in the preliminary committees. There will be 6 preliminary committees at the Model UN National Championships. Each is open to any student who has qualified to compete at the National Championships. Each committee costs $115 per student regardless of the duration of the committee. A full schedule of the 2027 IAC National Championships, including all Model UN committees can be found here.

Committee Type Topic or Announcement Date Committee Date and Time
World Food Programme Standard Setting the 2028 World Food Programme Budget: Who Eats? Who Starves? May 28, 8:00am-11:30am
Security Council Crisis The Tartu Affair: NATO’s Nightmare May 28, 12:30-4:00pm
General Assembly Standard Recognizing Reality: Frozen Conflicts, New Regimes and Representation at the UN May 29, 8:00am-11:30am
AI Advisory Body Crisis AI Runs Amok: The Nvidia Lab Disaster May 29, 12:30-4:00pm
Surprise Committee 1 Standard Announced at 3:45pm on May 29 May 30, 11:00am-1:45pm
Surprise Committee 2 Crisis  Announced at 3:45pm on May 29 May 30, 2:30pm-5:15pm

Background guides for the four committees whose topics are announced above will be posted by the end of December 2026. For the Surprise Committes, background guides will be posted when the topics are revealed. For the four committees on May 28 and 29, students will receive their country assignments the day after registration closes for the National Championships (i.e. on May 12, 2027) so that students who register earlier are not at an advantage. For the Surprise Committees on May 30, registration will run through 9:30pm on May 29, and country assignments will be assigned beginning at 7:30pm for students who have registered by 6pm. For students who register between 6pm and 9:30pm, country assignments will be posted by 11:00pm.

None of the committees have any field cap for any age division, but if over 25-30 countries (at IAC’s discretion) are going to be represented within a committee within an age division, we will open a second (or potentially third or fourth) committee room for that committee within that division. On the other hand, if fewer than 10 students/teams sign up for a committee within an age division, certain age divisions may be combined for a topic to create a critical mass of delegations. However, awards would still be given out proportionally on a grade by grade basis within each committee, so this would not put any students at a disadvantage for qualifying for the playoff committees.

Stage
2

Playoff Committees

2026 Playoff Committee Assignments and Results2026 Background Guide (Standard Committee)2026 Background Guide (Crisis Committee)

Depending on how many students take part in each grade, between the top 25% and top 50% of students in each preliminary committee will receive awards. Our aim is to have approximately 20-30 students make the playoffs for each grade, though this is a general target and the actual number may be lower or higher. For each grade, the % of students who win awards will be the same for each committee regardless of that committee’s size. The % of students who win awards in each grade will be announced after the initial registration deadline on May 11 and before the beginning of the National Championships.
Note that if the % of students who wins an award is less than 50%, students finishing in the top 50% within their committee will still be given a Certificate of Commendation. This is not an award that would qualify students for the playoffs at Nationals, but it would qualify them for the inaugural Model UN World Championships (which IAC is anticipating starting within a few years).
Any student who receives an award (including Honorable Mentions) is then eligible to compete in the playoffs and can then register for the playoffs. Participants must register for the playoffs at the National Championships (since they are held at the same time as certain other events, and we need to know if students plan on participating in Model UN or the other events), which they can do so at any point from 11:30am on Friday, May 28 (i.e. the end of the first preliminary committee, at which point its award winners will be announced) until 9:30pm on Sunday, May 30. Country assignments for the playoffs will then be announced beginning at 7:30pm that same evening for anyone who has registered by 6:00pm. Students who register between 6pm and 9:30pm will receive their country assignments for the playoffs at 11:00pm. It does not cost anything extra to compete in the playoffs.
All students taking part in the playoffs of the Model UN National Championships will take part in both a standard committee (from 8:15am-11:45am) and a crisis committee (from 12:30pm-4:00pm). The awards will then be given out from 4:30-5:00pm. Both committees will count equally in the award calculations.

