Welcome to the European Division of The International Geography Bee!
The International Geography Bee is delighted to offer a new year of geography quiz competition to European students! Within the European Division, four age divisions are offered: Varsity (born prior to 1 Sep., 2007 for the 2023-2024 school year), Junior Varsity (born from 1 Sep., 2007-31 Aug. 2009), Middle School (born from 1 Sep., 2009 to 31 Aug. 2011 ), and Elementary (for students born in September 2011 and later). These are the same four age divisions that apply for the International History Bee and Bowl. Please see www.ihbbeurope.com for more details on IHBB’s history quiz tournaments in Europe. For European students, the International Geography Bee consists of three levels: Regionals, the European Championships, and the International Geography Chamionships, though students can already qualify for the World Championships at the Regional level as well.
The Regional level has two variants, Regional Quiz Tournaments and the Championships Qualifying Exam. The Quiz Tournaments follow the same rules as the International History Bee Regional Tournaments and the IGB European Championships. Students who finish in the top half qualify for the European Championships and the World Championships.
There are two versions of the International Geography Bee Championships Qualifying Exam – Alpha and Beta. Each is offered at International History Bee and Bowl Regional Tournaments held on that respective question set. Both versions are also available for students to take at their school if they wish, with a teacher or administrator proctoring. Students interested in taking a version of the Championships Qualifying Exam at their school (or teachers interested in offering it to their students) should email david@iacompetitions.com – it is free of charge for students to take the Championships Qualifying Exam with a teacher or homeschool instructor proctoring it. Both IGB Championships Qualifying Exam versions are meant to have equal difficulty. Students only need to qualify off one version of the Championships Qualifying Exam. Students must finish in the top 50% of students in their age division, either at their tournament site or across all students taking the Alpha or Beta version in their age division by April 1. Students who finish in the top 50% either at their site or across all students taking Alpha or Beta also qualify for the World Championships. Qualification is valid for two years; thus students can qualify for the 2023 International Geography Championships in either the 2022-23 or 2023-2024 academic years.
At the European Championships of The International History Bee and Bowl, the European Championships of the International Geography Bee are also contested.
The European Championships for the International Geography Bee consists of 3 preliminary rounds of buzzer quiz questions, and one round of playoffs for the top students from the preliminaries. Please see the questions used at the past European Championships on the Resources page to get a sense of the sort of questions that are asked at the Championships.
For further questions about IGB, please email us at info@iacompetitions.com. Good luck!