FAQs

Real simple here – the Bees are for individual students; the Bowl is for teams.

All tournaments that you see displayed on this website are in English.

Any primary or secondary school student is welcome to compete as long as they are in 12th grade (or CEGEP 1 in Québec) or younger. Our tournaments are designed to be accessible to Canadian schools, international schools, state schools, private schools, religious schools and homeschool associations. We are an equal opportunity quiz organizer!

Our questions follow different formats, but for most questions, you’ll ring in with a buzzer, like on a quiz show. The questions that you use a buzzer for are called “pyramidal” questions. This means that they start off with harder information and become easier as the question goes on. When you think you know the answer, ring in! But if you’re wrong, then you can’t answer again, (and neither can your teammates if you’re playing in the Bowl). This type of question rewards comprehensive knowledge and shows that this is much more than a mere trivia contest.

Teachers, administrators, and parents should use the Registration tab on the menu bar to access the registration page.

We offer slightly different divisions for each competition. View the divisions offered for each by clicking here for the History Bee,  here for the Geography Bee, and here for the History Bowl.

You can play at whichever site you like. A student in British Columbia, for example, can play in Toronto. We will also offer an online option for students too far from a regional site or who have a conflict on the day of their regional tournament.

No. This year we will only offer one set of questions, so each student will only be able to play once.

Yes! We have held the Canadian Championships annually since 2015. For the most up to date information on the Championships, see the Nationals page.

IAC also organizes the International History Olympiad which is an extended biennial competition for the top history students from around the world. The next International History Olympiad will be held in Princeton, NJ, USA, from July 25 to August 1, 2022. Canadian students can qualify for IHO by finishing in the top half in the History Bee or History Bowl at any regional or championship tournament in any of the 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021, or 2021-2022 academic years. Students on History Bowl teams with at least a .500 winning percentage in the preliminary rounds or a playoff win are eligible as well.

IAC also organizes the International Geography Championships, which are an extended biennial competition for the top geography students from around the world. The next International Geography Championships will be held in Vermont and Boston, in the USA, on July 3-10, 2022. Canadian students can qualify for IGC by finishing in the top half in the Geography Bee at any regional or championship tournament in any of the 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021, or 2021-2022 academic years. Students who finish in the top 25% within their age division for any particular version of the IGB Championships Qualifying Exam or ORQE for 2021-22 among all students taking that version of the Exam – either at a particular site where it is offered, or across all sites in their region during any of the 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021, or 2021-2022 academic years also qualify for IGC, provided that they scored at least 30 or higher.