A decathlon is a series of events that all competitors take part in. Differing from an athletic decathlon, an academic decathlon requires competitors to use their mental strengths to compete in events involving art, music, language and literature, economics, math, science, social science, essay, interview, speech and impromptu. The members of the academic decathlon team study in these areas about the current theme: Africa.

“Each year, the U.S. Academic Decathlon organization selects a theme – usually a country or a period of history,” English teacher and AcDec coach Amber Counts said. “This year, students must learn about the 10 subject areas as they apply to African history and culture.”

The team currently consists of 17 members who spend their third period studying material for the competitions. Only nine of the 17 members will be selected to compete at the regional competition depending on their performances at the practice meets.

“I definitely love how I’ve gotten to know everyone this year,” AcDec captain and senior Chloe Sanders said. “Last year was a bigger group, but this year is a lot more condense. So I’ve actually gotten to know everyone here and it’s been great.”

AcDec students learn valuable skills in class such as studying strategies and reading speed. They also learn stronger ways to gather and retain information. Students have said AcDec has readied them for college more than any other classes, including AP classes and dual credit.

“I’m not so shy and scared in front of people anymore,” senior Haley Ivy said. “I definitely know how to study now and I feel more prepared for college so when I get there I’m not going to be overwhelmed.”

At competitions, students are put up against other students who share similar GPA’s. Because of this, students of all grade averages are encouraged to join. AcDec gives some lower GPA students opportunities to prove they’re smarter than their grades show. The team looks for people who are committed to studying and working hard.

“There’s three teams based on your GPA and there’s three people for each team,” senior Israel Zubieta said. “Your scores get compared to everyone else in the district basically and top place gets medals for each category.”

While this academic team doesn’t receive as much recognition as sports teams, the students put in enormous amounts of effort and work hard toward their goals. AcDec can be just as competitive as any sports team; they just use their mental powers instead of physical abilities.

“It’s just as important as any sports team but it’s significantly less flashy and I think that’s what hurts us,” Zubieta said. “We struggle with getting our word out and showing people that we work hard, yet do a lot of fun stuff.”