Team USA 2019 from L to R at iGeo in Hong Kong: Coach Jason Flowers, Albert Zhang, Elys Anaya, Kevin Lu, Daniel Ma, Coach Steve Muench
The United States Geography Championships was founded in order to provide American students with a way to qualify for the International Geography Olympiad (iGeo). The 2022 International Geography Olympiad was held online from July 12-18, 2022. The 2023 International History Olympiad will be held in Bandung, Indonesia in July or August.
Tell me more about how I can qualify to take part in the International Geography Olympiad!
Sure! The top four students on the 2023 USGC Varsity National Championships will constitute Team USA, with the fifth- and sixth-place students as alternates. More information on the exam can be found here.
The International Geography Olympiad is an international tournament for high school students from around the world which is organized by the International Geography Union, a global professional organization of geographers. The first iGeo was held in The Hague, Netherlands in 1996 – other iGeos have since been held in Portugal, Korea, South Africa, Poland, Australia, Tunisia, Taiwan, Germany, China, Russia, Serbia, Canada, and Hong Kong.
Jason Flowers, a teacher and academic team coach at the Liberal Arts and Sciences Academy in Austin, TX, who has coached Team USA since 2015 will return as head coach in 2023. Steve Muench, a social studies teacher in Leonia, NJ who has coached since 2017 will return to co-coach in 2023.
Please note that only Varsity students in the 2022-2023 academic year (i.e. students born before July 1, 2007) who are enrolled in a high school in the 2022-2023 academic year are eligible to qualify for Team USA for the 2023 iGeo, in accordance with iGeo’s eligibility rules.
All participating countries send four students to compete, but the entire competition is done on an individual basis. All students will compete in a multi-media multiple choice exam, a short-answer exam, and a fieldwork exercise. There is also a poster competition, as well. The students with the top overall scores, factoring in each part of the competition receive medals, and the top performing countries are recognized as well.
Subsequent iGeos will be held in Bandung, Indonesia (2023) and Dublin (2024).
For more information on the International Geography Olympiad in general, see www.geoolympiad.org/ as well as the iGeo Wikipedia page.
For more information on the past 2022 Geography Olympiad, held online, see https://igeoparis2022.org/
For more information on the past 2021 Geography Olympiad, held online, see https://www.igeo2021.org/
For more information on the past 2019 Geography Olympiad in Hong Kong, see: https://www.eduhk.hk/igeo2019/
For more information on the past 2018 Geography Olympiad in Quebec City, Canada, see: http://igeo2018.ulaval.ca/
For more information on the past 2017 Geography Olympiad in Belgrade, Serbia, see: http://igeobelgrade.edu.rs/
For more information on the past 2016 Geography Olympiad in Beijing, China, see: www.igeo2016.org
For more information on the past 2015 Geography Olympiad in Tver, Russia, see: http://igeo2015.com/conf2015/
For more information on the past 2014 Geography Olympiad in Krakow, Poland, see: www.geoolympiad.org/2014/index.shtml
For more information on the past 2013 Geography Olympiad in Kyoto, Japan, see: http://japan-igeo.com/english/
How much will this cost?
Students and their families will generally need to cover their own flights to and from the iGeo host city, but USGC will cover up to $1500 in expenses per student (i.e. entry fees, coach flights and stipend, training camp costs, etc.) associated with attending iGeo. The balance of fees (usually somewhere between $0 and $1000; most likely around $200-$500) will need to be paid by students or their families.
Team USA at the 2018 International Geography Olympiad consisted of (left to right) Coach Jason Flowers, Benjamin Benjadol, Daniel Ma, Kyle Yu, Kevin Lu, and Coach Steve Muench
Note: While the exact formula can vary a bit from year to year, typically 50% of students at iGeo receive medals. The top 1/12 receive gold medals, students finishing in the 2nd and 3rd twelfths receive silver medals, and students finishing in the 25th to 50th percentile receive bronze medals.
