Students from nine area schools are participating in the third annual Schuylkill County Academic League.
In this competition, the students test their knowledge on a variety of topics.
"It's extremely exciting that nine schools are participating," said Theresa Kozura, league coordinator and special programs assistant at Schuylkill Intermediate Unit 29, Mar Lin.
Students in grades 9 through 12 will participate from Blue Mountain, Mahanoy Area, Nativity BVM, North Schuylkill, Pine Grove Area, Pottsville Area, Schuylkill Haven Area, Tri-Valley and Williams Valley, with Haven and Williams Valley newcomers this year.
The nine teams compete against other teams at varying schools, with competition dates on Nov. 5, Dec. 3, and Feb. 4 and 25, 2013. The teams receive points at each competition. The team with the most points earns the league champion title.
The nine teams gather in March to participate in the Schuylkill County Academic Competition, and the winner of that event participates in the state competition in Harrisburg, which is slated for May. The team competing on the state level has the chance to win scholarship money.
The academic competition in March could be held in the Schuylkill County Courthouse, according to Steve Zimmerman, first-year head coach for the 12-member Blue Mountain team.
Last year's county competition took place at Pine Grove Area High School, with Blue Mountain students winning and going on to finish 10th overall in Harrisburg, Zimmerman said.
During the league events, the students answer questions related to geography, literature, fine arts, current events and other subjects, Zimmerman said. For example, each match consists of three rounds and each round has a a toss-up section and a fanfare section. The toss-up section contains 10 questions that both teams can buzz in and answer.
The fanfare section consists of six questions asked and then answered by one team in rapid succession within 60 seconds. Each team gets one fanfare per round.
Zimmerman said the Blue Mountain students practice for the competition daily during the school day's ninth period. His advice to students is to be patient, work together and have confidence that students who are most knowledgeable in specific courses will know the answers, he said.