On March 7th, more than 50 dedicated students from South Windsor High School competed in the regional round of the National History Day tournament at the University of Connecticut.
National History Day is an intense project-based research competition that allows students to analyze historical documents and modern perspectives in order to create either a documentary, performance, paper, exhibit, or website. Students go through several rounds, starting at a regional. The top four advance to a state round at Central Connecticut State University, and the top three at states move on to the nationals at the University of Maryland.
“Coming back to the regional competition this weekend was great,” freshman and returning top ten national champion in Junior Group Performance Lily Flynn said. “Nothing compares to the feeling of taking a bow after performing, and I’m lucky enough to have experienced that at nationals.”
The theme for 2026 was ‘Revolution, Reaction, and Reform’, leading to a variety of topics including wars, technologies, famous activists, and more. South Windsor had a strong presence at the tournament, with many of the competitors having multiple years of experience and several medals.
After the opening ceremony early in the morning, the SWHS competitors split up to get to their various presentations.
Performance students got into costume and delivered their 10-minute-long theatrical presentations in one of the lecture halls. Documentary and website students showcased their projects in the classrooms and answered interview questions possessed by the judges. Paper students participated in a seminar where they got to discuss their topics and writing process. Exhibit students set up their projects in a series of rooms and explained their designs to both judges and interested spectators.
As students finished their presentations and waited anxiously for results, many chose to explore the campus and participate in special activities. An annual favorite, students rushed to complete NHD bingo by finding different projects and objects. The Exhibit Hall was a popular room as contestants and spectators admired the large tri-fold boards. Students also took the opportunity to explore the UCONN campus, visiting locations such as the Student Union, Book Store, and Dairy Bar.
“I really enjoyed the environment at the competition. Everyone was just so passionate about their projects and about NHD in general,” sophomore Astha Tripathy said. “It was nice to be with a group of people that cared a lot about history and making it accessible.”
At the Awards Ceremony, students listened to a brief speech about the importance of studying history before the announcements of the qualifiers for the state tournament. In total, SWHS came away with over 15 medals, which was monumental considering the number of schools participating in the competition.
“It was really fun, a bit harder because it was our first year in the senior division, and my first year writing a paper,” freshman and state qualifier for Senior Research Paper Yilin Lin said. “I’m excited for states and to participate next year.”
