Imagine preparing yourself for a decathlon. You would spend ten months learning the concept of supply and demand, the elements of art, the fundamentals of music, and much more. You might be asking; what type of sport requires you to study such vastly different subjects in a span of months? Why, that would be the United States Academic Decathlon.
The United States Academic Decathlon, or Acadec in short, is a program for highschool students to showcase their knowledge of a specific topic. Students are categorized into 3 groups: Varsity consists of students with a GPA of 3.1 or lower, Scholastics consists of students with a GPA between 3.7 and 3.2, and Honors consists of students with a GPA of 4.0 and 3.8. Each school year, a new topic will be introduced that will affect what students, or so-called decathletes, will be learning. Throughout the season, a team is expected to learn about literature, mathematics, science, social science, music, economics, art, and their correlation with the year’s topic. Decathletes are to prepare themselves for the seven multiple choice tests corresponding to the 7 different subjects during the end of the season. Additionally, there is a timed essay, a prepared and impromptu speech, and an interview each student will be judged upon. All ten events will be scored out of 1,000 points. Participating students could potentially earn medals for their excellence in any of the ten subjects depending on their category.
Here at American Canyon High School, the Academic Decathlon program has been running since 2015 with teacher Alma Gonzalez as the team coach. She has taught many students on many topics spanning from Africa, World War II, illnesses and health, and so forth. As Ms. Gonzalez states, “It gives the opportunity for people to come in and delve into these different things and subjects we learn each year. What makes acadec unique is that you actually learn something different each year.”
But of course, this school year was different. The pandemic has affected how things were planned out. But despite the incoming challenges ahead, our Academic Decathlon team was ready for the challenge. We started meeting via Zoom meetings every Monday, Tuesday, and Friday after school to discuss, compare, and help each other with problems and burning questions. Not only do we study but we also plan socials from time to time to take a break from the climb. Normally, we would arrange for trips and hang around outside of school, but due to Covid, our options were limited. Nevertheless, we stayed really close with one another through online games such as Jackbox, Minecraft, Skribbl.io, and even 24-hour video calls. “You really get the chance to learn about people that you would have never met otherwise and I’ve always come to really appreciate everyone that I’ve come to know through this program,” the president of ACHS academic decathlon, Colin Velicaria, expresses.
When results came in for the Bay Regional competition, we found out that two students from our decathlon team had earned medals for their excellence. Colin Velicaria, a remarkable senior honors decathlete, shined bright all throughout competitions. He received silver in Art (940 pts.), gold in Economics (920 pts.), gold in Literature (920 pts.), silver in Mathematics (943 pts.), silver in Music (900 pts.), bronze in Science (800 pts.), silver in Social science (900 pts.), gold in Speech (980 pts.), and gold in Overall individual performance accumulating 9,193 points. He would then move up to the California State competition and receive gold in Economics (900 pts.), silver in Literature (940 pts.), bronze in Mathematics (885 pts.), silver in Music (960 pts.), and gold in Science (880 pts.).
Teo Gascon, a notable senior varsity decathlete, also received the following awards: silver in Art (880 pts.), gold in Economics (680 pts.), silver in Literature (680 pts.), silver in Mathematics (486 pts.), silver in Music (800 pts.), bronze in Science (620 pts.), silver in social Science (800 pts.), and gold in Overall individual performance accumulating 7,268 points. He would then move up to the California State competition and receive gold in Economics (640 pts.), silver in Mathematics (514 pts.), gold in Music (940 pts.), and silver in Social Science (860 pts.). “Joining Acadec was like a key that unlocked everything; To having a good work ethic, good discussions, and having good grades.” he said, “and Acadec showed me what it was like studying for hours on end and to talk for hours on end with people with good intentions in making you succeed.”
With the 2020-2021 academic decathlon roster, ACHS placed 5th place in Overall team awards in the Bay Regionals competition with 35,818 points.
The Academic Decathlon is a special program for everyone to showcase their capabilities in academia. Whether you are the top of your class or someone who is willing to learn the diverse subjects, anyone can join an Academic Decathlon team.
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