National Geography Bowl

Varsity & Junior Varsity Divisions Homepage

New for the 2024-2025 Academic Year!

The National Geography Bowl Varsity & Junior Varsity 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. For the 2024-25 academic year, the National Geography Bowl is contested solely at an online National Championships that will take place on Saturday, May 17, 2025. 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 2 age divisions for high school-aged students: Varsity (12th grade and younger) and Junior Varsity (10th grade and younger). The division is determined by the oldest student on the team (i.e. it is permitted for a 9th grader to play in the Varsity Division).
Note that this competition will also have Middle and Elementary School Divisions competing at the same time.
Competition Style: Buzzer-based quiz tournament
Inquiries: Contact hs-info@iacompetitions.com

Competition Format

The National Geography Bowl is a single-stage competition consisting solely of the National Championships. 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 on Saturday, May 23, beginning at 11am EDT. 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 and other competitions.

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 that evening, and the Semifinal winners will contest the Final round (and 3rd place round if needed) immediately thereafter. 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 Varsity and Junior Varsity Divisions of the National Geography Bowl can qualify for the 2026 International Geography Championships! Students can qualify for IGC by finishing in the top 50% in their age division at the 2025 National Geography Bowl National Championships. They can also qualify by finishing in the top 25% at any 2024-25 or 2025-26 National Geography Bee regional tournament, or in the top 50% at the 2025 or 2026 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. We are expecting 300-400 students to attend the 2026 IGC.

For all questions on the 2026 International Geography Championships, please email igc@iacompetitions.com