After years of Irvington DECA members grinding for ICDC, the 2026 Olympics committee has finally recognized their efforts and invited DECA to compete at the upcoming Winter Olympics. With innovative events that demand the highest level of competition, this addition is sure to be entertaining for “Finance Bros” worldwide.
The first event that the Olympic committee has created is the LinkedIn decorum challenge. In this event, competitors are challenged to draft LinkedIn posts with obnoxiously professional vernacular about their experience at the Olympics. The different metrics that will be considered when judging are comment count, like rate, emoji use, and direct messages resulting from the post. In addition, there is a strict ChatGPT and AI ban, ensuring competitors maintain integrity.
Secondly, qualifiers will have the opportunity to compete in the 15-minute Create-a-Presentation event. In this event, competitors will be tested on their procrastination ability by having to wait until the last 15 minutes to draft a 10-minute presentation. They will be judged on their presentation ability, including stuttering, filler words, and body language, as well as their ability to successfully “BS” the presentation.
Lastly, there will be a social media challenge. Here, challengers will be requested to withhold from posting their successes at DECA events on social media platforms, with a particular ban on posts where winners are biting their medals. “I have been preparing for this challenge by posting only spam and close-friends stories on Instagram of past DECA events,” said a prospective competitor. This event will test DECA members’ self-restraint and discipline: both of which are crucial skills in the business industry.
While the event seems to be set up for great success, there seems to be controversy around it as well. There have been concerns about people sneaking illicit substances into the DECA events, stemming from historical issues from past DECA events. When asked, the Olympic committee stated that they would be heavily monitoring this situation, enacting measures such as searches and tapes on competitors’ hotel room doors to enforce a curfew. In addition, many have voiced the prevalent issue of competitors looking for the “duzz” (DECA huzz) and attending competitions late as a result. The Olympic committee has commented that they will be “looking into the issue as the situation evolves,” but there is no clear solution at the moment.
As the Winter Olympics rolls around, it will be exciting to see this event ramp up. With competitors all across the world representing their country, the competition is sure to be fierce.
