This morning Ben Geyer will compete in the finals of the National Geographic Bee, a feat he’s accomplished once before. Geyer, an eighth-grader at the British School of Washington, has reached the national phase of the bee four times. Today’s event pits 10 finalists ages 10 to 14 against each other for the top prize, a $25,000 college scholarship.

How did you first get involved in geography bees?

It was started by a general family interest in geography. I also saw that our school had a club. My dad pointed that one out. I didn’t go the first year but I did after that.

When you say family interest, what do you mean? Is it because of their professions?

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My mom’s a lawyer, so it’s less that. My dad’s a historian at the State Department.

What’s the preparation like for the competition?

It’s very complicated because there are so many components: economic geography, historical geography. We had to study all sorts of stuff. It took a really long time to get to a point where we felt ready.

Who’s “we”? Who helps you get ready?

Really everyone in my family. Some relatives send questions to me by mail. My dad is mostly behind it. He writes his own questions rather than using premade ones. One time one [on the actual bee] was practically paraphrased from my dad’s question. It wasn’t deliberate, either.

Which part of the test is most challenging?

Physical geography, which is actually more of a science. I don’t know why they include it. You need to know names of certain geographic features. That’s always the hardest.

Picked up any tricks?

A lot of techniques, actually. I watched old competitions and worked through how to answer the questions