After almost five months of intense studying and diligent preparation, the UHS Academic Decathlon team showcased their efforts in the 2023-2024 Academic Decathlon Competition, which was held on Jan. 27 and Feb. 3 at Tustin High School and Westminster High School, respectively. The competition featured a rigorous multi-disciplinary competition across ten subjects, such as math, science, literature and speech. Team A members include seniors Luke Hoffman, Caden Lee, and Coco Darby, juniors Joseph Bohman, Aaron Chao, Rachel Tutt Pless, Sophia Nagel, and sophomores Luca Valdevit and Tyler Brody.

Participating in the Academic Decathlon requires a significant time commitment. The vast amount of reading material demands dedication and perseverance. Team members learned to balance their regular academic responsibilities with the intensive study schedule of the decathlon. 

“Academic Decathlon is definitely a massive commitment for sure,” Team Captain Hoffman said. “What I love about Academic Decathlon is how it teaches you to study effectively. Learning how to manage my time and process all the reading helped me be the best at the competition.”

Team A students, unlike the other alternate teams, met with each other routinely and practiced as a group. This allowed them to build off each other and gain a deeper understanding of the various subjects. 

“Much of our preparation was individual but we had numerous team bonding and study sessions, particularly in the weeks leading up to the competition,” Valdevit said. “These mainly involved group preparation for the subjective (speech, essay and interview).”

As the rigorous competition tests on a wide range of subjects, it is often impossible to do practice questions that cover every subject. This urges team members to focus on a couple of subjects that they are more interested in. 

“My strategy was pretty simple, I honed in on the subjects I liked the most which were math and literature,” junior and alternate team member Sofia Xu said. “I already knew most of the math from my math classes and for literature, I just read the short stories and novels. I also read the resource guides to study the common themes in them.”

Participants in the competition developed a sense of teamwork and camaraderie with their team members after five months of studying and working together. Many team members made precious memories out of the stressful competition environment. 

“One of my most fondest memories from the competition would definitely be from the Super Quiz,” Nagel said. “Not only was the entire experience fun and marked the end of a grueling competition, but I don’t think I’ve ever laughed or smiled that hard before.”

The numerous efforts and countless hours studying the complex material paid off as Team A not only won second place overall in the competition among all of the Orange County high schools but was also invited to compete at the state level in late March. 

Team A won the first-place trophy in the Super Quiz for the first time in UHS history, which consisted of teams collectively answering questions on non-subjective subjects. 

“I think the most important thing was us emotionally as a team getting a massive victory in second place overall,” Hoffman said. “It was really powerful being on that stage as a team holding the Super Quiz trophy. It was absolutely momentous that we came in first place.”

Lastly, team members offer advice to students who may be interested in participating in Academic Decathlon in the future. 

“Academic Decathlon has been one of the best things I’ve done this year and I would highly recommend it to any interested students,” Valdevit said. “Through Academic Decathlon, not only have I met so many amazing people, but I’ve also represented my team proudly and earned a good amount of money and medals.”

As the Academic Decathlon Competition draws to a close, students have expanded their knowledge across various disciplines, formed lasting bonds and developed invaluable skills that extend far beyond the competition.