If you've been to deca.org, you know that "DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe." But what exactly does that mean?

The core of DECA is the competition. To be eligible to compete, you must be enrolled in a marketing class at Woodson. Then, you choose an event you want to compete in from the DECA website. There are individual and team events, such as Business Finance, Marketing Campaigns, Business Plans, and Sports and Entertainment Marketing Team Decision Making. Each event is grouped under a broader category: Marketing, Finance, Business Management & Administration, Entrepreneurship, and Hospitality & Tourism.

Series events have two components: a test and a role play. Your test is based off the broad category your event is grouped in, and the role play is specific to each event. A role play is essentially a case study in which you are given limited time to solve a problem and present to a judge. On the other hand, if you are in a written event, you will prepare a presentation ahead of time and present it to your judge at competition.

Now that you know what competing involves, let's talk about the competition format. First, you will go to the district-level competition, here in Northern VA. If you get in the top two there, or if there are extra available spots, you will advance to the State Leadership Conference (SLC) at Virginia Beach. If you place in the top 9 at states, you will qualify for the International Career Development Conference (ICDC), aka Nationals. The location of ICDC changes every year- this year it will be in Orlando, FL!

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Here are some pictures from our 2017-2018 conferences!