The 2012 Academic League season was marked by UC High’s first competition on February 9 at the La Jolla Country Day School.

According to Varsity Captain Kyle Ingraham, UC High’s varsity won the match 61-20. “We often start slow, but we warmed up and eventually pulled away and won,” he said.

JV was also victorious, and novice didn’t lose by much, according to Sophomore Kelten Hemingway. “It was really great. Novice lost, JV won, and varsity just dominated,” said Hemingway.

Academic League is a form of intellectual competition in which two teams of students rapidly answer questions to earn points. According to the San Diego County Office of Education, UC’s division also includes schools such as Bishop’s, Cathedral, and La Jolla (sdcoe.net).

There are two types of questions posed at competitions, toss-up and bonus, according to Senior Hailan Pang, who occasionally competes as captain.

“In toss-up questions, anyone can buzz in. Once you get a toss-up question correct, your team is awarded a bonus question, which is a question that usually has four or five parts to it. For the bonus questions, only the captain can report the answer,” she said.

Like sports, Academic League has three levels: novice, junior varsity, and varsity. “Novice questions are based on what proctors think a ninth or tenth grader should know… JV is a bit harder and includes US history questions. Varsity is the hardest. Some of the questions are really out there. You can get weird astronomy questions, history of philosophy, and other random topics,” said Pang.

According to Junior Alex Wu, another captain, this year’s Novice Team has a lot of promise, and he is looking forward to the coming season.

Freshman Alexis Kleefisch is among this year’s new contenders. Although she doesn’t expect to know all the answers, she commented, “It’s very exciting, because it’s a whole new experience for me.”