The Jeopardy! Teen Tournament is an annual tournament featured high school students ages 13-17. The format structure was similar to that of the Tournament of Champions. On the current syndicated version, the Teen Tournament started on February 16, 1987. In November 1998, a Teen Reunion Tournament was held at the Wang Center in Boston, bringing back 12 former Teen Tournament contestants to compete in a single-elimination tournament.
At least one similar tournament was held during the original series in May 1967, involving high school seniors and the winner receiving a $10,000 scholarship.
Contestants mailed postcards with their names and addresses to Jeopardy!. 1,200 teens were selected at random from the postcard entries and were invited to come (at their own expense) to one of four regional test centers (e.g. Houston, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles) to take a timed written qualifying examination with the 50 clues read by Alex Trebek on a video monitor at the front of an exam room. Passing scorers were invited back for an interview and mock game using an electronic buzzer system. Their photographs are taken for their files, and they are asked to fill out a short information sheet with interesting facts about themselves that may be later used by Alex Trebek during the interview portion of the show. Selected contestants and alternates were notified that they had been chosen to appear on the show one to two months later. They are then flown to Los Angeles to tape the show. Taping occurs over a period of two days, with the five quarterfinals played on the first day and the three semifinals and two final games played on the second day. Accommodations were provided for the contestants at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, with taping taking place at the Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California.
2000s[]
Contestants registered on the Jeopardy! web site rather than submitting postcards. As before, a select number of registrants were invited to audition and take a written test at a regional audition. Accommodations for contestants are provided at the Hilton in Universal City, California.
2006–2019[]
All web site registrants take a 50-question timed online test at one set test time, usually late February. The test is given using Adobe Flash and takers are given 15 seconds per clue to type in their answers. A random selection of those who pass the test are invited to attend regional auditions in November at 4 locations around the United States at which another 50-question written test is given, followed by interviews and mock games. The number of students selected for the regional auditions is usually around 300, from which 15 are selected for the show.
Finalists by Entry[]
Entry
★
★
★
1
4
3
1
2
4
3
0
3
3
3
2
4
3
1
0
5
4
0
0
Entry 1[]
★
Josh Den Hartog (S13), Michael Block (S4), Michael Galvin (S3), April McManus (S8)
★
Fraser Woodford (S9), Amanda Goad (S12), Chacko George (S16)
★
Leonard Cooper (S29)
Entry 2[]
★
Sahir Islam (S14), Matt Morris (S10), Melissa Sexstone (S15), David Walter (S23)
★
Jennifer Wu (S20), Papa Chakravarthy (S22), Rachel Horn (S24)
★
Entry 3[]
★
Matt Zielenski (S11), Graham Gilmer (S17), John Zhang (19)
★
Michael Braun (S21), Meryl Federman (S23), Raynell Cooper (S27)
★
Eric Newhouse (S5), Jeff Xie (S30)
Entry 4[]
★
Bernard Holloway (S18), Rachel Rotenberg (S26), Elyse Mancuso (S28),
★
Justin Bolsen (S35)
★
Entry 5[]
★
Andy Westney (S7), Anurag Kashyap (S25), Claire Sattler (S35), Avi Gupta (S35)
Tournament #1 to #11 (1987–Winter 1997; Season 3–13)
$1,000 or Player’s Total Whichever is Larger
$5,000 or Player’s Total Whichever is Larger
$7,500 or Player’s 2 Day Total whichever is Larger
$10,000 or Player’s 2 Day Total Whichever is Larger
$25,000 or Player’s 2 Day Total Whichever is Larger
Tournament #12 to #14 (Fall 1997–Fall 1999; Season 14–16)
$2,500 or Player’s Total Whichever is Larger
$10,000 or Player’s 2 Day Total Whichever is Larger
$15,000 or Player’s 2 Day Total Whichever is Larger
Tournament #15 (2001; Season 17)
$50,000 or Player’s 2 Day Total Whichever is Larger
Tournament #16 to #17 (2002–2003; Season 18–19)
$15,000 or Player’s 2 Day Total Whichever is Larger
$20,000 or Player’s 2 Day Total Whichever is Larger
Tournament #18 to #19 (2004–2005; Season 20–21)
$25,000 or Player’s 2 Day Total Whichever is Larger
$75,000 or Player’s 2 Day Total Whichever is Larger
Touranment #20 to #29 (2006–2014; Season 22–30)
$5,000
$10,000
Tournament #30 onward (2016-present; Season 33, 35)
$25,000 or Player’s 2 Day Total Whichever is Larger
$50,000 or Player’s 2 Day Total Whichever is Larger
$100,000
Trivia[]
There was a 2nd Teen Tournament that took place during Season 23, billed as the Summer Games; it aired in July 2007.
There was no Teen Tournament in Seasons 31, 32, 34, 36-38; and it is possible that the Teen Tournament has already been put on hold.
In Season 35, two Teen Tournaments were held: The first was held in November 2018, and the second was held in June 2019 in response to the many teens who took the online test and auditioned to get on the show.
The semifinals and finals of S14 and S29 were filmed at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.
In Season 39, a High School Reunion Tournament was held, with a total of 27 participants. The winner was qualified to participate in the ToC. The broadcast aired from February 20 to March 9, 2023. Participants were made up of participants from the 2018-2019 Teen Tournament. It was held in lieu of the National College Championship due to scheduling conflicts with ABC.