National History Bee
Varsity & Junior Varsity Divisions

The first stage of the National History Bee in the Varsity and Junior Varsity Divisions are the Regional Tournaments, which includes our National Science, History and Geography Bee Regional Tournaments as well as our National History Bee and Bowl Regional Tournaments. Dozens of both types of these events are held each academic year, both in-person around the USA and online. At the Regional Tournaments National History Bee competitions (at both Regional Tournament types) consist of 3 preliminary rounds and a final round. All National History Bee questions for the Varsity and Junior Varsity Divisions are played with a buzzer system. Students are read paragraph-length questions out loud with the clues arranged in decreasing order of difficulty. Students buzz in when they believe they know the answer; if they are correct, they score the point for that question, otherwise they cannot ring in again. Please see the rules files posted here for further details on how the competition works.

The Varsity and Junior Varsity Regional Tournament season runs from late October to early April each academic year. A list of tournaments is maintained on the website here; registration is done by clicking on the tournament you wish to attend and filling out the registration form on that tournament’s website. Past questions can be found on the website here for practice. For the Varsity and Junior Varsity Divisions, no Regional Tournament requires prior qualification, and out-of-state students are always welcome at all tournaments, even those designated as a State Championship.

National Science, History and Geography Bee Regional Tournaments

At our National Science, History and Geography Bee Regional Tournaments, the National History Bee will be offered along with the National Science Bee and the National Geography Bee. At each tournament of this type that is held prior to April 17 (the National Championships registration deadline for individual student events), there is a Varsity division for 12th and 11th graders, and a Junior Varsity Division which is limited to students in 10th grade and 9th grade. Students in 8th grade and younger are invited to participate in our age-appropriate divisions of our National Science, History, and Geography Bee Regional Tournament if they have qualified through the Online Regional Qualifying Exams. Please note that for high school-aged students, there is no qualifying necessary before competing in any National Science, History, and Geography Bee Regional Tournament. The Online Regional Qualifying Exams are solely for students in 8th grade and younger.

At in-person National Science, History and Geography Bee Regional Tournaments, students can also take the Varsity & Junior Varsity National Qualifying Exams to attempt to qualify for the National Championships of the following subjects and competitions:
1. Geography (the same exam qualifies students at the Varsity and Junior Varsity levels for the National Geography Bee, the US Geography Bee, and the US Geography Championships),
2. National Biology Bee
3. National Science Bee
4. National Humanities Bee
5. National Political Science Bee
6. US History Bee

Each exam is a 50 question multiple choice exam scored on the basis of 2 points for a correct answer, 0 for a question left unanswered, and -1 point for an incorrect answer (this scoring system rewards partial knowledge but not random lucky guesses). These exams can be taken whenever the exam room is open at these tournaments (typically between approximately 10:30am and 4:30pm).

For online National Science, History, and Geography Bee Regional Tournaments, the Bees in two of the three subjects will be offered on Saturday, and the third subject will be on the Sunday. National Qualifying Exams will not be administered at these online events, as they are available any time online here.

National Science, History, and Geography Bee Regional Tournaments run on four separate question sets known as Red, White, Blue, and Gold. Thus together with the A, B, and C question sets played at the National History Bee and Bowl tournaments described below, students can thus play up to 7 times each year in the National History Bee: once on each question set. They only need to qualify for the National Championships at any one site; should students qualify at one site and then fail to reach a qualifying threshold at a subsequent site, their qualification for the National Championships remains intact.

National History Bee and Bowl Regional Tournaments

At our National History Bee and Bowl Regional Tournaments, the National History Bowl is offered instead of the National Science Bee and National Geography Bee. A sample schedule of an in-person National History Bee and Bowl Tournament is found here. Students in 8th grade and younger are invited to participate in our Junior Varsity division at these tournaments. Each National History Bee and Bowl tournament runs on one of three question sets which are labeled A, B, and C. Chronologically, C Set is offered first, beginning in the fall, followed by B, and then A, which is first played in late January or February. However, C and B Set tournaments take place throughout the later months of the Regional Tournament season as well. B Set is very slightly harder than C Set, but the A Set is notably more difficult as it is meant as a tune up for the National Championships. 

At these tournaments the same 6 National Qualifying Exams as listed above are also offered, but solely during the lunch break. During the lunch break, students have 40 minutes to take exams. Students may take up to 5 of the 6 exams (as it is not generally possible to answer 300 multiple choice questions in 40 minutes, and students attempting 4 or 5 exams should be cognizant of the difficulty of answering 200 or 250 questions – which can be done, but is very demanding).

For each online National History Bee and Bowl event, the History Bee is typically on one day on a weekend, and the History Bowl on the other day. National Qualifying Exams will not be administered at these online events, as they are available any time online here. A sample schedule of an online National History Bee and Bowl Regional Tournament is found here.

Costs

The cost for the National History Bee regional tournaments is $50, and for students participating at our in-person National History Bee and Bowl events, students receive a $20 discount if they are also participating in the History Bowl.

Qualification

Students qualify for the National Championships by finishing in the top 50% of their age division at any Regional Tournament. If a student qualifies for Nationals at one tournament, and then attends a second or third tournament and does not place in the top 50% at those, they are still qualified to compete at the National Championships.

For all questions on the 2025-26 National History Bee Regional Tournaments, please email hs-info@iacompetitions.com