National History Bowl

The National History Bowl is a buzzer-based history quiz competition for teams of up to 6 students. Questions will reference the history of the arts, sciences, religion, philosophy, language, historical geography, recent history, and even the history of sports and entertainment. Many questions will also reference political, diplomatic, social, and military history. Questions can reference events in the past from all over the world, and from all eras in the past – from ancient Egypt until the present day. Competitions are held regionally as well as online, and final championships are held at the national and international levels. 

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At the high school level, The National History Bowl features two divisions: Varsity and Junior Varsity. Certain tournaments may also feature a Middle School division. The division breakdown is as follows:

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• Varsity: 11th or 12th grade
• Junior Varsity: 9th or 10th grade (open to middle schoolers as well)
• Middle School: 8th grade or below.

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Four students can play at one time on a team (the other one or two students can substitute in between the quarters or games, if applicable). There is no minimum number of students on a team; there can be teams of three, two, or even one student. Teams consisting of just one or two students play for a discounted entry fee. 

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Students in lower divisions may compete in the Varsity division of the History Bowl, but not vice versa. This means a Middle School student may compete in the Middle School, Junior Varsity, or Varsity division. A Junior Varsity student may compete in the Junior Varsity or Varsity division, and a Varsity student may compete only in the Varsity division. A team that features students from different divisions will compete in the highest division that students on the team qualifies for. This means a team with 3 Junior Varsity students and one Varsity student would compete in the Varsity division.

• In order to compete in the History Bowl, you must be 19 years or younger at the time of your event. You must also be enrolled in primary or secondary education (or have graduated within the past five months, and not yet have started university studies). Students in dual enrollment with a university who have not yet completed their high school diploma are also eligible. Individual homeschooled students and homeschool associations may also compete, and more information on that can be found here.
• Students who form a team must all be currently enrolled at the same school on the date of the event (with the exception of younger students and homeschooled students as outlined below). There is no limit on the number of teams a school can bring to an event, unless the event itself is limited.
• Students younger than high school age are allowed to compete in the Middle School division or with a non-magnet public high school team in their school district. Elementary school students are allowed to compete, but should be cognizant of the difficulty of the questions. Students who are enrolled at a private school which has students both in grades 8 and younger and grades 9 and above may draw from their pool of younger students for their high school level teams.
• Teams/schools are required to bring at least one coach/parent to read and keep score or face penalties. 

• Rolling

• Teams must register for regional tournaments 12 days ahead of the tournament here.