On Jan. 11, 267 DECA members competed at McNeil High School for the Texas DECA District 5 competition. After months of preparation in the first semester, their first competition put them up against 34 schools.
DECA is by far the biggest club, with 317 members. 141 of them compete for an extra fee with the chance to achieve accomplishments that can go towards their future business careers.
“We had a lot of first-year members, so I feel like winning districts this year is a big first step to pursue their passions and business,” DECA President Gabriel Melo said. “To be able to put that effort in at states to qualify for internationals. It’s just another opportunity for them to pursue their professional careers and experience it with other DECA members for the first time.”
DECA’s competition categories include roleplay, written and multiple choice tests. There were four mock competitions held after school and on weekends leading up to the district competition which gave competitors a feel for how competitions will work.
“We start off with having those mock meetings to have people get the gist of the structure,” Melo said. “People are expected to lead their own presentations and know how to format it. They get to interact with parent judges to have the best emulation of what it’s going to be like competition day.”
There are 13 officer positions including a brand new freshman task force. The freshman NOVA task force specifically targets underclassmen and first-year members who are unfamiliar with the way competitions go. They specialize in specific events and help competitors learn how to maximize their efforts leading up to district.
“I am one of five NOVA officers and we show freshmen and underclassmen how to prepare for competitions,” freshman Geetesh Parelly said. “The [other] officers helped a lot because they actually taught people how to do a roleplay [competition]. A lot of freshmen don’t know how everything works so it sort of sets them a base where we as officers can show them how to improve their performance.”
With State Competition coming up March 6-8, excessive practice is more important than ever for competitors. It will be held in Dallas, TX this year with over 5,000 members competing.
“[State] is kind of like a slaughterfest,” Melo said. “It’s very cutthroat. A lot of our members are going to have to get used to putting on their A game at every presentation and testing events because the standards for states go up a lot if you’re trying to qualify internationally. What’s important is you’re also trying to have fun at the same time, engaging with your judge. Put yourself first and put your best foot forward.”