Past International Geography Olympiad Medalists from the USA
2022 – 206 total students, held online
Gold – Max Yang, Ladue Horton Watkins High School, Missouri (12th Place overall)
Silver – Dylan Rem, Malibu High School, California (23rd Place overall)
Silver – Miles Kottler, Beverly Hills High School, California (44th Place overall)
2021 – 179 total students, held online
Silver – Max Yang, Ladue Horton Watkins High School, Missouri (27th Place overall)
Silver – Alex Mitchell, Phillips Academy Andover, Massachusetts (35th Place overall)
Silver – Dylan Rem, Southampton High School, New York (48th Place overall)
Bronze – Elijah Conklin, Fox Chapel Area High School, Pennsylvania (96th Place overall)
2019 – 166 total students, held in Hong Kong
Gold – Albert Zhang, F.W. Buchholz High School, Florida (Overall World Champion)
Silver – Kevin Lu, Richard Montgomery High School, Maryland (17th Place overall)
Bronze – Daniel Ma, Hunter College High School, New York (5oth Place overall)
Bronze – Elys Anaya, Archimedean Upper Conservatory, Florida (56th Place overall)
2018 – 165 total students, held in Quebec City, Canada
Gold – Kyle Yu, Westlake High School, Ohio (7th Place overall)
Gold – Benjamin Benjadol, Trinity High School, Texas (14th Place overall)
Silver – Kevin Lu, Richard Montgomery High School, Maryland (34th Place overall)
Silver – Daniel Ma, Hunter College High School, New York (40th Place overall)
Team USA 2017 from L to R: AJ Manning, Coach Jason Flowers, Jakob Myers, Coach Steve Muench, Kyle Yu, Martin Rakowszczyk
2017 – 159 total students, held in Belgrade, Serbia
Gold – Martin Rakowszczyk, Wootton High School, Maryland (12th Place overall)
Silver – AJ Manning, Bartow IB High School, Florida (20th Place overall)
Silver – Kyle Yu, Westlake High School, Ohio (22nd Place overall)
Silver – Jakob Myers, Naperville North High School, Illinois (40th Place overall)
2016 – 173 total students, held in Beijing, China
Gold – AJ Manning, Bartow IB High School, Florida (8th Place overall)
Gold – Eugene Wang, BASIS Tucson North, Arizona (9th Place overall)
Silver – Matthew Janson, Providence High School, North Carolina (20th Place overall)
2015 – 159 total students, held in Tver, Russia
Gold – James Mullen, Monta Vista High School, California (3rd Place overall)
Gold – Kevin Li, Westview High School, California (7th Place overall)
2014 – 144 total students, held in Krakow, Poland
Gold – James Mullen, Monta Vista High School, California (Overall World Champion)
Silver – Anton Karpovich, Illinois Math and Science Academy, Illinois (36th Place overall)
Bronze – Tine Valencic, Grapevine High School, Texas
2013 – 128 total students, held in Kyoto, Japan
Bronze – Joe Kiernan, Moorestown Friends School, New Jersey
Bronze – Nirav Ilango, Chattahoochee High School, Georgia
Bronze – Anton Karpovich, Illinois Math and Science Academy, Illinois
Team USA at the 2013 iGEO in Kyoto consisted of (left to right) Anton Karpovich, (IMSA, IL), Nirav Ilango (Chattahoochee HS, GA), Pranav Bhandarkar (North Oconee HS, GA), and Joe Kiernan (Moorestown Friends School, NJ)
Team USA Overall Results
2022 (Online) – 8th out of 54 teams
2021 (Online) – 12th out of 46 teams
2020 (cancelled due to Covid-19)
2019 (Hong Kong) – 2nd out of 43 teams
2018 (Quebec City, Canada) – 3rd out of 43 teams
2017 (Belgrade, Serbia) – 3rd out of 41 teams
2016 (Beijing, China) – 7th out of 45 teams
2015 (Tver, Russia) – tied for 12th out of 40 teams
2014 (Krakow, Poland) – 10th out of 36 teams
2013 (Kyoto, Japan) – 14th out of 32 teams