National Geography Bee
The National Geography Bee (NGB) is a pyramidal buzzer-based competition where participants answer questions about geography. Founded by David Madden's International Academic Competitions (IAC) in 2017, the NGB is held alongside various other events, including the National History Bee and Bowl, at IAC's National Championships. The event contains two high school divisions: a varsity division, for students in 11th and 12th grade, and a junior varsity division, for students in 9th and 10th grade. In addition to high school, NGB offers separate divisions for 8th, 7th, and 6th grades, along with an elementary division. Prior to the 2023-24 academic year, the competition was known within the United States as the International Geography Bee (IGB).
Qualification
Students can qualify for the National Geography Bee through either a national qualifying exam or an online tournament.
National qualifying exams are offered at the 59 regional tournaments which take place in the winter and fall. The 50 question exams are multiple choice, awarding two points for a correct answer and subtracting a point for an incorrect response. If a student meets or exceeds a 75 point threshold, they automatically qualify for both the National Geography Bee and the International Geography Championships. If a student places in the top 50% of all the test-takers at their regional tournament site, they qualify as well. Finally, if a student scores at or above the national median score of their version of the exam, they qualify as well.
NGB also administers online qualifying tournaments as an alternate method of qualification. These tournaments follow a more conventional format, with 4 rounds of pyramidal, buzzer-based tossups. If a student places in the top half of participants at the competition, they receive automatic qualification for the national competition.
Format
In the preliminary rounds of nationals, questions are arranged in a series of 35 tossups, worth one point each. When players reach a score of eight, however, they will "buzz out", and collect a number of bonus points based on how early they do so. A player who buzzes out in the minimum number of questions receives a score of 15, while a player who buzzes out on the last question receives a score of 8. Additionally, if a player is the third incorrect interrupt of a question, they will receive a 1 point deduction from their current score, and the question will go dead.
The top 32 (or sometimes 40) players based on preliminary scores then advance to the semifinals. Both the semifinal and final rounds use the 6-5-4-3-2-1 scoring system, with questions being powermarked into sections of 6, 5, and 4 points. If a student buzzes correctly after the question is over, they receive 3 points. If a player buzzes incorrectly during the question a 2 point deduction is incurred, while an incorrect buzz after the question incurs a 1 point deduction. Players buzz out on 50 (or sometimes 40) points in playoff rounds. The top 2 players in each semifinal room advance to the finals.
Past Champions and Results
Bowl
| Year | Varsity Champion | JV Champion | Middle School Champion | Elementary School Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Jakob Myers, Naperville North | Rohil Bhinge, Frost Middle School, | Saket Pochiraju, Olentangy Orange Middle School | Satvik Pochiraju, Olentangy Meadows Elementary School |
| 2018 | Alex Schmidt, Lehigh Valley | Samanyu Dixit, Metrolina Regional School | Overall and 7th Grade: Samik Bhinge, Frost Middle School
8th Grade: Samanyu Dixit, Metrolina Regional School |
Overall and 6th Grade: Rohan Ganeshan, Homeschool
5th Grade: John Augustyn, Notre Dame School |
| 2019 | Karan Menon, JP Stevens | Samvrit Rao, Stone Hill Middle School | 8th Grade:Rishabh Wuppalapati, Daniel Wright
7th Grade: Kaylan Patel, Windermere Preparatory School |
Pranavkrishna Bharanidharan, California Montessori Project |