Andrew Christy, an 8th grader from St. Francis Central Catholic School in Morgantown, is the first place winner in the 2014 West Virginia Geographic Bee. The event was held Friday, April 4 at Concord University.
This is the third championship in the annual competition for Christy. He won the West Virginia Geographic Bee the past two years at Concord.
Andrew will represent West Virginia in the 26th annual national competition in Washington, D.C. May 19-21, 2014. The winner of that contest will be the National Geographic Bee Champion.
A field of approximately 55 4th through 8th graders from across the Mountain State competed. Second place winner is Hunter Moore, an 8th grader representing South Harrison Middle School in Lost Creek. Third place went to Hunter Midcap, a 5th grader from Warwood School in Wheeling.
While youngsters were competing at Concord, other students participated in state bees across the United States and U.S. territories the same day.
Each state winner will receive $100 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for the national finals in May and the chance to be crowned the 26th National Geographic Bee champion.
First prize in the national competition is a $50,000 college scholarship and lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society. Second- and third-place finishers receive $25,000 and $10,000 college scholarships, respectively.
Additionally, the national winner will travel (with one parent or guardian), all expenses paid, to the Galápagos Islands to experience geography firsthand through up-close encounters with the wildlife and landscapes of the islands on an expedition aboard the National Geographic Endeavour. Travel for the Galápagos voyage is provided by Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic.
The top 10 national finalists for 2014 along with next year’s top 10 will be eligible for selection for the three-person team to represent the United States at the National Geographic World Championship in July 2015 in Stockholm, Sweden.
Organized by the National Geographic Society, this year’s Geographic Bee is sponsored by Google. At the state level, the Bee is also sponsored by Plum Creek.
Visit www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee for additional information on the National Geographic Bee.
