The televised finals of the National History Competition. The top scorers, one from each of 32 regions, qualified for a two-day National Championship held in Washington, D.C. on May 11-12, where one young scholar walked away with a $50,000 scholarship and a national championship title.
Broadcast[]
History 05/2012
Packager[]
Blink Productions
Hosts[]
Al Roker
Bryan Unger
Co-Hosts[]
Bob Harris
Rutledge Wood
Preliminary Rounds[]
16 contestants divided up into two groups of eight were asked a series of toss-up questions about history. They must wait for the question to finish before buzzing in to answer the question. A correct answer scored one point, but an incorrect answer eliminated that player from the next question; also an incorrect answer gave the other players a chance to answer that question. Only two players can answer each question. The first four contestants in each group to score five points advanced to the Quarter Finals round.
Quarter-Final Round[]
Played the same as the Preliminary Rounds. The first four to five advanced to the Semi-Finals.
Semi-Final Round[]
Played the same as before except it is now played to 10 points. The first two contestants to reach 10 moved on to the Finals.
Final Round[]
Played as the other rounds except with these differences:
- Contestants can no longer wait for the entire question to be read; they can buzz in at any time.
- There was no longer a penalty for incorrect answers. Both players get to play every question. Wrong answers allowed the opponent to hear the whole question.
The first player to reach 10 points won the $50,000 scholarship from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.