Picking your event

Within the clusters, there are two main types of DECA events - orals and writtens. Oral events include a roleplay and an exam. These events require quick, on-the-spot thinking, and are perfect for those who enjoy the challenge of coming up with a solution on the fly. Written events typically involve a paper and a prepared presentation to a judge. These events are perfect for those who prefer to work on projects for a long period of time and prepare presentations beforehand.

The next thing to consider is whether you would like to do an individual or a team event. For oral events, you can compete by yourself or with a partner. If you do choose a team event, pick your partner carefully and ensure you work well with them. For written events, you can work by yourself or in teams of up to three. Most people work in teams for these events, as the workload can be considerably large for one person. Below are two sample roleplays - one is an individual and one is a team.

A type of individual oral event is a principles event. These events are for first-year DECA members only. They are an introduction to DECA and require less business knowledge. There are four principles events, one for each cluster.