Everything On This Page is Tentative Until This Message Is Removed.
How it Works
The 2027 Quiz Bowl National Championships will have four sites: West, South, Midwest, and Northeast. Each one will have a Middle School, High School Junior Varsity, and High School Varsity division. Each site will produce a Champion; from there, the top team in the Middle School and High School Varsity (NOT Junior Varsity) divisions from each site will travel to Chicago, Illinois, at LIQBA expense, for the chance at being crowned the National Champion.
Dates and Locations
The Quiz Bowl National Championships will take place in May and June 2027 on the following dates at the following sites:
South
May 22-23, 2027
General Area and Date Confirmed
Site To Be Determined, Birmingham, Huntsville, or Tuscaloosa areas, Alabama
Varsity, Junior Varsity, Middle School, Elementary School
Northeast
May 22-23, 2027
General Area and Date confirmed
New York Metropolitan Area, NY/NJ
Varsity, Junior Varsity, Middle School
Corgi In Attendance
West
June 5-6, 2027
Confirmed
DoubleTree by Hilton Denver Tech Center, Greenwood Village, Colorado
Varsity, Junior Varsity, Middle School
Midwest
June 5-6, 2027
Confirmed
University of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana
Varsity, Junior Varsity, Middle School
Corgi In Attendance
Finals
June 2027, on a Monday
Chicago, Illinois
Confirmed
Varsity, Middle School
Corgi In Attendance
The regions are not “locked”, and any team may play at any site, but we strongly recommend playing at the site nearest to you.
The Elementary School competition will only take place in Alabama, and a National Champion in that division will be determined there.
The general Quizbowl-loving public is invited to see the Finals in Chicago! More details on spectator tickets and perks are to come. Tickets will be at no cost.
Tournament Schedule
For the regional sites, teams will check in on Friday night, play the Preliminary Rounds on Saturday, and, should they “make it”, play playoff games on Sunday. For the Finals, teams will arrive on Sunday night and play the finals games on Monday, with the tournament wrapping up on Monday evening.
We are no longer providing exact times beyond the staff call and start times. You should arrive before 8:45 AM and plan to stay the full two days and into the early evening.
SATURDAY
8:00 AM: Staff Call Time; Staff Breakfast; Team check-in begins
8:30 AM: Staff Meeting
9:00 AM: Opening Ceremony Begins; all teams must be present at this time
Starting at 10:00 AM and ending “when it ends”:
Rounds 1 and 2 Played
15-Minute Break
Rounds 3 and 4 Played
1-Hour Break for Lunch
Rounds 5 and 6 Played
15-Minute Break
Rounds 7 and 8 Played
2 Hours after Round 8 ends: Player Social, Coach Social
Overnight: Seedings for Sunday posted online; individual award recipients notified
SUNDAY
Note: depending on the number of teams at a given site, there may be more or less rounds played on Sunday, as is appropriate for the field size.
8:00 AM: Staff Call Time; Staff Breakfast; Team check-in begins
8:30 AM: Staff Meeting
9:00 AM: Opening Ceremony Begins; all playoff teams must be present at this time; individual prizes awarded for all teams, including non-playoff teams
Starting at 10:00 AM and ending “when it ends”:
Rounds 1, 2, and 3 Played
20-Minute Break
Remaining rounds up to Site Semi-Finals and Finals Played
1-Hour 30-Minute Break for Lunch
Site Semi-Finals and Finals Played
Closing Ceremony, Team Awards
FINALS DAY (ONLY IN CHICAGO, ONLY ON MONDAY, ONLY FOR WINNING TEAMS OF EACH SITE)
9:00 AM: Staff Check-In and Meeting
9:30 AM: Opening Meeting for All Teams
10:30 AM until Lunch: All rounds played until two teams remain
1-Hour 30-Minute Break for Lunch
After Lunch: Final Stage Setup and Instructions
Middle School Grand Finals Played
Varsity Grand Finals Played
Any Further Games Played, TBD
Questions and Format
The Quiz Bowl National Championships will use a premier purpose-written set by the LIQBA’s celebrated in-house writing team. Questions will be challenging, while still being accessible to most players capable of competing in a National Championship. Questions for Finals Day will be more difficult and accessible to only the top teams in the country.
The tournament will guarantee 8 games for High School and Middle School teams and 6 games for Elementary School teams. Games are timed to 35 minutes at all but the Elementary School level, where there is no clock.
