Over Half a Million UAE Students Could Compete to Qualify for International History Olympiad 2015

The International History Bee and Bowl (IHBB) kicks off in UAE on 26 April as part of International Competition
Dubai, UAE, 9 March 2014 – Following Japan, China, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, England, France and others, The International History Bee and Bowl (IHBB) has added the UAE to the tour that covers Asia, Europe, and the USA.
Top students and teams from UAE schools will have an opportunity to participate in the regional leg of the IHBB that is being organized by Carian College Advisors, which aim to attract the most talented students from across the country to the competition.
“We are targeting over half a million students from private and public schools in the UAE to compete in this competition”, said Peter Davos, IHBB Director of Outreach – Middle East, and Managing Director, Carian College Advisors. “UAE students who excel in the competition will stand a chance to qualify for the Asian Championships this Spring and the inaugural International History Olympiad to be held in the summer of 2015.”
The competition owes its origins to David Madden, founder and Executive Director of the National and International History Bees and Bowls. With 19 consecutive wins on the US television quiz show ‘Jeopardy’, David holds the title as the second longest-winning contestant in the show’s history. With winnings in excess of USD 400,000, David went on to create the highly successful organizations, which last year held over 170 competitions in the US alone. 
The competition hopes to attract participants from more than 30 schools in the UAE, to be added to the thousands of participants from countries such as South Korea, China, Thailand, and Malaysia, with future stops planned in Singapore, Sri Lanka, England, Germany, Switzerland and France. Guests of honor and lead judges for the April 26 event will include Radio Jockey Malavika Vardhan of City 1016, host of Dubai’s top listened to breakfast show, and Omar Nour, champion triathlete and Olympic hopeful, who recently placed second in the Yas triathlon this past weekend.
”IHBB and Carian College Advisors are thrilled to be launching our history quiz tournaments in the UAE, and we look forward to giving students a new opportunity to get excited about studying history. Students around the world have enjoyed competing in the International History Bee and Bowl, and we know that students in the U.A.E. will also have a great time putting their history skills to use in a fast-paced buzzer quiz competition.”
According to statistics from Abu Dhabi Education Council and Knowledge & Human Development Authority in Dubai, there are 200,000 students in Abu Dhabi private schools and 225,000 in Dubai private schools, in addition to students in public schools of both emirates. All public and private schools across the UAE can enter with teams in three separate age divisions. The top half of students and teams will also qualify for the inaugural Asian Championships at the end of the school year.
The international competition, which will hold approximately 12-15 regional tournaments throughout Asia, is seeking to use the upcoming April tournament in Dubai as its showcase competition in the Middle East this year, supported by strong enrollments from across the country. The competitions will take place on Apr 26 over the course of a full day at GEMS Winchester School in Jebel Ali.
Peter Davos, who studied History at Oxford and also hold degrees from Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, and the London School of Economics, commented: “We have selected the UAE as the launch pad because of the tremendous response from its student community and we expect a winning team from the UAE to finish very strongly at both the Asian and global finals.”
“This competition will allow students the opportunity to demonstrate their in-depth understanding of global history, from antiquity to the present day. UAE students are well versed in history, due to the breadth and diversity of local school curricula and their multicultural background. This will also challenge participants to interact with bright history students from other educational institutions from across the country, to see who is truly the best.”
IHBB currently consist of three divisions – Asia, Europe, and USA, with Australia, New Zealand, and South African divisions planned to debut in Summer of 2014 as well. IHBB is looking forward to 12-15 qualifying tournaments in Asia and 6-8 tournaments in Europe this year.  The 2014 European Championships will then be held in Rome, and the inaugural Asian Championships in Hong Kong at the end of the school year. Students who do well in the competition in Dubai in April will qualify to compete in the Asian Championships. In the USA, the competition is growing too – with over 200 competitions to be held nationally next year.
Davos added: “We will expand to other countries across the Arab world and Indian subcontinent in the future. Each division has its own qualifying tournaments and a separate championship at the end of the school year.”