PORTLAND – The 17th annual Maine Academic Decathlon will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday at the University of New England’s Westbrook College Campus in Portland. The defending state champion is Scarborough High School. There are 15 teams from all over the state competing in this year’s competition.

Teams competing at the state competition are:

Calais High School, Deering High School, Houlton High School, Massabesic High School, Monmouth Academy, Mountain Valley High School, Oak Hill High School, Portland High School, Scarborough High School, Shead High School, Thornton Academy, Washington Academy, Wiscasset High School, Westbrook High School and Woodland High School.

The Academic Decathlon is a team competition wherein students match intellectual wits with students from other schools. Academic Decathletes prepare for 10 academic events. Success in the Academic Decathlon requires training in all of the events. Students are tested in 10 categories: language and literature, mathematics, science, economics, art, music, essay, speech, interview and Super Quiz.

Each high school enters a team of nine students, 3 A or honor students, 3 B or scholastic students, and 3 C or varsity students. Each Decathlete competes in all 10 events. In 2002 the theme is “Understanding Others.”

Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded for individual events and total scores. Teams also compete for the top school in the Super Quiz. Winners at state competitions around the country advance to the next level. State winners and certain invited guests compete in a national championship. The 2002 national finals will be held in Phoenix, Ariz., April 11-13. Maine will send two teams to the state competition. The top school with an enrollment of 400-plus and the top school with an enrollment of fewer than 400 will represent Maine at this year’s national competition.

The Super Quiz will start at 4 p.m. and is the culminating event before the awards ceremony. The Super Quiz takes place before an audience; students have 10 seconds to answer questions on the topic of E-Communication: The Internet and Society.