Education Is the Prize

It is disappointing and unfortunate that a misunderstanding threatens to prevent Moorpark High School’s B-team from competing in the California Academic Decathlon finals even though it posted one of the highest scores in the state. The organizers have decreed that only one team per school may compete--and Moorpark’s A-team scored even higher.

Because of a communication breakdown, the young scholars did not find out about this policy until after they had been preparing for months with their eyes on a trip to state competition next month in Stockton.

Although we sympathize with their disappointment, we remind the scholars and their coaches that they have already won the real prize.

Just like sweatier forms of interscholastic competition, the Academic Decathlon has a more complex mission than simply proving whose school rules. It’s about winning, sure, but fundamentally it’s about education.

That’s why The Times considers all of the students who participate in this spirited program to be champions--winners of a trophy no vagary of rules can ever deny them: a healthy appetite for learning.

The philosophical difference underlying the policy decision is a simple one:

State decathlon Executive Director Judy C. Combs and her 17-member board of directors believe that the statewide competition should bring together the winning teams from local competition in each county, plus seven wild-card teams to open the contest up to more schools in smaller counties. Coaches of other successful programs, such as Moorpark’s local rival Simi Valley High School, believe the state-level competition should be reserved for California’s top-scoring teams, regardless of which county or school produced them, even if some schools send multiple teams.

There are decent arguments for both views. The real problem is that this policy wasn’t clearly communicated to the young scholars. Combs says the state committee never intended for more than one team from a single school to compete at the state level; Moorpark Coach Larry Jones learned that in November, six months after he formed his two teams and two months after they began studying in earnest.

It is regrettable that the eight members of the Moorpark B-team, who outscored every other Ventura County team except their own schoolmates, won’t get to capitalize on their success the way they had expected. But we hope none of them embarked on the long, challenging season of preparation and competition solely for the trip to Stockton.

Whether on the Super Quiz hot seat or on the football gridiron, some of the lessons learned in interscholastic competition can be painful. A questionable call by a referee or a miscommunicated eligibility policy may keep a team from winning a title. But this letdown should do nothing to undermine the Moorpark B-team’s satisfaction of knowing that they did their best, outscored the competition, and earned the pride and respect of their peers, their school and their community.