By Padma Nagappan
The Alpine Sun

     For the past 25 years, a little-known competition has been waged in the Grossmont Union High School District (GUHSD) — and it has nothing to do with sports.
     This activity involves some of the brightest students in the schools, and is known as the Academic League. Teams from each of the 11 local public high schools battle as fiercely and spiritedly as in any contest on the athletic field.
     Richard Beach, a retired teacher who has been involved with the Academic League for 16 years, is one of three coordinators.
     Along with Ruth Weiss and Steve Haiman, Beach works four days a week at the GUHSD office, selecting questions for the league matches which take place every Wednesday afternoon at 3.30 p.m between November and March each year.
     “The league is like Jeopardy, except we have teams competing instead of individuals,” said Beach.

Junior and varsity level competition
     Each school has faculty coaches who develop squads of students who compete at either the junior varsity level (freshman and sophomores) or the varsity level (primarily juniors and seniors).
     Most matches occur in the host school’s library, but some are held in classrooms.
     The competition begins with a 25-minute junior varsity match and is followed by a 35-minute varsity match.
Each team is made up of five members with one designated as captain. Substitutes occur at various strategic times during the match.
     The questions cover science, math, English language, social science and fine arts. “Coaches put out notices, and speak in the classrooms to recruit players. Many participants are returning players,” said Beach.
     “If you are really good in one field, you take questions in that subject. The player who is good at all five areas becomes the team captain.”
     Many of the teams have dedicated coaches, some of whom have been involved for over 10 years.
Specially-designated faculty moderators read toss-up questions, as well.
     If the answer is correct, then the team qualifies for a bonus question with three parts. Each correct answer wins points and the team with the most points wins the competition.
By the end of the season in May, the best varsity teams from around San Diego County compete at the County Office of Education in the Super Bowl of the Academic League. This determines which district has the best team that year.

Gaining in popularity
     Unlike soccer and other athletic games, this is not a spectator sport. However, “there are more people coming in to watch now, compared to before,” said Beach.
     “Parents and community members who regularly attend the matches walk away amazed at how much the students know,” added Catherine Martin, Director of Fundraising and Public Affairs for the GUHSD.
     “Many of our players have gone on to study in UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara and UCLA,” said Beach proudly. “Players expand their horizons, learn to cope under pressure and learn about team work,” he added.
     Beach also talked about the various school teams. “Granite Hills is like the New York Yankees. They’ve won more league matches than all the other schools. And if they don’t win, they give you a run for the money.”
     He added that in recent times different schools have emerged victorious, spreading the wealth.

Funding needs
     So far, the league has been funded by the school district. However, it does have specific needs that have to be addressed. “What we’d like to do with the money is create scholarships for the players.
     "Also, we are looking into scoreboards and new buzzers. Right now, we do the scores on small blackboards, but it’s not very visible,” said Beach.

Students get credit
     Participating students get certificates and it goes on their academic records.
     The new school superintendent would also like to give them medals and a small scholarship, but this is still under discussion.
     For those interested in attending or participating in any of the matches, please contact your local school for the schedule.
     For more information, contact the Categorical Office at GUHSD, at 644-8091.