The tournament will follow the LIQBA’s New Four-Quarter Format, with the modifications made in July 2026, which consists of:
Quarter 1
The “Warmup Round”
10 Short Easy tossups, worth 10 points each
Quarter 2
The “Bonus Round”
5 Long Tossups, Powermarked, worth 10 (or 20 points in power) each, with each leading to a Bonus. Each bonus has 4 parts, in approximate difficulty order, with parts worth 5, 10, 15, and 20 points for 50 possible points. Bouncebacks are possible on bonuses.
Quarter 3
The “Collaboration Round”
5 Collaboration Questions given to each team, very similar to our 30-20-10 Competition
New for the QBNC II: Collaboration questions will be scored 40-20-10
Quarter 4
The legendary “Stump the Experts Round”
10 Short Hard tossups, powermarked, worth 20 or 10 points each.
On Saturday, each team will be placed into a round-robin pool of 8 teams, for 7 rounds of play, plus one extra cross-bracket game. The top teams from the preliminary rounds, by win-loss record, will be seeded for playoffs; the exact number of playoff teams will be determined once the field has been finalized, but all teams with records of 4-4, 5-3, 6-2, 7-1, or 8-0 will advance to the playoffs.
Preliminary Rounds will consist of exactly 8 games regardless of any other consideration.
On Sunday, there will be a double-elimination bracket in each division of all the teams that qualified. The bracket winner from the MS and Varsity divisions at each site will qualify for Finals. Depending on the exact number of playoff teams, 4-4 or 5-3 teams may start the double-elimination bracket with one loss.
Finals will consist of a 4-team double-elimination bracket for each division, with the last team standing crowned the National Champion.
Seeding
We want to give every team a fair shake, so all teams must play, free of charge, a short 30-20-10-like game about a month prior to the competition to give us an idea of your skill at the game. This will be a virtual seeding event and should take no more than an hour. We will give you details on how this works once you register for Nationals.
The seeding event Does Not Count For Anything, but allows us to determine your approximate skill relative to the other teams so we can accurately make the preliminary seeds. Your score will not be revealed to anyone but your team and the LIQBA, and will not be posted anywhere.
If the seeding event is not available by at least 60 days before the first site, we will cancel it.
Teams and Eligibility
Teams consist of one to four players. No substitutions are allowed. Four is the per-team maximum with no exceptions; should you have interested additional players, you should sign up a JV team or additional Varsity team.
Our eligibility rules are simple: any players who go to the same school can play on a team. If you have a question about what “The Same School” is for special situations or for homeschools, write to Outreach@liqba.com and we will discuss your case. We permit any duly enrolled person, without regard to age or grade (such as “super-seniors”), to play at our tournaments, though students in GED programs are ineligible.
Middle Schoolers may “play up” to a HS Varsity division team, but not a JV division team, without restriction, but they may then only compete in the division they select. Elementary schoolers can “play up” to a Middle School or HS Varsity team without restriction, but they may then only compete in the division they select. In order to “play up”, the Elementary or Middle Schooler must:
A. Play for the school they are zoned for if in a Public School, and not for any school that they must apply to get in to;
B. Play for the same school if the school has both their regular grade level and future grade levels (for instance, a K-12 private school, a 7-12 High School) and all students enrolled in lower grades are entitled to a spot in higher grades with no further application, and not one that they must apply to get in to.
In general, the High School Varsity division covers grades 9-12, JV 9-12, Middle School 6-8, and Elementary K-5.
If your district uses a different grade breakdown than that, you can play in the division that would be appropriate for you (for instance, a Junior High School that contains grades 7-9 should play in the Middle School division, or a K-6 School should play in the Elementary School division).
If your entire team wants to “play up”, they can do so, though this is not recommended.
Coaches, Chaperones, and Spectators
A team can have any number of coaches, including none, but only one can be the Official Coach as designated according to our rules. A team can also have an unlimited number of spectators, who may view any game free of charge, but may not take video or audio recordings of the game. Pictures are fine, though! Just not flash photography, which is strictly prohibited. If there are more spectators with a team than the capacity of a given room, they will have to wait elsewhere; no room will be changed or moved due to an abundance of spectators.
Elementary and Middle School teams must have one chaperone per team who are legal adults in the state where they reside, and must stay with the team during the competition.
No chaperone is required for High School teams. However, it is generally required that you bring a chaperone in order to do other important tasks like drive to the tournament or check in to a hotel, most of which require a person who is at least the age of 21.
