| 29th National Geographic Bee | |
|---|---|
| Date | May 15–17, 2017 |
| Location | Washington, D.C. |
| Winner | Pranay Varada |
| Age | 14 |
| Residence | Irving, Texas |
| No. of contestants | 54 |
| Preceded by | 28th National Geographic Bee |
| Followed by | 30th National Geographic Bee |
The 29th annual National Geographic Bee was held in Washington, D.C. It was sponsored by the National Geographic Society. The State Bees were held on March 31, 2017, where the 54 finalists were determined. [1] The 2017 Champion, Pranay Varada, received a $50,000 college scholarship, a lifetime membership to the National Geographic Society, and an all-expenses-paid Lindblad expedition for two to the Galápagos Islands aboard the new National Geographic Endeavour ll. [2]
On March 31, 2017, the National Geographic State Bees were held across the 50 states, Washington, D.C., the Atlantic Territories, the Pacific Territories, and the Department of Defense. Fifty-four State or Territory level Champions were determined. [2]
The Preliminary Competition was held on Monday, May 15, 2017. [2] It consisted of two parts: a written part and an oral part worth 16 points total. In the written part, contestants were asked to write a sentence about why preserving oceans is important, identify places on a map that had been part of National Geographic's "pristine seas" project, and write an paragraph about which place needed to have steps taken for its preservation first: The Rio de la Plata estuary, the Sundarbans, or the Great Barrier Reef. It was graded out of six points total. The oral part consisted of ten rounds about world geography and National Geographic Explorers. All 54 State Champions participated, and after a tiebreaker ten finalists were determined:
The Final Competition was held on Wednesday, May 17, 2017. The top 10 Finalists out of the 54 State Champions participated. Humorist, journalist, and actor Mo Rocca moderated the Competition for the second year in a row. The Champion was Pranay Varada of Texas. Thomas Wright of Wisconsin came second, and Veda Bhattaram of New Jersey came third. The GeoChallenge for the top three was about a new home country for the Maldivian people if their country becomes flooded after sea level rises. The choices were Indonesia, Turkey, and the Solomon Islands, in order of best to worst answer. In fourth place was Nicholas Monahan from Idaho. The fifth place finisher was Anish Susarla of Virginia, and Lucas Eggers of Minnesota came in sixth. Tying for seventh place were Rohan Kanchana of Delaware, Ahilan Eraniyan of California, and Max Garon of D.C. They were tied with Lucas Eggers, but in the tiebreaker question, asking for the distance between Washington, D.C., and London, they were eliminated after Eggers guessed closer to the correct answer than them and he moved on. In tenth place was Abhinav Govindaraju of New Hampshire. The first eliminations took place after round 5, a lightning round, where four left the competition. The next three eliminations were after round 9, another lightning round.
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The 10th National Geographic Bee was held in Washington, D.C., on May 20, 1998, sponsored by the National Geographic Society. The final competition was moderated by Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek. The winner was Petko Peev of Forest Hills Central Middle School in Grand Rapids, Michigan, who won a $25,000 college scholarship. The 2nd-place winner, J. B. Kizer of Portsmouth, Ohio, won a $15,000 scholarship. The 3rd-place winner, Evan Sparks of Westminster Academy in Memphis, Tennessee, won a $10,000 scholarship.
The 9th National Geographic Bee was held in Washington, D.C., on May 28, 1997, sponsored by the National Geographic Society. The final competition was moderated by Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek. The winner was Alex Kerchner of Kamiakin Junior High School in Kirkland, Washington, who won a $25,000 college scholarship. The 2nd-place winner, Steve Sreckovic of South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, won a $15,000 scholarship. The 3rd-place winner, Justin Mosel of Orchard, Nebraska, won a $10,000 scholarship.
The 8th National Geographic Bee was held in Washington, D.C., on May 29, 1996, sponsored by the National Geographic Society. The final competition was moderated by Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek. The winner was Seyi Fayanju of Henry B. Whitehorne Middle School in Verona, New Jersey, who won a $25,000 college scholarship. The 2nd-place winner, Ryan Bean of Augusta, Maine, won a $15,000 scholarship. The 3rd-place winner, Matthew Conway of El Reno, Oklahoma, won a $10,000 scholarship.
