2025-2026 Information

2025-2026 Reading Olympic Competition Dates

• May 5, 2026 - Elementary School

• May 6, 2026 - Middle School

Registration will open in January 2026.

Reading Olympics 2026!

Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit is pleased to announce Reading Olympics for our Elementary and Middle School students this year! Our goal is to encourage participants to read more books, read a variety of genres, enjoy the excitement of reading and sharing books,  and inspire students to be life-long readers.

The Reading Olympics competition is the culmination of a program with teams of students reading books from a prepared list for several months before the final event. Each team consists of 8 to 15 students who read from a list of approximately 25 books appropriate for their age and reading level. Teachers and librarians prepare the book lists from the previous year.                                      

During the competition, all teams participate in three rounds of questioning.  Every team is guaranteed fifteen questions about the books on the list in each round. Teams are never eliminated. After the three rounds, scores are tabulated and the top three highest scoring teams are recognized and awarded prizes.  Adults work as moderators, scorekeepers, and team leaders during the competition. 

Teachers and librarians volunteer to lead the teams in their buildings. There is a great deal of flexibility as to how the program is run locally, but all involved have the same objective in mind - to get kids reading! The Reading Olympics provides an incentive and framework to read a variety of books. Reading Olympics is truly a "Celebration of Books".

Please get in touch with us for more information:

Melissa Volcskai - CLIU 21 Reading Olympics Coordinator

• volcskaim@cliu.org 

WHO: 

• Middle School Students in grades 6-8 from any Carbon County or Lehigh County School.

• Elementary School Students in grades 3-5 from any Carbon County or Lehigh County School.

WHAT: Reading Olympics is a reading competition for teams of students. Teams are responsible for reading books on the approved Reading List.  At the competition, teams answer questions that have been prepared about the books. Top teams are awarded prizes.

WHEN:

• May 5, 2025 - Elementary School Competition

• May 6, 2025 - Middle School Competition

WHERE:

• Whitehall High School

TIME: 

• Arrival 3:15 pm

COST:  

• $60

CONTACT:  

• Melissa Volcskai, volcskaim@cliu.org 

Procedures and Guidelines for the Reading Olympics Challenge

Elementary Competition Rules

Middle School Competition Rules

25-26 Book Lists