The competitor steps up to the podium, heart pounding, sweat trickling down their neck, answering the long-awaited question. Although these are common symptoms of playing a physically active “game,” exercising your brain can be equally as strenuous. Academic Games is an immersive experience for aspiring young prodigies and teaches the importance of education to every student who’s willing to take on the challenge. 

Throughout the year, students in the Academic Games organization rotate between different seasons and alternate the players. A variety of games are introduced to students and are available for their choosing.     

 “There are three seasons in academic games. There’s math, language arts and social studies,” Douglas Battle, eighth-grade social studies teacher and Academic Games coach said. “So three separate tournaments were held and we won all three. We won the county and all three of them for seventh and eighth grade.”

Academic Games is a club specifically designed to educate young so they can grow to their peak potential, both academically and socially. Micah Wang, an eighth-grade piano major, faces the challenging club and has learned how to become a better version of himself throughout the experience. 

“It helped me grow in my team building skills and has helped  drive me to further commit to my academics,” Wang said. 

 Clubs are a way to unwind from stressful school days, in this one, students compete in lengthy tournaments for states and national finalists. Behind the scenes, there are numerous hard-working contestants determined to win. 

“Well the students who finish top five in the county qualify for the national team,” Battle said. “And we have, out of all of our students here, probably 10 or 12 students who have qualified for the national team.”

Zeynep Akbulut, a seventh-grade strings major, experienced the thrill of competition and the crunch time involved.

“We have deadlines for things, and we have to prepare for things really quickly. So it helps with learning things over a short period of time as well,” Akbulut said. 

Battle expresses his emotions toward the club’s accomplishments and is looking forward to continuing the club’s preeminent legacy. 

“I’m very proud of them. They worked very, very hard this year, as they do every year,” Battle said.