National Academic Bee

Varsity & Junior Varsity Divisions Homepage

2024 National Champions:
Varsity – Rajiv Pujara, Darien High School, Darien, CT
Junior Varsity – Padraig Finan, Hazen High School, Renton, WA

US Academic Bee
US Academic Bee

The National Academic Bee Varsity & Junior Varsity Divisions Overview

National Academic Bee

The National Academic Bee is a quiz competition for individual students, testing knowledge of all academic subjects at a grade-appropriate level. For students competing in the Varsity & Junior Varsity Divisions, the National Academic Bee consists solely of the National Championships, which will take place on Friday, April 25 and Saturday, April 26 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, VA as part of the IAC Varsity & Junior Varsity National Championships weekend. The National Championships of the National Academic Bee is entirely a buzzer-based quiz competition.

  • Eligibility: Students in 11th and 12th Grade are eligible to compete in the Varsity Division. Students in 10th graders and younger are eligible to compete in the Junior Varsity Division. It is not permitted for younger students to play in the Varsity Division.
  • Competitors:  Individual students. The Varsity & Junior Varsity National Championships of the National Academic Bee are open to all students and do not require any prior qualification.
  • Competition Style: Buzzer-based quiz tournament.

  • Inquiries: Contact hs-info@iacompetitions.com

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IAC Students

Competition Format

For students competing in the Varsity & Junior Varsity Divisions, the National Academic Bee is a one-stage competition, consisting solely of the National Championships.

Stage
1

National Championships

The National Championships of the National Academic Bee for the Varsity & Junior Varsity Divisions for the 2024-25 academic year will take place at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, VA on Friday-Saturday, April 25–26, 2025. The four preliminary rounds will take place on Friday evening and the two playoff rounds will take place on Saturday evening. The National Championships for the National Academic Bee are also held in conjunction with the National Championships of the National History Bowl, National History Bee, National Geography Bee, National Science Bee, and many other events. A full schedule of 2025 Varsity & Junior Varsity National Championships Events is available here.

For the Varsity & Junior Varsity Divisions, the National Academic Bee does not require any prior qualifying and is open to all students in 12th grade and younger.

The cost to compete at the 2025 National Championships is $125. Registration for the National Championships opens in November and runs through early April on this page.

For all questions on the 2025 Varsity & Junior Varsity National Championships, please email hs-info@iacompetitions.com.

National Academic Bee Practice Resources

Past Academic Bee Questions (Middle and Elementary School Divisions)

Please note that these questions are easier than what will be played at Varsity & Junior Varsity Nationals.

Quiz Bowl Packets

This site has links to hundreds of thousands of additional questions

Rules & FAQs

Please see the files here that pertain to the National Academic Bee.

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.

National Academic Bee Results

TBD

Past National Champions

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Year Division National Champion School City State
2024 Varsity Rajiv Pujara Darien High School Darien CT CT
2024 Junior Varsity Padraig Finan Hazen High School Renton WA WA