United States Geography Championships

Varsity & Junior Varsity School Divisions Homepage

2024 National Champions:
Varsity – Gideon Ong, A&M Consolidated High School, College Station, TX
Junior Varsity – Connor Windust, Briar Woods High School, Ashburn, VA

US Geography Championships
US Geography Championships

The US Geography Championships Varsity & Junior Varsity Divisions Overview

US geography championships

The US Geography Championships is an exam competition for individual students, testing knowledge of geographic concepts and applications of geography to real world situations. For students competing in the Varsity & Junior Varsity Division, the US Geography Championships consists of two stages. The first is a 50 question multiple choice National Qualifying Exam. The second stage is the National Championships, which will take place on Friday, April 25, 2025 in Arlington, VA. The USGC National Championships consists of a 2 hour long exam with one 45 minute multiple choice section, and one 75 minute written response section. The top four Varsity students at USGC Nationals are invited to compete on Team USA at the annual International Geography Championships (iGeo).

  • Eligibility: For the 2024-25 academic year, secondary school students born before July 1, 2009 compete in the Varsity Division. Students born on or after July 1, 2009 compete in the Junior Varsity Division. It is not permitted for younger students to compete in the Varsity Division, but it is permitted for students in 8th grade or younger to compete in the Junior Varsity Division as well as in the Middle or Elementary School Division that they are eligible to compete in.
  • Competitors:  Individual students. The National Championships require qualification through the National Qualifying Exams or National Geography Bee Regional Tournaments.
  • Competition Style: Multiple choice exam and/or buzzer based event at the qualifying level. Two hour comprehensive exam with both multiple choice and written response sections at the National Championships.

  • Inquiries: Contact Contact hs-info@iacompetitions.com

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IAC Competitors

Competition Format

For students competing in the Varsity & JV Divisions, the US Geography Championships is a two-stage competition, consisting of the National Qualifying Exam or National Geography Bee, and the National Championships. Students can also qualify for the International Geography Championships by competing in the US Geography Championships.

Stage
1

Qualifying Stage

Option A: National Qualifying Exam

For the Varsity and Junior Varsity Divisions, most students compete in the Qualifying Stage through the National Qualifying Exam. The National Qualifying Exam is a 50 question multiple choice exam. All questions have 4 possible answer choices. The National Qualifying Exams are 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. Students who have no clue about a particular question should thus leave it unanswered, but if they can narrow down the answer choices, they should likely then take their best guess even if they are not 100% sure.

Students may take the US Geography Championships / National Geography Bee National Qualifying Exam online, at all National History Bee and Bowl in-person Regional Tournaments during the lunch break, or during the lunch break at select all-subject quiz bowl tournaments that are not run by International Academic Competitions. There are three versions of the National Qualifying Exam, which are known as Set A, Set B, and Set C. For National Qualifying Exams that are offered at National History Bee and Bowl tournaments, the Exam Set corresponds to the question set that the tournament is using. The questions on the B and C Set versions of the National Qualifying Exams follow the National Qualifying Exam distribution for the National Geography Bee. The questions on the A Set version mirror the distribution found in the multiple choice section of the AP Human Geography Exam.

If taking the Exam online or at an in-person tournament, students typically have a 20 minute time limit. When taking the exam at an in-person tournament, students may also take the National Qualifying Exams for the National Political Science Bee, National Science Bee, and US History Bee. If a student takes just one exam, they have 20 minutes. If a student takes two exams, they have 40 minutes, but if they take three or four exams, they still only have 40 minutes (as time is typically limited during the lunch break of a tournament).

Please note that the same exam is used for both the US Geography Championships and the National Geography Bee. The qualifying criteria for both competitions are identical; thus if one qualifies for the National Championships on the exam, that student may then compete in both the National Geography Bee and the US Geography Championships (though they can choose to compete in just the one or the other).

Students qualify for Nationals through the National Qualifying Exams in one of three ways.

