Amidst the excitement of the varsity girl’s basketball team going to the Tacoma Dome for the State Tournament for the third year in a row, there is also another team going to State that is, perhaps, a bit overlooked by most of the student body.

Arlington High School’s DECA class is sending over ten students to the State DECA Competition in Bellevue this Saturday. The State Competition is held in one of the most populous cities in Washington, and Sarai Munoz ‘16 is extremely excited about attending.

“It was a goal of mine to make it to State,” said Munoz. She and her partner, Rachel Hunter ‘17, are both competing at State for the first time. “All the students have to dress extremely professional. No jeans are allowed,” Munoz said.

At DECA State, each team presents to a panel of judges and attempts to sell them a product. The teams come in knowing nothing about the product and have a very short time to collect themselves and come up with a game-plan. “When you’re not stressed, [State] is a really fun, bonding experience,” Munoz said.  “Last time we went on a DECA trip, Eric Weaver ‘15 and Ryan Pettit ‘17 scared off someone who tried to steal my purse. We really watch out for each other.”

There’s a lot of down time between competitions so students are able to hang out at the hotel, watch a movie, go shopping, and swimming, depending on the location of the competition. There’s also a Arlington DECA Chapter Dinner that Mr. Payne takes the students to at a nice restaurant of their choice.

The other DECA students who will be attending DECA State are Edward Radion ‘17, Ryan Pettit ‘17, Eric Weaver ‘15, Andrew Morrison ‘15, Dante Palmissano ‘15, Autumn Doyle ‘17, and McKenna Hering ‘17. Although the competitions themselves aren’t open to the public, AHS staff, students, and community members can still show their support for them this weekend.