WAYNE, Pa, July 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Almost 40,000 students in 34 countries read a collective 1.94 million minutes and 81,000 books while competing in “The Great Reading Tournament” produced by 311Literacy and proudly sponsored by Canva. That’s nearly 2 million minutes not spent idling away time watching TV, playing video games, or scrolling social media.

The Great Reading Tournament (TGRT) is the world’s first free international reading competition. Boasting 10,000 books in English and Spanish, TGRT uses competition to encourage students to read, with the goal of imparting strong reading habits and a love of books. It also makes books available for free to households without access to traditional libraries or where reading for pleasure may not be an organic activity.

Students won various reading and comprehension challenges during tournament from places as far flung as Mexico, the Philippines, Peru, and Malaysia. The top-performing school in the USA is RCMA Immokalee Community Academy, a bilingual public charter school in Immokalee, Florida. Students there spent 5,257 minutes reading 204 books this summer.

How it works: Adults help students register for TGRT, they get usernames and password to start reading. Students choose the books that interest them, and the minutes they read are automatically tracked. There are “leaderboards” that display the participants’ minutes to encourage their natural competitive instincts. Students can compete individually or in teams (like entire schools, classrooms, or afterschool programs). TGRT tallies the results, and students who read the most are eligible to win valuable prizes.

This summer’s tournament was 311Literacy’s fourth competition and its first during summer recess when children have an excess of time. Summer reading helps students retain and even enhance literacy skills gained during the school year, preventing the decline in academic performance known as “summer slide.”

In total, nearly 80,000 students have collectively participated in the four TGRTs, reading more than 5 million minutes total − that’s 5 million minutes that were well spent, rather than wasted staring into screens. Ariadna Trapote, CEO of 311Literacy, said, “If teachers and parents only realized how simple it is for them to sign up their students for free, with nothing further required of them, I think even more U.S. students would participate.”

The next TGRT kicks off on November 1, 2025. To enroll an individual student, classroom, school, or other children’s organization, visit 311Literacy or contact info@311Literacy.com. 311Literacy is a 501c3 and is also seeking sponsors for tax deductible sponsorships to make TGRT even more widely available.

Contact:

info@311Literacy.com