Individual and team winners of the 21st Annual Sacramento County Academic Decathlon—held 3 February, at California State University, Sacramento—have been announced by County Superintendent of Schools Dr. David P. Meaney. Following is a listing of those honored at the Academic Decathlon Awards Banquet presented 7 February by the Sacramento County Office of Education at Sacramento’s Doubletree Hotel. KOVR Channel 13 weather anchor Dave Bender served as master of ceremonies.
About the Academic Decathlon
Each school's team, comprised of three Honors ("A" average) students, three Scholastic ("B" average) students, and three Varsity ("C" average) students, competed 3 February in the 21st Annual Sacramento County Academic Decathlon. Modeling their efforts after the Olympic Decathlon, students vied for top individual and team scores in 10 events: Mathematics, Art, Music, Language/Literature, Economics, Science, Essay, Speech, Interview and Super Quiz. The top-scoring team—Bella Vista High School—now advances to the California Academic Decathlon to be held 16-18 March in Anaheim. Winners of state competitions advance to the United States Academic Decathlon finals 18-21 April in Anchorage, Alaska. The purpose of the Academic Decathlon is to promote learning and academic excellence through teamwork among students of all achievement levels.
The Sacramento County Academic Decathlon, an all-day event, represented months of study and preparation by approximately 150 students and their teacher-coaches. Culminating the event was the Super Quiz, in which each team competed head-to-head against the others in answering tough questions on the topic Concepts of the Self: Philosophy, Psychology, and Religion. Serving as celebrity Super Quiz-Master was Chris Lane, morning news anchor of KFBK radio. The overall theme of the year 2001 Academic Decathlon is Understanding the Self.
The Sacramento County Academic Decathlon is conducted each year by the Sacramento County Office of Education under the direction of Dr. Niel Malvetti, Director of Training, Development, and Research for the Sacramento County Office of Education. More than 100 community members and educators volunteer as Academic Decathlon proctors, judges, and scorekeepers. Among the organizations assisting with the 21st Annual Sacramento County Academic Decathlon were Toastmasters International of Sacramento and the Del Campo High School Junior Air Force ROTC.
Anyone interested in volunteering for next year's Academic Decathlon should contact Relda Yeoman at (916) 228-2222.