On December 4th, the AVHS Comp Civics team competed against Foothill in the opening District Scrimmage. The event took place at Amador after school in the Comp Civics classroom (I-10). The two teams first met in the teachers’ lounge for a quick meet-and-greet, and then quickly dived into the competition.
“It was a really good opportunity for us to meet some judges and get a first hand experience with what competition really looks like in a much more professional setting than we’ve done previously in classes. Overall, the biggest thing that I took away from it is how much we need to improve and how much I personally can help contribute more to my unit and obviously to the team,” said Alex Tang (‘26).
How the competition works
Students in Comp Civics compete in a total of six units, with three to five students in each unit. The units are focused on topics including philosophy, the founding fathers, civil rights, separation of powers, the Bill of Rights, and current events. They must master their respective unit and be prepared to answer any possible question about their topic.
“This was like our first official competition. And there were questions that we did not quite expect. To prepare for the future, we are going to be more concretely familiar with everything we’re going to talk about in our testimony and also reflect on and reformat the way we’ve been preparing.” said Kailua Cheng (‘26).
All the units compete one at a time, facing a panel of three to four judges. First, they are asked a question related to their unit. To answer the question, they have to prepare and present a four-minute testimony. After the students read the testimony, the judges engage in a Q&A session once again. The judges are the same for both the Amador and Foothill teams.
Building skills beyond the classroom
“One of the main things we did was talk to our alumni from two years ago and last year. It really helped us understand the Q&A portion of the rubric and allowed us to understand the opposing team better,” said Meer Lodhi (‘26).
Beyond the natural commitment that comes with joining Comp Civics, students also develop practical life skills, learning to be resourceful, proactive, and disciplined. They also learn how to collaborate with a team.
“I like our energy a lot more. We are a lot more eager to compete and even just competing together bonded us more strongly than we were previously. I’m really looking forward to a great deal of competition with my team,” said Riana Das (‘26).
Amador competed against Foothill in both the district scrimmage and the regionals round, with the latter one taking place on Sunday, December 7. The Foothill team won both rounds. Regardless, the AVHS comp civics team looks forward to competing at the States round on February 6th in Sacramento.