Students from 20 different local high schools will face off in a battle of academic skill in the 2019 Ventura County Academic Decathlon, which begins Saturday, January 26 in Oxnard. The competition continues on Saturday, February 2 and the awards ceremony takes place on Monday, February 4. The “Super Quiz,” a Jeopardy-like competition that tests students’ knowledge in a variety of academic subjects, is open to the public on February 2 as is the awards ceremony. Media coverage is welcome for all events.

Competition Day 1: Speech, Interview and Essay (Saturday, Jan. 26)

Pacifica High School: 600 E Gonzales Rd, Oxnard

8:30 AM Essay Event Begins
9:30 AM Student Choice Speech Awards in Performing Arts Center
10:30 AM Interview Event begins
10:45 AM Speech Event begins
4:30 PM Competition concludes (time is approximate)

Competition Day 2: Objectives and Super Quiz (Saturday, Feb. 2)

Pacifica High School: 600 E Gonzales Rd, Oxnard

9:00 AM – 2:30 PM Testing
3:15 PM March of the Decathletes
3:30 PM Super Quiz (open to the public)
5:00 PM Day 2 Competition Concludes (time is approximate)

Awards Ceremony (Monday, Feb. 4)

Oxnard Performing Arts Center: 800 Hobson Way, Oxnard

6:00 PM Award Ceremony Begins (open to the public)

The Academic Decathlon, coordinated by the Ventura County Office of Education, consists of ten events: essay writing, speech, interview, art, economics, language and literature, mathematics, music, science and social science. The theme of this year’s competition is “The 1960s: A Transformational Decade.” The logo artwork for this year’s Academic Decathlon was created by Sophia Peate, a student at La Reina High School in Thousand Oaks.

High schools fielding teams this year are: Adolfo Camarillo High School, Buena High School, Calabasas High School, Channel Islands High School, Fillmore High School, Hueneme High School, La Reina High School, Moorpark High School, Newbury Park High School, Oak Park High School, Oxnard High School, Pacifica High School, Rancho Campana High School, Rio Mesa High School, Royal High School, Santa Susana High School, Simi Valley High School, Thousand Oaks High School, Ventura High School and Westlake High School.

The Academic Decathlon is a unique opportunity for high school students in Ventura County to compete against like teams of students countywide. The top Ventura County team advances to the statewide Academic Decathlon. A California team then participates in the United States Academic Decathlon, which is the premier scholastic competition for students in America from both public and private high schools. Ventura County teams have made it to the national competition six times, placing second in 2000 and 2002, and taking first place in 1999, 2003, 2008 and 2009.

A particularly unique aspect of the event is that it is designed to include students from all academic backgrounds. A team consists of nine full-time students from the 9th through 12th grades from the same high school. Each nine-member team is comprised of three students whose grade point average falls into the “A” category, three students in the “B” category and three students in the “C” category.