by Yannick Yance, Staffwriter
Devils’ Advocate

The Academic Decathlon team of Sweetwater High School has upcoming competitions on January 30 and February 6. In order to prepare for these events, they performed mock speeches and interviews at school on Monday, January 25. They dressed formally and memorized what they were going to say beforehand. After school that day, they practiced in six different classrooms -three for speeches and three for interviews. Each room had a judge who evaluated their performance. These judges were teachers selected by the Academic Decathlon adviser, Ms. Garcia.

Academic Decathlon has been training for these competitions since June. They train for five to six days each week–two hours after school for seventh period, and sometimes four hours at Saturday School. They study seven subjects: art, economics, English language and literature, math, music, science, and social science. They also work with some of the best instructors and tutors from Stanford and Yale. Based on their scores and overall performance, the members get put into one of three divisions: Honors, Scholastic, or Varsity.

The upcoming competitions on January 30 and February 6 will be held at Olympian High School. The competition on the 30th is comprised of speeches and interviews, which is what the team practiced for on Monday. This competition can last between five to six hours. The competition on the 6th is comprised of written exams. These so-called “super quizzes” will test the Decathletes on the seven subjects they have been studying since the beginning of the school year. This competition can take up to ten hours long. Good luck to Academic Decathlon! We know you will represent SUHi with intellect, integrity, and Red Devil pride!