> 2013 Sample Middle School Nationals Packet

Last school year, a number of middle schools sent teams to compete in the regional and state tournaments, which culminated in 12 teams contesting our first Middle School National Championships last April. This year, we hope to see many more middle schools compete at the regional and state tournaments, and will be stepping up our middle school outreach efforts accordingly. In recognition of having likely a much higher middle school turnout at Nationals, we are also moving our Middle School National Championship to a different weekend (May 18-19, 2013) from our High School Championships. This tournament will also feature questions written specifically at a middle school level.

Middle schools (including homeschool associations) are welcome to attend any of our regional tournaments, though we recommend C set tournaments in particular, as they feature slightly easier questions. If we have (edit 12/23) 4 or more middle school teams at a given tournament, middle schools will compete only against other middle schools. If we have three or fewer middle school teams, then middle school teams will compete against some high school teams as well, though we will do our best to match to ensure competitive matches (for example, by matching middle school teams against junior varsity teams wherever possible). In any case, middle schools can qualify for Nationals by either having a .500 or better record against middle school teams, or by having one win against a high school level team, so this is well within the grasp of many teams.

Finally, middle schools are also encouraged to enroll in their own division of The National History Bee; click here for details. Please note that The Junior Division of The National History Bee  functions differently from the High School Division of The National History Bee, for which the qualifying tournaments are held at the same locations and dates as the History Bowls. Middle School Students who attend a History Bowl, however, are also welcome to compete in the High School Junior Varsity Division of the Regional and State History Bees if they’d like an additional challenge.