Full Playoff Rules for Qualification and Awards

A. The top 25-50% of students in each grade who actually compete (not necessarily those who are on the start list, in case there are drops) will make the playoffs from each committee. The % will be announced in advance of the National Championships and be the same for all committees within an age division regardless of the number of students in each committee. Regardless of the stated %, the following rules apply (though we do expect significantly more than 4 students in each grade in each preliminary committee):
     I. If there are 3 or fewer students in a grade who actually compete, then all will win awards and qualify.
     II. If there are 4 students in a grade who compete, then 3 will win awards and qualify.
B. Awards will be given out for Preliminary Committees (in addition to the overall awards in the playoffs).
C. Any award from any Preliminary Committee will qualify students for the Playoff Committees, with the exception of the Certificate of Commendation.
D. All students in the playoffs will compete in both the Standard and Crisis Committees.
E. Students in all playoff committee rooms will be ranked by the following point schematic by both the Committee Chair and the Vice Committee Chair:
    I. Best Delegate – 10 points
    II. 2nd Place (Outstanding Delegate) – 7 points
    III. 3rd Place (Distinguished Delegate) – 5 points
    IV. 4th Place – 4 points
    V. 5th Place – 3 points
    VI. 6th Place – 2 points
    VII. 7th Place – 1 point
F. The same Committee Chair and Vice Committee Chair will chair both the Standard and Crisis Committees, except in cases of emergency.
G. The rankings will be done independently by both the Committee Chair and the Vice Committee Chair immediately after each committee session. The Clerk of the National Championships will collect the rankings and tally them.
H. Final rankings will be done by adding the points from both the Committee Chair’s rankings and the Vice Committee Chairs Rankings. Thus a perfect score would be 40 points (i.e. being ranked Best Delegate in both the Standard Committee and Crisis Committee by both the Chair and the Vice Chair).
I. In the event of a tie between two or more students, the Chair’s rankings of the students in question will break the tie, if possible.
J. If the Chair’s rankings do not break the tie, then the Chair and the Vice Chair will confer and decide upon the order of the tied students. The Clerk of the National Championships will notify the Chair and Vice Chair if this is the case, but will not let them know which placements are tied.
K. If the Chair and Vice Chair cannot come to a unanimous decision on the order of the tied students, then the Chair’s decision will be final. The Chair and Vice Chair will let the Clerk of the National Championships know of their decision, and then this decision will determine the final ranking of students.
L. Accordingly, at the 2027 National Championships (in contrast to the 2026 National Championships), there will be no ties in the final rankings of students in the playoffs.
Bonus
Stages

International History Olympiad & International Geography Championships

Students who win any award in the 2027 Intro to Model UN Committees above the Honorable Mention level also qualify for the 2027 International History Olympiad in Berlin, Germany on July 24-31, as well as for the 2028 International Geography Championships which is planned for July 9-16, 2028 in Stockholm, Sweden.

International History Olympiad

The International History Olympiad is a week-long World Championship-level competition for the world’s best history students. Consisting of over 40 separate competitions, numerous field trips, and dedicated activities for family members as well as competing students, the Olympiad is held every two years in July. The International History Olympiad features the International History Bee World Championships (for individual students), and the International History Bowl World Championships (for teams); an overall Olympiad Championship title is also awarded. At the 2027 International History Olympiad, there will be four Historical Model UN Committees, one Model League of Nations Committee, and three other Historical Simulations, so players skilled at simulation competitions (like Model UN) will find plenty of opportunities. Registration for the Olympiad will open in November 2026 and run through June 25, 2027. We hope you be able to join us in Berlin for the 2027 International History Olympiad! For all questions on the 2027 International History Olympiad, please email olympiad@iacompetitions.com.

International Geography Championships

The International Geography Championships is a week-long event with numerous competitions (including Model UN committees), 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. We hope that you will be able to join us at IGC 2028! For all questions on the 2028 International Geography Championships, please email igc@iacompetitions.com.

Practice Resources & Background Guides

Background Guides for the 2027 National Championships

These will be available here by the end of December 2026.
For now, you can reference the Background Guides from the 2026 Model United Nations National Championships to see what a sample Background Guide looks like.

