Saturday, February 6th, 2021, Amador’s Competitive Civics Team achieved 3rd place against six other civics teams throughout California to compete for a spot at the national civics competition. 

Students who participate in Comp Civics give testimonies on diverse subjects, including  philosophy, history, and current events, while also answering questions from judges. Points are awarded based on evidence, engagement, and other criteria. 

The top two teams from California – Irvington and Foothill High School – will compete in the national competition later on this year. Unfortunately, Amador Valley did not advance. 

“There were several teams that were very strong this year — any of them could have advanced. So much depends upon 20 minutes with the judges. To that extent, the 20 minutes can never truly reflect all of their hard work and everything that they know. But I think everyone did very well,” explained Amador Comp Civics coach Stacey Sklar. 

Some of the competitors are surprised with the evaluations. 

“Of course, I am disappointed with the results from Saturday, but I’m still proud of my unit and team. I do not think that it is indicative of the work we put in as a team. The margins were very close, and I’m not sure whether that is supposed to comfort me or make me feel even more disappointed. The difference was so close that the ultimate result was probably due to subjective judging preferences and luck. Having competed in speech and debate for the last several years, I’m used to these close round situations.” explained Unit 1 member Madeline Day (‘21). 

This year, the state competition is being hosted on Zoom, with that being a drastic change from previous years when the Comp Civics teams normally compete on-site. 

“Some things were certainly different – it is much more difficult to get to know the members of a unit when members must practice virtually. But, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the team did an excellent job of building a sense of camaraderie and spirit,” said Sklar. 

Although the team members are not able to meet this year, they still communicated well. 

“Now that our season is over, I’ve realized how well I connected with my unit. At first, we were pretty awkward because none of us were from the same friend group, and we barely knew each other. But now, we have many inside jokes, we roast each other, and we know each other so well that we know when our unit mates will come in during Q and A,” explained Unit 4 member Grace Chen (‘21). 

Final points and critiques will come out Tuesday, along with individual unit evaluations. 

For more information regarding Comp Civics, visit the Comp Civics website, or contact Amador Coach Ms. Sklar.