Escalon High School Academic Decathlon participants have already taken part in one portion of the competition and are getting ready for the main event.

Coming up on Saturday, Feb. 3, teams from across San Joaquin County will gather at Lathrop High School for the various tests, the team event Super Quiz, followed by awards.

This year’s theme for the Academic Decathlon is Technology and Humanity.

Earlier, the competing team members and alternates from schools throughout the county were able to travel to the county Office of Education for the Speech and Interviews portion of the competition, hosted on Jan. 19.

This Saturday’s event will feature the bulk of the testing and Escalon students are looking to bring back some medals, with events in a number of study areas.

According to information released through the county Office of Education, the “California Academic Decathlon Association encourages and rewards academic excellence by motivating and preparing students through cooperative and competitive events. The Decathlon recognizes the achievements of all youth and concentrates its efforts on secondary students from public and private schools throughout the State of California.”

The San Joaquin County Office of Education sponsors the Annual Regional Academic Decathlon each year, which is held at the Lathrop High School in Lathrop. This championship is funded by the County Office of Education with some expenses paid through the courtesy of the San Joaquin County Office of Education Educational Foundation which provides money to enhance and upgrade the program.

Student participants fill three levels: Honors, with a Grade Point Average of 3.8 to 4.0; Scholastic, GPA 3.2 to 3.799; and Varsity, GPA 0.0 to 3.199.