There were many obstacles Northwood’s DECA club had to overcome to compete at their conference in Greensboro last weekend. Schools across many North Carolina counties were closed last week because of the winter weather and were not allowed to compete. Kim Hall is the Director of Competitive Events for North Carolina DECA. This was her 27th DECA competition.
“Most school systems have a rule that if you’re not in school, students can’t participate in activities,” Hall said. “Wake County is the largest school system in the state, and they had over 400 students coming. The students went to Twitter and it just started.”
DECA competitors, mainly in Wake County, were trending on Twitter because of their frustration about their inability to compete. When Wake County public school system saw this, they allowed the students to compete, but only if their parents could provide transportation.
“It was still a hardship because it was a Friday and parents had to work,” Hall said.
Northwood did not do as well compared to last year, but they ended with five finalists: seniors Nolan Brown and Karen Vanderford and sophomores Rachel Yanders, Peri Kennihin and Hannah Cook. One of the teams will be going to the International Competition in Orlando in April, and the other three finalists are going to the competition with hope of being moved up.
“We had about 20 people go, and five people were finalists,” finalist Hannah Cook said. “One of the teams is definitely going to the International Competition in Orlando this year, and the other three of us have the opportunity to be moved up. It is very exciting; we’re looking forward to it.”
Many were worried that few competitors would attend the competition because of the weather, but Hall was determined for the students to go. There were around 3,000 people at the competition and 8,000 people are anticipated to attend the International Conference.
“As a conference staff, we thought we have gone from a conference of 2,900 to 400,” Hall said. “[We said,] ‘Let’s see what happens,’ and that’s all we could do. We have to make it the best for we can for the kids who can come; it’s their experience.”
– By Skyler Waugh