The International History Bee and Bowl (IHBB) are history quiz competitions for individual students and school teams outside the United States. Within the United States, students compete in the comparable National History Bee and Bowl; the same organization oversees the International and National (i.e. American) tournaments. The International History Bee and Bowl debuted in the 2011-2012 school year in Europe and Asia. A European Championship has been held since 2012; the Asian Championships debuted in spring 2014. In the 2014-15 school year, the Australian and New Zealand Division debuted as did the Canadian Division. In the 2015-16 school year, the first tournaments were held in Nepal, Poland, and Slovenia while in 2016-17, IHBB will begin running tournaments in India, Hungary, and the Philippines. IHBB also organizes the International History Olympiad, which debuted in 2015 at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia and was held in Hawaii in 2016. Students can qualify for the Olympiad by participating at IHBB tournaments around the world or by taking an official qualifying exam administered by a teacher if no IHBB tournament exists nearby.
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The International History Bee and Bowl test knowledge of all aspects of history in a buzzer-based competition format, which bears a resemblance to some television quiz shows. However, unlike on a quiz show most IHBB questions are paragraph-length, and move from harder to easier information. When students think they know the answer, they ring in with the buzzer. If they are correct, they, or their team members get points, if incorrect, then the other students (in the History Bee) or the other team (in the History Bowl) has an opportunity to hear the rest of the question. As of 2016, all IHBB matches are conducted in English - tournaments in other languages may be added at some point in the future. IHBB has also partnered with the World Scholar's Cup to run demonstrations of History Bees at their tournaments.
The International History Bee and Bowl World Championships are contested at the International History Olympiad. However, the International History Bowl World Championships features matches between teams of 2 or 3 students representing either a particular US state or country (or a mix of two or three of these) and is thus unlike any other International History Bowl competition. A full list of IHBB world champions is maintained on the International History Olympiad page
Regional Tournaments
Regional tournaments are held throughout Asia, Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Any school or student may attend as long as they have not participated at an earlier regional tournament that school year. Each tournament features a Varsity division for students roughly 16–18 years of age, a Junior Varsity division for students roughly 13–15 years of age, and a Middle School division for younger students.
Each tournament features a series of preliminary rounds for the History Bee for individual students and the History Bowl for teams. Students who finish in the top half in their age classification for the History Bee, and Bowl teams who finish the preliminary rounds with a .500 winning percentage or better qualify for their regional Championships, as well as the International History Olympiad. At the end of the preliminary rounds, the top Bee students advance to the Bee Finals, while Bowl teams are seeded according to their preliminary results and advance to the playoffs.
Championships
Students and teams who finish in the top half of their regional tournament earn the right to compete at the Canadian, European and Asian Championships. The Championships also feature a Consolation Bee for students attending with their History Bowl team who did not qualify for the Bee Championships, as well as a Geography Bee which is open to all. The Championships in Europe and Asia also feature a separate Sports and Entertainment History Bee which is open to all participants, including coaches and also an all-subject team quiz competition, the Academic Bowl of Asia (or Europe).
The 2012 European Championships were held in Grasse, France; the 2013 European Championships were held in Paris; the 2014 Championships were in Rome, the 2015 Championships in Switzerland, and the 2016 Championships were in Berlin. The Asian Championships were held in Hong Kong in 2014, and in Khao Lak, Thailand in 2015 and 2016. The inaugural Canadian Championships were held in 2015 in Ottawa, and the 2016 Canadian Championships were held in Toronto. Currently, there is not yet a championship for students in the Australia and New Zealand Division, but one is expected to debut in December 2016.