  • 1
    Scoring 75 or higher on any version of the National Qualifying Exam.
  • 2
    Scoring among the top 50% of students in one’s age division at an in-person tournament (either a National History Bee and Bowl Regional Tournament or a quiz bowl tournament where the exam is offered). This is inclusive of odd numbers of students and ties for the last qualifying spot. By way of example, if there are 9 students taking the exam, and two students tie for fifth place in the Varsity Division with a score of 63, they would both qualify.
  • 3

    Scoring at or above the official National Qualifying Score in one’s age division for each exam version. The National Qualifying Scores are calculated for each exam version on the following dates: Set C – December 7, 2024, Set B – February 1, 2025, Set A – March 1, 2025. Thereafter, the National Qualifying Scores do not change even though additional students will take each exam version.

Students need only to qualify on any one version of the National Qualifying Exam in any given academic year to be able to compete at the National Championships. If a student qualifies on one version of the Exam, and then takes a different version of the exam but does not qualify on that version, they remain qualified. The cost is $20 per Exam Version per student.

For all questions on the 2024-25 US Geography Championships Varsity / Junior Varsity National Qualifying Exams, please email hs-info@iacompetitions.com.

Option B: National Geography Bee

The second option for competing in the Qualifying Stage is to compete in a National Geography Bee at our National Science, History and Geography Bee events.

Between 80-100 of these are held each year both in-person around the USA and online. At our National Science/History/Geography Bee events, there is a Varsity division for 12th and 11th graders, and the JV Division 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 at these events. In these events, students compete in 3 preliminary rounds with 30 questions each. The top students advance to the final round, which will likewise have 30 questions, though these on average, will be somewhat more challenging.

All National Geography Bee questions 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.

Students qualify for the National Championships if their cumulative score is in the top 50% of their age division at the end of the three preliminary rounds. This is inclusive of ties for the last spot and odd numbers of students (just like on the National Qualifying Exams). The cost is $49 per student per competition.

For all questions on the 2024-25 National Geography Bee, please email hs-info@iacompetitions.com.

Stage
2

National Championships

The second stage of the US Geography Championships for the Varsity and Junior Varsity Divisions is the National Championships, which for the 2024-25 academic year will take place at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, VA on Friday, April 25, 2025. We expect approximately 200 students to attend from throughout the USA, and we hope that you will be able to join us! All students compete first in a 75 minute long written response exam section, and then after a 10 minute long break, there is a 45 minute long multiple choice section.

On the same weekend that the National Championships of the US Geography Championships are held, there are numerous other competitions that take place at other times at the same hotel (e.g. the National Geography Bee, National Championship Exams [a number of these have a geography focus], National History Bowl, National History Bee, and more. These are all held at different times so students can take part in all of them if they are eligible to do so. A full schedule of the 2025 Varsity & Junior Varsity National Championships Events is available here.

The cost to compete at the 2025 National Championships is $115. Registration for the National Championships opens in November and runs through early April on this page.

Please note that the format of the 2025 Varsity and Junior Varsity USGC National Championships has been changed since 2023. However, students are still advised to review past USGC National Championships Exams as the questions themselves are still good practice and cover much of the same material that will be tested in 2025.

  • 45 minutes
  • 100 points total
  • 25% of overall championship ranking
  • Supplies needed – pencil and eraser

The Multiple Choice Examination will consist of 50 questions covering multiple aspects of geography.  30 of the 50 questions will be in sets devoted to varying topics and may or may not refer to a text-based stimulus, chart, or graph. The remaining 20 questions will be based on visual stimuli in a similar format to the questions on the Multimedia Test (MMT) at the International Geography Olympiad.  

Students will have 45 minutes to complete this section of the examination, and there will be a five minute break between this section and the free-response section. The Multiple Choice Examination will be scored on the standard IAC scoring system of two points for a correct answer, no points for questions left blank, and negative one point for incorrect answers.

