By JASON ROGERS, Staff Writer
Saturday, February 7, 2004 11:44 PM PST
The most grueling academic event of the year took place Friday and Saturday at the Imperial County Office of Education. Three county high schools competed in the Academic Decathlon, an annual event pitting competitors in a series of different types of tests.
Students from Central, Southwest and Imperial high schools gathered Friday morning for the interview and speech portions of the decathlon. Saturday, the teams returned for a written exam and the oral "Super Quiz."
Jack Little, coach of the Imperial team, said he had high hopes for his squad this year. He said he started the program at Imperial five years ago with just two team members.
"I've got a full team this year," he said.
It is the first year Imperial has fielded a full team of nine individuals.
"This group is the same group I had as sophomores," Little said.
The competitors were busy preparing for the three sections of the competition Friday morning. Each student was given an interview and asked to perform two speeches. The first speech, three and a half minutes long, was a prepared speech on a topic of the student's choice. The second speech, 90 seconds long, was impromptu. The students were given a topic and one minute to prepare before giving the speech.
For most of the competitors, getting prepared meant practicing their speeches or focusing quietly on their subjects.
Rohit Patel, 17, a senior on the Southwest team, said giving the speeches can be a nerve-wracking experience.
"It's always hard when you have to give speeches in front of people," he said.
This year, though, he said he and his teammates were handling it well.
"Everyone is pretty calm," Patel said.
Preparing for the decathlon begins in September. Largely, it consists of the team meeting after school hours and going over facts, news, and tips.
"We just study," said Mark Wymer, 17, a senior on Southwest's team. "We just drill the basic facts."
"We pretty much have to do the reviewing ourselves."
That will help get the students through the written and oral exams, but there is only so much studying they can do.
"Basically, you can't really get ready for it," Patel said of the impromptu speeches.
For Little's team, it's a bit different.
"We don't have a class like Central does, so when we get the material in September we meet at lunch," Little said.
That's the best time to get everyone together, he said.
"I've got a couple of players on the basketball team, so this is the only time they could meet," he said. "It took a lot to keep them together."
Little added that a little television could also help out.
"The Discovery Channel is a great tool," he said.
All the work everyone has put in has been worth it, they said. Many of the competitors were returning from previous years of academic decathlon.
Patel, in his second year, and Wymer, in his third, said they have enjoyed their time with the program.
"I got into it," Wymer said. "I felt my strengths were in studying and academics."
The Imperial team that has come together over the past three years also had a number of returners — and is all seniors.
"Now I have to start all over again," Little said.
While the competition wrapped up Saturday, the results will not be announced until next week, after all the components are tabulated. The winning school from among the three Valley entrants will go on to the state competition later this spring.
>> Staff Writer Jason Rogers can be reached at 344-1221 or jrogers@ivpressonline.com