Thank you for your interest in the International Geography Championships! We’re excited to bring together the top geography students from around the world and hope this page and the rest of the site can help you learn more about how IGC works and how you can take part.
Here are some FAQs that you might be interested in. Please contact igc@iacompetitions.com if you have further questions, though please note that more information on IGC 2026 will be posted to this site on a rolling basis leading up to the event.
What’s new for 2026
Q: When will registration for the 2026 IGC open? What will the registration deadline be?
A: Registration will open on November 26, 2025. The registration deadline will be June 1, 2026.
Q: What is the host going to be?
A: The host venue for the 2026 International Geography Championships is the JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort and Spa in Khao Lak, Thailand.
Q: What are the costs to attend the 2026 International Geography Championships?
A: The costs for IGC 2026 are listed here.
Q: Will proof of completed vaccination against Covid-19 be required to attend?
A: No, Covid-19 vaccination is not required to attend IAC summer events.
Q: Which age divisions will be offered at the 2026 IGC? How old must students be to compete?
A: We will offer four age divisions: High School (students who finish grade 9-12 in Spring 2026), Middle School (those finishing 7th or 8th grade in Spring 2026), Intermediate (those finishing 5th or 6th grade in Spring 2026), and Elementary School (those finishing 2nd, 3rd or 4th grade in Spring 2026). Students must have finished 2nd grade in order to be able to compete, or the international equivalent thereof. If you are uncertain as to if that applies to you, please contact igc@iacompetitions.com to obtain a ruling. Those who qualify but who are not old enough may defer their qualification to the next IGC for which they are eligible.
Note that if a student qualified in a younger division between August 2024 and August 2025 compared to what division they will compete in during the 2025-2026 academic year then they do NOT need to requalify for IGC in the 2025-2026 academic year, but they MUST compete only in the age division that they are eligible for. Thus a student who competes in 8th grade in North America in 2024-2025, and who is in 9th grade in 2025-2026 must compete in the High School division at IGC.
Who can compete
Q: How do I qualify for the International Geography Championships?
A: Qualification criteria are described here.
Q: Do students need to come with a parent or guardian?
A: For the 2026 International Geography Championships, we have made the decision that only students 18 or older who are eligible to compete (i.e. those who are legal adults and who were still in secondary school during the 2025-26 academic year) may come unaccompanied. High School, Middle School or Intermediate Division students may come with a friend’s parent or guardian if both families provide written permission of such an agreement. Students in all divisions may come with a teacher as a chaperone instead of a family member, as long as the student’s parent(s) or legal guardian(s) provide written consent.
Q: Is there a maximum number of students who can represent a country or compete?
A: Unlike various other competitions, we don’t limit the number of students who can attend per country. There is no field cap on the number of students who can compete.
Q: Is there a maximum age to attend IGC? I qualified for IGC while in high school, but in the 2025-2026 academic year I will be enrolled at a college or university. Can I still attend?
A: Unfortunately, no. There will not be an opportunity for anyone who graduated high school prior to 2026 to compete, with the exception of students whose academic calendars correspond to the January-December year (e.g. students in certain Southern Hemisphere countries), and who graduated at the end of the 2025 calendar year. These students may compete even if they have started university in early 2026.
Q: Is there a minimum age to attend IGC? How do age divisions work if a student is not on a standard North American / International grade K-12 system?
A: Any student who qualified and is in second grade and older in the 2025-26 school year (for US, Canadian students, and students at international schools that adhere to a comparable grade structure) or born on or after August 31, 2018 (for students from outside these countries / grade systems) may compete. If you have already qualified but are too young to compete in 2026, you may defer your registration until you are old enough to compete.
For the 2026 IGC, for students not attending school in North America, the birthdate cutoffs to determine age divisions are as follows: Elementary School = Born from Sep. 1, 2015-Aug. 31, 2018. Intermediate = Born from Sep. 1, 2013-Aug. 31, 2015. Middle School = Born from Sep. 1, 2011-Aug. 31, 2013. High School = Born before Sep. 1, 2011.
Q: Do I have to attend with my school academic team or quiz bowl team?
A: No, you don’t, and a lot of students will be coming on their own, too. And you won’t feel alone for long, as you will make friends from all around the world, who share the same passion for geography!
Q: Do I need to compete in certain events? Can I/my school team come just for the International Geography Bowl?
A: All team competitions are mandatory as are the Battery Exam, the International Geography Bee World Championships, the Written Exam, and select other events. Aside from this, all student participants participate in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and the daily Medals Ceremonies.
Note that while you are welcome to come with other players from your school (assuming you all have qualified), at IGC, you will be assigned (on the basis of your country/state affiliation, Battery Exam results, age division, and other criteria) to a 2-3 student team. This may or may not be with other school team members, but in any case, please do not come expecting that you will definitely be competing together with your school teammates. It is not permitted to come just for the Geography Bowl (or any other specific event, for that matter).
Q. What if my school or university starts again before the end of IGC? Or if I have some other pressing event that precludes me from being at IGC during the entire time?
A. While only a few events are mandatory, you cannot specifically just come for a portion of IGC unless you gain special dispensation from International Academic Competitions due to school attendance requirements or some comparable family event / religious holiday / other suitable reason. Please note that while we will try and be flexible to the extent possible, we are not able to grant partial discounts, and we cannot guarantee partial stays until we have reviewed your situation and seen if it is feasible for a student to attend. If you are interested in a partial stay at IGC, please email igc@iacompetitions.com and explain your situation.