  • 75 minutes
  • 100 points total
  • 75% of overall championship ranking
  • Supplies needed – pen or pencil
  • Optional supplies – colored pencils, ruler, eraser

The Free-Response Examination will consist of 7 questions, each of which will have multiple parts. Topics for the free-response exam will be a mix of human and physical geography, with at least 2 questions devoted to human geography topics, at least 2 devoted to physical geography topics, and the remaining questions containing a mixture of both. A roughly equal number of points on the exam will be devoted to human and physical geography. Topics for the examination will be drawn from the following list:

  • Geomorphology
  • Landforms and landscapes
  • Hazards and hazard management
  • Urban geography and urban planning
  • Historical geography (concentrating on the development of the United States)
  • Cultural geography
  • Economic and developmental geography
  • Population geography
  • Agriculture, resources, and environmental geography
  • Biogeography
  • Climate geography

In addition to written responses, at least three questions will ask students to produce one or more of the following:

  • a mathematical calculation
  • a chart or graph based on provided data
  • a map
  • a diagram of a geographic or geological process

Questions on the Free-Response Examination will be similar in format and content to questions on the Written and Cartographic examinations at past USGC competitions, as well as past questions on the Written and Fieldwork examinations at past International Geography Olympiad competitions.

Overall USGC Championship Calculation

For the overall USGC rank, placements will be determined on a points system using the following formula:

Multiple Choice Exam points x .25 + Free-Response Exam points x .75 = overall score (out of 100)

Overall scores will be calculated to 3 decimal places and students will be ranked based on their overall scores. If there is a tie for any of the top ten positions in the overall rankings, ties will be broken using the following criteria (in respective order) –

  1. Points earned on the Free-Response Exam.
  2. Points earned on the non-stiumuls questions of the Multiple Choice Exam.

If students are still tied following these two tiebreakers, an additional five question multiple choice exam will be administered, with the student earning the most points on this exam taking the higher placement. This process may be repeated as needed until the tie is broken.

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

Bonus
Stage

International Geography Championships

Students who compete in the Varsity & Junior Varsity Divisions of the US Geography Championships can qualify for the 2026 International Geography Championships which will be held in July 2026!! Students qualify for IGC by:

  • having a score of 75 or higher on any version of the Varsity / Junior Varsity Geography National Qualifying Exam in the 2024-25 or 2025-26 academic year
  • placing in the top third at a Geography Bee regional event (or first or second place in the case of small fields)
  • placing in the top third at the 2025 or 2026 National Championships of the National Geography Bee
  • placing in the top two thirds at the 2025 or 2026 National Championships of the US Geography Championships.

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 hope that you will be able to join us at IGC 2026!

For all questions on the 2026 International Geography Championships and the Central Europe Trip, please email david@iacompetitions.com.

US Geography Championships Practice Resources

Past Questions

Past Questions from the National Championships

Past National Qualifying Exams

Note that these are listed under US Geography Championships, but the same Qualifying Exams are used for both USGC and the National Geography Bee

Rules & FAQs

The US Geography Championships is simply an exam competition, so there is no Official Rules file for it. Obviously, any attempt to access external help, including the internet, notes brought in advance, and/or assistance from other competitors will result in immediate disqualification, as well as a potential ban in further IAC events. It is not permitted to leave the exam room for any reason, including a bathroom break, and then return to the section of the US Geography Championships exam that one is working on. It is permitted to arrive late, though additional time will not be granted, and once any students have been released from the exam room, other students will not be allowed into the room to begin a section of the exam.
Please note that at the discretion of IAC Staff, the time allotted for all students to complete the exam may be shortened by up to 10 minutes per section. If this is done, it will be announced in person to all students at the start of the exam section in question.

he US Geography Championships, the sister competition to the National Geography Bee, is an exam-based competition on theoretical and analytical geography. At the National Championships, the top 4 Varsity students in the USGC are invited to compete as Team USA at the annual International Geography Olympiad (commonly known as iGeo). iGeo has a minimum age requirement which is set at July 1 of the year 16 years prior to the year in which it takes place. Thus for 2024, the date cutoff is July 1, 2008. Students born prior to this date are therefore eligible to compete in the Varsity Division for USGC and compete for a spot on Team USA. In practice, this means that most 10th graders are in fact considered as Varsity students for the USGC and the National Geography Bee.