These requirements apply regardless of the division the team plays in; so, should, for instance, a Middle School team wish to play in the Varsity division, they still must follow the Middle School chaperone requirements. As another example, should a team be playing in the Varsity division and have three twelfth graders and a fourth grader, they must follow the chaperone rules for an Elementary team.
Chaperones can be a coach or any other responsible adult; however, a player on a High School team cannot be a chaperone for a Middle or Elementary school team.
Qualification and Wildcards
Any team who finishes in the top 20%, rounded up, of any tournament, league, or Quiz Bowl TV show in the 2026-2027 season will qualify for the National Championships. Any team who finishes in the top 25%, rounded up, of any tournament, league, or TV show directly run by the LIQBA, or using LIQBA questions, in the 2026-2027 season, will also qualify for the National Championships.
Invitations are issued to Schools, not Teams; so, the roster need not be the same as the one you qualified with. If you would like to bring more than one team…
1) For the High School Varsity, Middle School, and Elementary School divisions, you must qualify multiple teams. To do so, you need to have two or more teams qualify at the same tournament.
2) For the High School Junior Varsity division, any school that qualified a High School Varsity team can enter as many JV teams as they would like, up to 10, so long as they all pay a separate entry fee. You cannot play in the JV division unless you have a Varsity team entered in the field.
You can also ask to be considered as a Wildcard. To do so, email Outreach@liqba.com with a summary of your season and why you feel you should be considered to play in a National Championship. If one team qualifies normally, but a school wishes to enter a second (or further) team(s) into a division other than Junior Varsity, they may also apply for a wildcard to do so.
Note that a qualification is not a guaranteed spot. You should register as soon as possible to secure your spot in the field.
Waitlist and Standby Teams
Once the field cap for each site is reached, which is 100 combined across all divisions at each site, you will be put on a waitlist until the field expands or teams drop, or you may play at another site that is not full.
You can also become a Standby team, which is a team that fills in for a last-minute drop. You may be promoted off the standby list the same day as the tournament, or not at all, so this is recommended as teams of extra players from your school.
Lodging
We will have official tournament hotels at each site! However, all lodging is to be determined, except in Denver where it is the same as last season.
Rules
The rules of the competition can be found at this link. Elementary School uses the same rules but without a game clock; finals also use the same rules without a game clock.
Many rules have been modified in response to issues and feedback.
Prizes
The largest prize is pride in your achievement, but we have many prizes of token value for highly-ranking teams in each division at each event. The exact number is dependent on the size of the field. Such prizes may include trophies, medals, stuffed animals, and many other small tokens, all at our discretion. All teams will be excited to know that the Ducks will, once again, all be in a row this year.
The National Champion in each division except JV will be awarded a traveling trophy in addition to the usual prizes.
Our official trophy supplier for all but the traveling trophies is Mineola Trophy in Mineola, New York, and they would be happy to, for a fee, repair any trophy that is damaged, replace any trophy that is lost, or complete custom engraving on your trophy or medal.
Unfortunately, it is likely impossible to replace a lost or damaged non-trophy or medal prize.
Food
At all sites, we will have a recommended restaurant for you. When you sign up, you can purchase breakfast boxes, pizzas or boxed lunches, or pizzas or dinners at fixed rates from those recommended restaurants in addition to the tournament fee, which we will arrange the delivery of for you.
On Finals Day, all the food is in-house catering.
The exact arrangements are to be determined.
Statistics
Full and complete team and individual statistics will be updated live during the tournament on liqba.com. Category and buzzpoint statistics will be released a week or so after the last site has concluded.
Practice Material
If you’re looking for practice material for Nationals, check out the LIQBA’s Practice Subscription, one of the most valuable study tools in the game. It generally costs $250 per year.
We are also offering the entire Nationals set from 2026 free of charge to anyone who signs up as practice material.
Registration Fees
The registration fee is $750 per team, with no discounts available (but if you don’t think you can afford this, keep reading; there are options). Payment is due two weeks after registration.
If you cancel before March 15, no fee is due. After March 15, the full fee is due, even if you cancel.
However, you have two weeks from your registration date to drop; if you sign up less than two weeks before the tournament and we decide to accept your registration, you must pay immediately without refund if you drop. If you are registered and, barring emergencies, do not show up to the tournament, you may be restricted from playing future competitions with the LIQBA.