The 7th National Geographic Bee was held in Washington, D.C., on May 31, 1995, sponsored by the National Geographic Society. The final competition was moderated by Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek. The winner was Chris Galeczka of Bemis Junior High School in Sterling Heights, Michigan, who won a $25,000 college scholarship. The 2nd-place winner, Aaron Wenzel of Freeport Junior High School in Freeport, Illinois, won a $15,000 scholarship. The 3rd-place winner, Brendan Gordon, a homeschooled student from Moscow, Idaho, won a $10,000 scholarship.
The 6th National Geographic Bee was held in Washington, D.C., on May 25, 1994, sponsored by the National Geographic Society. The final competition was moderated by Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek. The winner was Anders Knospe of Bozeman, Montana, who won a $25,000 college scholarship. The 2nd-place winner, Michael Bebow of Metairie, Louisiana, won a $15,000 scholarship. The 3rd-place winner, Jeorse Lund of Henderson, Nevada, won a $10,000 scholarship.
The 5th National Geographic Bee was held in Washington, D.C., on May 26, 1993, sponsored by the National Geographic Society. The final competition was moderated by Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek. The winner was Noel Erinjeri of Swartz Creek, Michigan, who won a $25,000 college scholarship. The 2nd-place winner, Michael Ring of Milford, Massachusetts, won a $15,000 scholarship. The 3rd-place winner, Jeffrey Hoppes of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, won a $10,000 scholarship.
The 4th National Geographic Bee was held in Washington, D.C., on May 21, 1992, sponsored by the National Geographic Society. The final competition was moderated by Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek. The winner was Lawson Fite of Shumway Middle School in Vancouver, Washington, who won a $25,000 college scholarship. The 2nd-place winner, Geoffrey Hatchard of Cresco, Pennsylvania, won a $15,000 scholarship. The 3rd-place winner, Michael Sherback of North Easton, Massachusetts, won a $10,000 scholarship.
The 3rd National Geographic Bee was held in Washington, D.C., on May 23, 1991, sponsored by the National Geographic Society. The final competition was moderated by Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek. The winner was David Stillman of Craigmont, Idaho, who won a $25,000 college scholarship. The 2nd-place winner, Carlos De La Fuente of Chandler, Arizona, won a $15,000 scholarship. The 3rd-place winner, Eliot Brenner of Richmond, Virginia, won a $10,000 scholarship.
The 2nd National Geographic Bee was held in Washington, D.C., on May 24, 1990, sponsored by the National Geographic Society. The final competition was moderated by Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek. The winner was Susannah Batko-Yovino of the Washington-Jefferson School in Altoona, Pennsylvania, who won a $25,000 college scholarship. The 2nd-place winner, Tim Forest of C.J. Hooker Middle School in Goshen, New York, won a $15,000 scholarship. The 3rd-place winner, Martin Hohner of Luther Burbank School in Chicago, Illinois, won a $10,000 scholarship.
The 1st National Geographic Bee was held in Washington, D.C., on May 19, 1989, sponsored by the National Geographic Society. The final competition was moderated by Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek. The winner was Jack Staddon of Great Bend Seventh-day Adventist Elementary School in Great Bend, Kansas, who won a $25,000 college scholarship. The 2nd-place winner, Michael Shannon of Reading, Massachusetts, won a $15,000 scholarship. The 3rd-place winner, Kieu Luu of Riverdale, Maryland, won a $10,000 scholarship.
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The 31st annual National Geographic Bee was held in Washington, D.C., and hosted by Mo Rocca. It is sponsored by the National Geographic Society. The State Bees were held on March 29, where the 54 finalists were determined. The 2019 Champion, Nihar Janga, received a $25,000 college scholarship, a lifetime membership to the National Geographic Society, and an all-expenses-paid Lindblad Expedition for two to the Galápagos Islands. This was to be the last GeoBee, as National Geographic made the decision to end the competition, after canceling the 2020 and 2021 National Geographic Bees due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