USGC and the National Geography Bee share the same qualifying track, so it makes sense for us to keep the particular Varsity / JV distinction the same for both competitions for both the Qualifying Stage and the National Championships.

No. Due to exam security requirements, all students who wish to compete in the Varsity / Junior Varsity National Championships must be physically present in Arlington, VA.

he National Geography Bee is entirely a buzzer-based competition at the National Championships. The US Geography Championships is entirely an exam-based competition at the National Championships. These are separate competitions because USGC is meant as a way to find the most competitive team members to compete for the USA at the International Geography Olympiad (iGeo). iGeo does not feature any buzzer-based competition, and it focuses much more on analytical and theoretical geography. Thus, USGC, as a qualifying competition for iGeo, emphasizes those aspects of geography, so we can find the strongest students in the country to compete on the type of questions that are found at iGeo.

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.

Yes! They are actively encouraged to do so, and if they do so, they would play in the Junior Varsity Division which includes students in the 9th grade and some students in the 10th grade. Students cannot transfer qualification in the National Championships at the Junior Varsity level to the Middle or Elementary School level National Championships. For more information on how the US Geography Championships works for students in 8th grade and younger, please visit the US Geography Championships Middle & Elementary School Divisions Homepage.

No. The National Geographic Bee, which was formerly run by National Geographic, was discontinued in 2021. We warmly welcome all schools and students that used to compete in it and who are looking for a new way to compete in nationwide geography competitions!

Past National Champions

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Year Division National Champion School City State
2024 Varsity Gideon Ong A&M Consolidated High School College Station TX TX
2024 Junior Varsity Connor Windust Briar Woods High School Ashburn VA VA
2023 Varsity Gideon Ong A&M Consolidated High School College Station TX TX
2023 Junior Varsity Ray Dai Fredonia High School Fredonia NY NY
2022 Varsity Max Yang Ladue Horton Watkins High School Ladue MO MO
2022 Junior Varsity Aadi Gadekar Morris County School of Technology Denville NJ NJ
2021 Varsity Dylan Rem Southampton High School Southampton NY NY
2021 Junior Varsity Miles Kottler Beverly Hills High School Beverly Hills CA CA
2020 Varsity Aditya Badlani University of Chicago Laboratory School Chicago IL IL
2020 Junior Varsity Ryan Formica North Catholic High School Cranberry Township PA PA
2019 Varsity Albert Zhang Buchholz High School Gainesville FL FL
2019 Junior Varsity Qingyu Zhang Buchholz High School Gainesville FL FL
2018 Varsity Kyle Yu Westlake High School Westlake OH OH
2018 Junior Varsity Albert Zhang Buchholz High School Gainesville FL FL
2017 Varsity Kyle Yu Westlake High School Westlake OH OH
2017 Junior Varsity Avi Goel Merryhill Middle School Milpitas CA CA
2016 Varsity Eugene Wang BASIS Tucson North Tucson AZ AZ
2016 Junior Varsity Kyle Yu Westlake High School Westlake OH OH
2015 Varsity Kevin Li Westview High School San Diego CA CA
2015 Junior Varsity Karan Menon John Adams Middle School Edison NJ NJ
2014 Varsity Anton Karpovich Illinois Math and Science Academy Aurora IL IL
2014 Junior Varsity Abhinav Kurada Advanced Math and Science Academy Marlborough MA MA
2013 Varsity Anton Karpovich Illinois Math and Science Academy Aurora IL IL
2013 Junior Varsity Abhinav Kurada Advanced Math and Science Academy Marlborough MA MA