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.
Qualification
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 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
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.
Varsity
| Year | Champion | Second place | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Jonathan Tran Oregon
|
Fred Zhang  Virginia
|
Ryan Hamilton Canada
|
| 2016 | Jakob Myers Illinois
|
Devin Shang  Massachusetts
|
Alwin Nocum California
|
| 2015 | Bruce Lou California
|
Alexander Echikson Maryland
|
Andrew Leung California
|
Junior Varsity
| Year | Champion | Second place | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Arjun Nageswaran India
|
Govind Prabhakar India
|
Wesley Zhang California
|
| 2016 | Gareth Thorlakson Canada
|
Ryan Hamilton Canada
|
Jaya Alagar  Pennsylvania
|
| 2015 | Luke Tierney New York
|
Alex Schmidt Pennsylvania
|
Ryan Hamilton Canada
|
Middle School
The Middle School division is open to some students age 14 and under, depending on month of birth. Some of the winners below were high school students at the time they won the competition.
| Year | Champion | Second place | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Shiva Oswal California
|
Karsten Rynearson Connecticut
|
Vivek Sapru Canada
|
| 2016 | Enzo Cunanan Florida
|
Eshaan Vakil  Nevada
|
Alexander Koutsoukos Connecticut
|
| 2015 | Priyankar Kandarpa Singapore
|
Benji Chiu Oregon
|
Vijay Siddharth Singapore
|
International History Bowl World Champions
One of the marquis events at the International History Olympiad is the International History Bowl World Championships. In contrast with all other International History Bowl events, where students compete on teams representing their schools, at the Olympiad, students compete on their designated Olympiad-specific teams. Also, while teams at other International History Bowl events typically feature four students playing at once, and permit teams of 1-6 students (at regionals) and 1-unlimited students (at Championships), the Olympiad features only teams of either 2 or 3 students. Wherever possible, teams consist exclusively of students in an age division from one US state or country. However, if only one student registers for the Olympiad from a particular affiliation, then that student will be paired with 1 or 2 other students from other affiliations. For a full list of European, Asian, and Canadian International History Bowl champions, see the International History Bee and Bowl page. For a full list of USA National History Bowl National Champions, see the National History Bee and Bowl page.
Varsity
| Year | Champion | Second place | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Oregon: Grace Tran, Jonathan Tran
|
India: Sarod Nori, Hari Parameswaran, Vijay Siddharth
|
Canada A, Ryan Hamilton, Kevin Le, Gareth Thorlakson
|
| 2016 | California: Michael Nisenzon, Alwin Nocom
|
Team "Pakigonyland"  Pakistan, Oregon, and Maryland: Minahil Nawaz (PAK), Jonathan Tran (OR), Howard Tripp (MD)
|
Team "Illiaysia" Illinois and  Malaysia: Jakob Myers (IL), Sam Hofer (MAS)
|
| 2015 | California: Andrew Leung, Bruce Lou
|
Maryland A: Ben Koppell, Dashiell Yeatts-Lonske
|
Team "Geornessee"  Georgia and  Tennessee: Garrett Johnston (GA), Jesse Bennett (TN), Eric Rosenthal (TN)
|
Junior Varsity
| Year | Champion | Second place | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | India A: Varun Gupta, Arjun Nageswaran, Govind Prabhakar
|
Maryland A: Blaise Brosnan, Matthew Shu, Brian Xu
|
Team  Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Georgia, and Nevada: Turki Majed Alqahtani (KSA), Matthew Connair (GA), Eshaan Vakil (NV)
|
| 2016 | India: Hari Parameswaran, Vijay Siddharth
|
Canada A: Ryan Hamilton, Jason Qu, Gareth Thorlakson
|
New York: Matthew Hasenwinkel, Daniel Ma, Jeremy Zhang
|
| 2015 | Team "Washingtennessee": Washington and Tennessee John Connor (WA), Kevin Chen (TN)
|
Oregon Jonathan Tran, Connor Warren
|
Team "New Yorida": New York and Florida Luke Tierney (NY), Grant Bianco (FL)
|
Middle School
| Year | Champion | Second place | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | California A: Siddharth Kamannavar, Shiva Oswal
|
Illinois A: Cooper Roh, Liam Starnes
|
Team “New Yecticut” New York Connecticut: Robert Ogg (NY), Karsten Rynearson (CT)
|
| 2016 | Team “Florikongrea” Florida  South Korea  Hong Kong: Enzo Cunanan (FL), Jun Hyuk (Edward) Lee (KOR), Yuto Lam (HKG)
|
California A: Shiva Oswal, Josh Rollin, Josh Replogle
|
Team “Switzervadatina”  Switzerland Nevada Argentina: Anabel Mellinger (SUI), Eshaan Vakil (NV), John Phipps (ARG)
|
| 2015 | Singapore: Abeer Dahiya, Priyankar Kandarpa, Vijay Siddharth
|
Team "Philiwan" Philippines  Taiwan: Alejandro Lim (PHI), Dennis Yang (TAI)
|
Team "Illowahio" Illinois  Iowa  Ohio: Braeden Forman (IL), Joseph Janssen (IA), Hari Parameswaran (OH)
|
See also
References
- ^ "International History Olympiad". www.historyolympiad.com. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
- ^ "Sponsors : International History Olympiad". www.historyolympiad.com. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
- ^ "Benji Chiu Wins Silver Medal at International History Bee". OregonLive.com. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
- ^ "How to Qualify? : International History Olympiad". www.historyolympiad.com. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-08-15. Retrieved 2015-08-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Bureau, INQUIRER.net U.S. "Fil-Am teen reaps 9 medals for PH at Int'l History Olympiad". globalnation.inquirer.net. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2015-08-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)