Choosing Your Competitive Event by President Wesley

Title: Choosing your Competitive Event
 
Now that school is back in session and the #SummerofDECA has ended, it is time to start thinking about your DECA goals for this year. When it comes to competition there are over 50 different categories that you could potentially compete in. With so many options, how do you chose the one that will work the best for you? The answer is actually a pretty complex one that will involve a joint effort between you and your advisor. Here are some things to consider and resources to tap when picking the competition category/event that will work best for you:
 

1. Do you want to work alone or as a team?
               Some members find that that they prefer to work alone while others like to have a helping hand when it comes to competition. Each event has different requirements, for example the Individual series events are limited to just one competitor and the Team Decision Making events are required to have two team members. Furthermore, some events, such as the Chapter Projects allow for your team to have one to three members.
    
2. Is this your first year or are you a more experienced competitor?
               For those who are first year DECA members, I encourage you to look into the Principles events. These are limited to just first year DECA members and allows for the competitors to have a more equal chance at winning that trophy. If you are more experienced, you may wish to look into the more advanced chapter projects.
    
3. Do you tend to test well? Are you a gifted writer?
               If you are the type of students who tends to test incredibly well, you may wish to put your efforts into an events that has a test component. If you find that you are a stronger writer than test taker, you may wish to look into the events that have a paper or manual component.
    
4. Use the DECA website as a resource:
               You can visit the DECA website here (http://bit.ly/1x9iJpx) and see all of the competitive events on one page. If you click on the “Guidelines” link next to each category you will find a PDF file which will tell you everything you need to know about that event.
    
5. Dont be afraid to ask your advisor for help!
               If you find that you are undecided about which category you want to compete in, ask your advisor if they have a recommendation. Your advisor might also be able to give you references for other members who have competed in a particular event before and they could give you feedback on how the experience was for them.
    
               With a little extra pre-planning, you can pick a category for competition this year that will allow you to tap into your true potential and excel. The time to CDC is counting down, will you be there?
    
   Additional Resources:
    
   Watch Stay Competitive by Florida DECA Vice-President Julian Wright: http://bit.ly/1Kx7Riu
    

Watch Changes, Changes, Changes, a video by Florida DECA Executive Vice President Manni Arango which explains some of the changes in the competitive event series for the 2015-2016 DECA year: http://bit.ly/1JHj2iR ​