Samo’s Acadeca wins Ocean Bowl
Sydney Roker, Staff Writer
On Feb. 5, Samo’s Academic Decathlon team won their seventh consecutive JPL Ocean Science Bowl, which is hosted by Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The Oceans group of Samo’s Academic Decathlon team is made up of Sara Akiba (’22), Ethan Foley (’22), Halie Matsui (’23), Jesse Howard (’24) and Isaac Feinberg (’24).
Matsui, who is competing in her second Oceans Bowl Regional Competition, says that she and the rest of the team spend a great deal of time studying in order to feel confident going into high pressure competitions.
“While it was very stressful, it was still a lot of fun and definitely a rewarding experience because of how much time we put into practicing and studying everyday,” Matsui said.
Academic Decathlon requires such a high amount of practice and studying, as it is a competition testing students’ knowledge and is therefore highly based on students’ abilities to memorize facts. Acadeca members spend an hour meeting in an AM period during the school day, and members spend multiple hours outside of school each week making and studying flashcards, quizlets, and other tools that they need to memorize such a wide variety of facts. Out of the class of 26, the top students are split into three teams of five which specialize in oceans, science, and humanities.
The Samo Academic Decathlon team is led by Ingo Gaida, an AP Environmental Science and AP Biology teacher. Gaida, who has led Samo’s Ocean Bowl team to a total of 15 regional championships in the 21 years that he has been the club’s advisor, touched on the downside of being a repeat champion.
“I do feel a little bit of pressure. Once you win you want to keep winning,” Gaida said.
In May, Samo’s Ocean Bowl team will compete against other regional Ocean Bowl winners from around the country in hopes to win their first national championship since 2017.
Samo’s 2022 Ocean Bowl Acadeca Champions, Ingo Gaida (Advisor), Sara Akiba (’22), Haile Matsui (’23), Isaac Feinberg (’24), Ethan Foley (’22) and Jesse Howard (’24).