When you hear the word “extracurricular,” what comes to mind? Usually football, baseball, and maybe even softball come to mind. What doesn’t come to mind are academic extracurricular activities. Having academic teams in high school brings a bit of a different perspective to extracurricular, and I sat down with the academic challenge team at Gaffney High to find out why academics are just as important as other extracurricular activities.

Gaffney High School’s academic challenge team is a team of 9th-12th graders who compete against other schools in the region in a series of competitions composed of brain teasers. The team is coached by Kristen Gautam and Chris Hardy. Senior RJ Lee has loved his years on the team because he brings “a little bit of frivolity” to their competitions, and even went as far as to say that he joined the team because “wasting [his] intelligence would be a crime.” Freshman Jessi Windle says that being a part of academic challenge has brought her “self-confidence and outgoing-ness.” The students are all very close and love to bring laughter to competitions.

More than anything, the academic challenge team believes that academics should be recognized and supported just as much as sports and other extracurricular activities. When asked what he brings to the team, Ethan Guthrie (12th) said that “[he wasn’t] sure, but the high school doesn’t bring much to the team.” This was following a competition on February 22nd, when no one would even drive the bus to the competition. Gautam believes that “it’s time for academics to be recognized and respected as much as athletics.” She also said that the team has “some incredibly intelligent students and [she thinks] people should recognize that.”

Despite the debate between sports and academics, one thing is for sure. This team is proud to represent their school. Being on the academic challenge team brings them pride and helps them gain knowledge and confidence. Guthrie hopes to keep his “love for competition and being a part of a team” after he leaves, and Windle hopes that the next four years at GHS and on the academic challenge team bring her “memories and lasting friendships with other teammates.” This kind of pride makes any team of any type succeed in high school.