International History Olympiad

The International History Olympiad is a competition for top history students from around the world which debuted in 2015. The International History Olympiad was founded and is overseen by International Academic Competitions (IAC), though prior participation in IAC events (such as the National History Bee and Bowl or International History Bee and Bowl), is not required for students to attend the Olympiad. The qualification process, events, and awards structure at the International History Olympiad are markedly different from the International Science Olympiads. The International History Olympiad is open to students age 12-19 as long as they have not completed a year of university (from 2020 onwards; prior to 2020, students who had finished just one year of university and had qualified could attend) and have qualified. Students compete in three separate age ranges: Varsity, Junior Varsity, and Middle School, as is the case at other IHBB events.[1] The International History Olympiad is sponsored by publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, which helps cover travel costs and registration fees for participants who perform well in Olympiad qualification events.[2] For the first time in 2018, a geography equivalent of the International History Olympiad took place in conjunction with the Olympiad: The International Geography Bee World Championships.

Students at the 2018 International History Olympiad in front of Charlottenburg Palace, where the Closing Ceremonies were held.

The Closing Ceremonies of the 2016 Olympiad were held on the deck of the USS Missouri at Pearl Harbor.

Qualification

One IHO tradition is having students carry their states' and countries' flags at both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. Pictured above are students entering Berlin's Charlottenburg Palace at the 2018 IHO.

Students typically qualify for the Olympiad either by finishing in the top 25% of a regional or championship level tournament in either the International History Bee or the International History Bowl. US students must either win a National History Bee and Bowl regional bee or bowl or finish in the top half in either at the National Championships. Students who finish among the top students at the US National Championships or IHBB Divisional Championships may be awarded discounted or free entry, and/or travel stipends.[3] Students who live over 400 kilometers from the nearest History Bee or Bowl tournaments or who could not attend due to extenuating circumstances may qualify by taking a specific exam administered by a teacher at their school. Qualification is valid for both the current academic year and the following (e.g. a student who qualifies in November 2015 could attend all Olympiads through the summer of 2017).[4] There is no limit to the number of students from any one country or US state who can attend the International History Olympiad.

Events

The top 8 students in the Middle School Division compete in "History Knockout" at the 2018 International History Olympiad in Berlin, Germany.

The majority of the competition events at the International History Olympiad follow a quiz bowl style format (utilizing a lock-out device buzzer system) with students competing individually. Students answer comprehensive, paragraph-length questions about specific topics in history, depending on the type of competition (e.g. Ancient History Bee, Art History Bee, etc.).

Two of the buzzer-based competitions, the International History Bee World Championships, and the International History Bowl World Championships, do not focus on specific aspects of history, but are meant to be comprehensive. The Bowl World Championships feature students on teams (usually from the same US state or country) rather than from the same school, as is the case at other IHBB tournaments.

Other competitions at the Olympiad include a research competition, various types of exams, games, and simulations of historical events (similar to Model UN historical crisis committees). The Olympiad also features a number of guest speakers, field trips, medals ceremonies for each event (complete with flags and national/state anthems), and opening and closing ceremonies.

Three events (the International History Bee World Championships, the Written Exam, and the Battery Exam) combine to form the official Olympiad championship. Students are ranked in order of their performance on these three competitions; the students with the combined best ranks are the official Olympiad champions.[5]

Affiliation and Medals

Students receive medals for the Research Competition on the stage of Berlin's Charlottenburg Palace.

All students at the International History Olympiad compete for a US state (if they attend school in the USA or are an American citizen) or for their country of citizenship or residence. Students who would be eligible to compete for two affiliations must select one.[6] Medals are awarded solely to the top three competitors in each event, but they are awarded for every event. In this way, the Olympiad more closely approximates the Olympics than the International Science Olympiads. A medals table is maintained as well - the ranking is first done by total number of golds, then total number of silvers, then total number of bronzes. Students are also assigned to teams for the team events at the Olympiad based on a number of factors, though every effort is made to keep students from the same country or state together. Teams consist of either 2 or 3 students. For team events, if a "mixed" team wins a medal, the medals are credited fractionally on the medals table depending on how many students from a state or country were on the team.[7]

Future Olympiads

After 2016, the Olympiad became a biennial model; Olympiads thus occur in even-numbered years. The location of the 2020 International History Olympiad was revealed to take place on a boat in the Caribbean. However, it and the International Geography Bee World Championships were both canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hosts

Year	Host site	Host city and country	Medals table champion	Number of attending countries	Number of attending students
2018	Berlin Brandenburg International School	Berlin, Germany	California	24	224
2016	University of Hawaii-Manoa	Honolulu, Hawaii	Illinois	15	85
2015	College of William and Mary	Williamsburg, Virginia	California	14	111

Overall Champions

Varsity

Year	Champion	Second place	Third place	Number of students
2018	Jonathan Tran Oregon	Daniel Ma New York	Kevin Le Canada	59
2016	Jonathan Tran Oregon	Jakob Myers Illinois	Michael Nisenzon California	26
2015	Bruce Lou California	Suntiparp Somsak Thailand	Dashiell Yeatts-Lonske Maryland	29

Junior Varsity

Year	Champion	Second place	Third place	Number of students
2018	Govind Prabhakar India	Arjun Nageswaran India	John Phipps Argentina	94
2016	Alejandro Lim Philippines	Gareth Thorlakson Canada	Daniel Ma New York	30
2015	Luke Tierney New York	Jonathan Tran Oregon	John Peter Connor Washington	40

Middle School

Year	Champion	Second place	Third place	Number of students
2018	Shiva Oswal California	Karsten Rynearson Connecticut	Siddharth Kammanavar California	71
2016	Enzo Cunanan Florida	Shiva Oswal California	John Phipps Argentina	29
2015	Priyankar Kandarpa Singapore	Vijay Siddharth Singapore	Alejandro Lim Philippines	42

International History Bee World Champions

At the end of the International History Olympiad, the International History Bee World Championships are contested. For a full list of European, Asian, and Canadian International History Bee champions, see the International History Bee and Bowl page. For a full list of USA National History Bee National Champions, see the National History Bee and Bowl page.