If you need financial assistance to cover costs for Nationals, you may apply through QB4ALL at www.qb4all.org/financialaid. Please allow approximately 72 hours for financial award decisions. Please note that QB4ALL is not affiliated with the LIQBA in any way.
Payment options have been reduced for this season.
You can, in order of desirability:
Pay by Check;
Pay by Purchase Order;
Pay by Credit Card, though the transaction fees will be passed through to you;
Pay in Cash.
If you do not pay the entry fee by the start of the tournament, you can’t play until you do.
No additional fee is due for the Finals.
Checks must be made out to “Long Island Quiz Bowl Alliance” and mailed to 16 Gilbert Avenue, Smithtown, New York, 11787. This is also where you can mail any other necessary paperwork. Our W9 is attached here for your use.
The registration fee does not cover any expense other than the tournament entry fees, so you still need to pay for hotels, transport, food, and so on, except for the Finals.
Deadlines
You must sign up at least 3 weeks before the tournament date in question. Registrations after that deadline will be on an as-available basis.
Photography and Videography
Photographers will be present at all the sites, all games will be audio-recorded, and a videography team will be present for the finals. By participating in the competition, you agree to be photographed and recorded; however, no pictures or videos will be used for commercial purposes aside from being posted on this website, and each participant will, along with the LIQBA, receive a lifetime, irrevocable license to all pictures with them in it.
Registration
You can register for nationals by filling out this form in its entirety. The form is not yet available; it will be when all venue and food arrangements are made. You are not officially registered until you get a confirmation from us.
Finals Arrangements
Each winner of the Varsity and Middle School divisions at each site will be offered the chance to travel to Chicago to win the overall championship in their division. Such an offer must be formally accepted within 3 days of winning a site; if an offer is declined, the runner-up will be offered the chance to compete; if they decline, the 3rd place team will be offered. If no team 3rd place or above accepts, the spot will be unfilled and no further offers will be made.
The LIQBA will pay for…
–If the school is less than or equal to 9 hours 30 minutes’ driving time, with no traffic, according to Google Maps, to the interchange between Interstate 55 and Interstate 294 in Chicagoland, or the tournament hotel, whichever is less time, the LIQBA will provide a travel stipend of $500 to the team and the team will be expected to travel by car, bus, van, train, etc.
–If the school does not meet that condition as per the parameters above, the LIQBA will pay the airfare for 4 players and 1 coach to travel to an airport in Chicagoland.
We will choose an airline, origin and destination airport, and flight at our discretion, though no flight will be a red-eye or have an overnight layover unless there is absolutely no other option. The flight may be nonstop or connecting. We will also pay for cab, train, or shuttle fare to the hotel, or for car rental if public transport is not readily available between the destination airport and the hotel.
We will cover up to $500 per person in the base fee of plane tickets; past that, the person or school will be responsible for covering it, but we will also work with you to work out an alternative.
— We will pay for all hotel costs for 4 players and 1 coach for Sunday and Monday nights.
The total costs of that will be the “minimum viable trip”. We will reimburse you that amount only and nothing more; should you desire to choose a different flight, airline, airport, etc, you will have to pay the difference.
Possible airports in Chicagoland include, from highest to lowest priority:
1. Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois
2. Chicago Midway International Airport, Chicago, Illinois
3. Chicago Rockford International Airport, Rockford, Illinois
4. Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
5. Dane County Regional Airport, Madison, Wisconsin
6. South Bend International Airport, South Bend, Indiana
7. Indianapolis International Airport, Indianapolis, Indiana
8. Quad Cities International Airport, Moline, Illinois
No matter what, if you are flown into any airport other than the first three, we will cover a rental car that can fit your team and the coach or driver. It is near-certain, however, that you will fly into O’Hare or Midway.
The LIQBA will not pay for…
— Travel expenses and hotel costs for more than 4 players and 1 coach under any circumstance.
— Travel expenses for a team to get to and from their home airport, or for players to get from their homes to the airport and back, or to and from their home to school or drop-off point.
— Food expenses of any kind.
— Any expenses for souvenirs, knickknacks, and so on.
— Bag, Seat, or Priority fees for airlines, or any other airline fees beyond what we choose to.
— The costs to mail any prizes back home.
— Anything past the Minimum Viable Trip cost.
— Any other expenses incurred by a team in their travels to Chicago for the finals.
Got Questions? We Have Answers.
Please write to Outreach@liqba.com with any questions you might have, or call (631)-360-3724 extension 1, and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can!