Registration
Q: How do I sign up?
A: Once you have qualified, you can register and pay for IGC here.
Generalities
Q: How will participants and their families reach the JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa from the Phuket Airport?
A: IGC will help organize shuttles from the Phuket Airport to the hotel; the cost is $28 USD per person each way. The drive is approximately 80 minutes. As the dates of IGC approach, we will contact families to help organize shuttle plans.
Q: Can parents, family members, family friends, teachers, and academic team coaches attend?
A: Yes, all of these people are welcome; we will even have certain separate events for them. They must, however, register as official participants in the Family & Friends Program. Further information for family and friends is available here.
Q: What language are the International Geography Championships held in?
A: IGC’s official language is English.
Q: Can International Academic Competitions provide us with a visa letter to attend?
A: Yes, International Academic Competitions has provided these many times, though note that fewer countries than usual require a visa in advance for Thailand. Notably, citizens of India, the Philippines, and China do not need to obtain visas in advance. All visitors to Thailand, however, must fill out an arrival card. If you need a visa (please check with the Thai authorities), you are strongly advised to begin the process of obtaining one as soon as possible. Please contact igc@iacompetitions.com if you need a visa letter to attend IGC 2026.
Q: Which country or US state can I represent?
At IGC, each student will have a specific affiliation (i.e. country or US State). You are eligible to compete for a country or US State if any of these methods apply to you:
1) you have citizenship of that country (or for India, are an Overseas Citizen of India) as of July 1, 2026
2) you were born in a particular country or US state
3) the country or state for which you were a permanent resident for the majority of the 2025-2026 academic year (August 2025-June 2026)
4) the country or state for which you are a permanent resident on July 1, 2026
5) the country or state in which you were enrolled in school for the majority of the 2025-2026 academic year (August 2025-June 2026)
6) the country or state in which you most recently attended school as of July 1, 2026
You can only select one affiliation. This can be adjusted later if needed until July 1, 2026.
Students from Hong Kong and Macau or with passports from those locations may play either for them or for the People’s Republic of China. Students from North Korea will play on a unified Korea team. Students are not permitted to represent Belarus or Russia; these students will compete as independent students. Students from subnational territories should contact International Geography Championships staff for a ruling on representation eligibility.
Q: How many medals will be awarded?
A: Numerous events will be held, but only one gold, one silver, and one bronze medal will be distributed per event, per division (though for team events, all team members will receive medals). The sole possible exception to this is that potentially for the Great Trading Game in the Middle School and Intermediate Divisions, two separate sets of medals will be awarded. In those competitions, 5th graders (and grade equivalent students) might compete solely against other 5th graders, as will 6th, 7th, and 8th graders as well. A decision on this will be made before IGC begins.
Q: What are the buzzer-based quiz events?
A: These are the events which are played with a buzzer system. These are sometimes called quiz bowl events, though note that they are all individual, not team-based, except for the International Geography Bowl.
Q: What’s the difference between the Bee and the Bowl?
A: Real simple here – the Bee is for individual students; the Bowl is for teams.
Q: How are teams formed?
At IGC, citizens and residents of the USA will represent their state, while citizens and residents of the rest of the world will represent their country.
The preliminary rounds of the International Geography Bee World Championships are used to determine the composition of National and State teams for the team events at IGC, namely the Hexathlon, Geographeud, and the International Geography Bowl World Championships. The top three students from a country or state will form the A Team for that country of state, the next top three scoring students will form Team B and so on per age group. However, some teams may consist of just two students due to the need for rounding, while solo students will be paired up either with a higher age division within one’s country or state or with students from a different country or state. Solo teams will not be permitted.. If students are tied on points, the tiebreaker is done through their highest preliminary round score, second highest preliminary round score, etc. (with sudden death tiebreaks being played if scores are completely identical).
Note that for the Geographeud event in the Middle School Division only, the Battery Exam results will determine the composition of the teams. For the Hexathlon and International Geography Bowl, the Middle School teams will be determined by the International Geography Bee World Championship preliminary round results.
Q: Is there going to be an Individual Champion at the International Geography Championships?
A: For each division, there will be an individual champion. For the Elementary School, Intermediate, and Middle School Divisions, this is the student with the combined highest position in the Battery Exam, the International Geography Bee World Championships, and the Written Exam. For the High School Division, this is the student with the combined highest position in the Battery Exam, International Geography Bee World Championships, the Written Exam, and possibly a fourth event). There will also be a champion country or state based on the highest position in the medals count (this is for all divisions combined).
If there are ties for the Overall Championship, ties will be broken on the rank points principle through a final tiebreaker. This would consist of 5 Geography Bee buzzer questions, 1 short answer prompt (6 sentences maximum), and 5 multiple choice questions, with all parts having equal weight.
If, for example, 2 students each score the same on the multiple choice, this tie will only be broken if needed (through additional multiple choice questions as necessary) to determine the Overall Championships positions (i.e. if two students tie on multiple choice, but then one other students wins both the other parts, then the tie isn’t broken).
If you have any other questions, please email igc@iacompetitions.com.