Background Guides for the 2026 National Championships

Background Guides for Topics Announced in Advance of Nationals
African Union – Statehood for Somaliland – Background Guide
UN Environment Programme – Renewable Energy – Background Guide
UN Security Council – Escalation on the Korean Peninsula – Finalized Background Guide
UNESCO – Cultural Artifacts – Preservation & Repatriation – Background Guide

Background Guides for Topics Announced at Nationals (for Surprise Committees on May 24)
Standard – International Olympic Committee – Reassignment of the Hosts of the 2028 and 2034 Olympics
Crisis – Middle East Crisis Summit – Ongoing Crisis in the Strait of Hormuz

Background Guides for Playoff Committees on May 25
These will be available at 4:30pm on May 24.

2026 IAC Nationals Championships - Model UN Info Session Recording

Access a recording of the info session, held on May 18, where the procedures of the Intro to Model UN and Model UN National Championships were discussed. These procedures will also be in effect for the 2027 National Championships as well, though note that the rules on awards, both in the preliminary committees and the playoff committees are different – the up to date rules are shown above on this website.

Expectations & Rules - Standard Committees at Nationals

Model UN National Championships – Standard Committee Expectations & Rules

Expectations & Rules - Crisis Committees at Nationals

Model UN National Championships – Crisis Committee Expectations & Rules

Rules & FAQs

Dress for all other events at the International Academic Competitions National Championships is casual. However, this is the official policy on dress for the Model UN National Championships / Intro to Model UN:
Intro to Model UN: Suggested business casual; casual is certainly fine
Model UN National Championships Preliminary Committees: Suggested Western Business Attire; Recommended business casual; but casual is okay.
Model UN National Championships Playoff Committees: Recommended Western Business Attire (at least a jacket or tie for boys / dress or suit or similar for girls) – but business casual is fine. Casual attire (including jeans, shorts, T-shirts, and sandals) is not.
Note that no one will be exclueded from any committee for wearing casual clothes, nor will this impact the awards determinations at any point. However do note that Model United Nations conferences typically require western business attire, so we encourage students to dress for success at the Model United Nations National Championships.

No, they are not required for any committee.

Yes! It is possible to do this, though you would not be able to compete in every preliminary committee session. You must keep a minimum of two of the four preliminary round blocks for the National History Bee, National Geography Bee, National Science Bee, and National Mathematics Bee free of other conflicts in order to compete in them. The playoff committees of the 2027 Model United Nations National Championships do not conflict with these events which all conclude on Sunday, May 30. Please consult the schedule and plan accordingly.

You can register for both of these, but note that if you make the playoffs of the Model UN National Championships and intend on competing in it, you would not be able to compete in the National History Bowl. Because of this, solo student teams are not permitted to compete in both of these events. However, students with History Bowl teammates who are not competing in the Model UN National Championships can plan on competing in both, and then decide on Sunday evening (if they qualify for the Model UN National Championship playoffs. Please consult the schedule and plan accordingly.

If this impacts the size of the History Bowl team to the point of it potentially calling into question the size of the discount (since History Bowl teams with 1 or 2 players play for a lesser cost), then we can refund the differential minus a 10% processing fee. The team must register and initially pay for its highest potential size, however.

You can register for both, and then if you do not make the playoffs for the Model UN National Championships, you can compete in the US History Bee. We can refund US History Bee registrations in full minus a 10% processing fee if you qualify for and choose to compete in the Model UN National Championships instead. Please consult the schedule and plan accordingly. As the US History Bee overlaps with the playoffs of the Model UN National Championships, it is not possible to compete in both events.

If this impacts the size of the History Bowl team to the point of it potentially calling into question the size of the discount (since History Bowl teams with 1 or 2 players play for a lesser cost), then we can refund the differential minus a 10% processing fee. The team must register and initially pay for its highest potential size, however.

This is permitted. These two events do not overlap.

Yes, you can take part in all of these events, which are open to all students at the National Championships, including those who did not qualify for the National Science, History, or Geography Bees. Please consult the schedule for the times of all events at Nationals.

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 the National Championships 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.

Results & Past National Champions

Click on the grade links in the grid for full results. On mobile, swipe right to view all columns

Results and Analytics