Academic Decathlon: Athletes in ten fields

By Dalton Raykowski

Co-Managing Editor

October 2021

When people hear about Academic Decathlon their reaction is not always positive. The idea of studying seven subjects, performing two speeches, writing an essay, and conducting an interview can come off as very overwhelming to newcomers to the program.

It is not, however, expected of all members to master every aspect of the competition. “It’s not like you have to know every single thing in every topic, and you don’t have to get 50/50 on tests, you just need to do your best,” said Danielle Lang, a sophomore in Academic Decathlon.

There is a common misconception that to participate in Academic Decathlon you have to study and perfect every part. With the volume of content, that is just not the case. It is recommended that each member picks a subject to become an “expert” on, and everything else can just come in time. Furthermore, the idea that you have to be “smart” to join Academic Decathlon is far from true.

“It's not about being the smartest person, especially not if you are judging how smart you are based on your grades. Our team is actually dependent on the fact that we have students with a variety of academic achievements,” said club advisor Sam Hoppe.

In order to compete, the team needs at least two members from each category: Honors (roughly A average), Scholastic (roughly B average), and Varsity (roughly C average); however, three is ideal so that there is an alternate score should anything go wrong. This means that people coming from all perspectives are welcome to join. There is currently a push to try to recruit members in the Scholastic and Varsity categories as those are the smallest groups, with most piling into honors.

The growth of the team is only part of the hopes for the future. Now, the Gifted and Talented program (GT) has agreed to begin funding the club which will alleviate some of the financial stressors on the club.

“It allows our team to grow without the worry that we won't be able to cover the costs for everyone to compete. This means that all students on the team will be able to participate in at least two competitions every year,” said Hoppe.

In previous years, funding was dependent on fundraising performed throughout the year. Now, fundraising will only serve to supplement existing funding, which will allow for greater content coverage in practices. This will increase the likelihood of the team making it to the state competition. In the four years the club has been running, the team has gotten closer and closer to achieving that goal..

There is a growing consensus among members that this is a possibility: “Knowing some of my classmates, I think we have some really smart people here, and as long as we make sure we all understand the material, especially the nine competing members, we can do it,” said Lang.

Making it to the state competition would act as the last hurdle in the first phase of the club. It would establish statewide recognition of the club, and could hopefully bring a sense of value to academic clubs in the district. There are only the local and regional competitions left between now and state.

And to anyone interested, “Try it out!” said Lang. “If you don't feel like it is for you, or you get too overwhelmed, you can talk to Hoppe and you don't have to do it, but you will likely have fun because it is a good group of people.”