USABB

The United States Academic Bee and Bowl is an all-subject academic competition founded by David Madden in January 2016. It is only open to elementary and middle school students. It also includes two side events, the National Science Bee and National Humanities Bee. Questions for the competition are pyramidal.

Format

In the United States Academic Bowl, matches are divided into two halves, separated by a category round. Each half is seven tossups with 3 part bonuses. Each bonus part is worth 10 points. The bonuses have the same subject as the tossup. The bonuses are bounceback. The questions are powermarked. In the US Academic Bowl, powers are worth 20 points. There are no negs in US Academic Bowl. For the category round, the trailing team chooses one of four categories first. Category rounds include six one-line questions, which bounce back if missed by the answering team. A team gets 20 more points for a sweep. After the trailing team has answered and the bounceback has been completed, the remaining team chooses from one of the three remaining categories.

The United States Academic Bee follows a format similar to the National History Bee.

Regional Tournaments

USABB holds regional tournaments. The top half of the field after the preliminary rounds qualifies for nationals. During the 2015-2016 season, USABB held regional events in Northern California, Maryland, Northern Illinois, West Virginia, Alabama, North Georgia and Connecticut.

National Championships

The inaugural national championships are scheduled to be held at Arlington, Virginia's Crystal Gateway Marriot between 20 May and 22 May 2016. There is a field cap of 96 teams. To qualify, teams had to finish in the top half after the preliminary rounds, have at least a 50% winning percentage, or win a playoff game at the regional tournaments. Teams could also qualify by finishing in the top half or with a 50% winning record at another pyramidal quiz bowl tournament (such as an NAQT event).

External Links

• Website