Academic Super Bowl teams head into action next Thursday.

The competition format is actually very simple. Teams of three people answer multiple-choice questions on paper. Each question has a time limit, and the captain is the only one who gets to write down the final answer. A proctor, usually a coach from another team, checks the answers, and each correct response is a point. GHS teams include English, math, science, and social studies.

“I tend to feel a little nervous while competing, but the atmosphere is very fun, so it’s not terrible. The teams that I am on tend to be smaller, so we are usually pretty close and good friends. Usually we have fun with the questions and while we take the competition, we don’t beat ourselves up over a wrong answer or mistake,” junior Emma Baker said.

The events are organized through Purdue. The university generates all the questions and outlines the dates for competitions.

“As a team, we take the questions and practice together during practice. We try not to get bored during practice so we try to make it more fun by not just talking about the topic but also about our feelings for the competition,” senior Mike Keller said.

Captains make final decisions.

“I’m usually pretty positive during competition. Since I am the captain, it can get a little hard when I choose the wrong answer, especially when I was feeling very confident in my answer, but I try to shake it off to not put myself in a negative mood for the rest of the competition,” Baker said.

Sometimes, teammates can disagree on answers which can be an issue in the middle of competing.

“Competing is very exciting. It’s so much fun to nervously anticipate the next question before anxiously debating the answer with your teammates. Seeing all the other teams also struggle is relieving,” junior Andrew Soboleski said.

Although some people get anxious during competition, some do it for the fun of it.

“These competitions are more about the fun for me, so I try not to dwell on anxious thoughts,” Soboleski said.