The varsity Mission Bay High School (MBHS) Academic League team finished the regular season March 22 tied for first place in the Central League with a 6-2 record. At press time, it was not yet clear if the Buccaneer team would advance to the playoffs. “The purpose of the Academic League is to highlight academic excellence through competition,” said Mission Bay High School Academic League coach Barry Dancher. “Almost every school in the county has a team now.” The Academic League is a 5-on-5 competition for public, private and charter schools. Questions are based on current events and high school subjects like math, science, English and history. Competition questions are presented the same way as they are on the television game show “Jeopardy,” phrased in the form of an answer. Students do not, however, have to respond the same way as would in the “Jeopardy” show format. The MBHS Academic League has three levels, including varsity (juniors and seniors), junior varsity (sophomores and juniors) and novices (freshmen and sophomores). Under Dancher, the MBHS Academic League has grown from seven members four years ago to 25 students today. Since Mission Bay High became an international baccalaureate (IB) school in 2007, it has been able to draw different types of students from all over the city. Junior Daniel Fennell of Serra Mesa is in his first year with the MBHS Academic League and competes for the Buccaneers’ varsity and junior varsity teams. “Before the school year started, I walked into Mr. Dancher’s classroom and signed up for the Academic League,” Fennell said. The Academic League holds its practices during lunchtime three times a week. Players prepare for what subject matter to expect in their upcoming match. “The Academic League is fun and not a huge time commitment,” Fennell said. The junior varsity team wrapped up its regular season with a 37-28 victory over Mount Everest and finished with an undefeated record of 8-0. The Bucs’ novice team defeated Mount Everest 23-19 in an exhibition match after Mission Bay was awarded victory by forfeit because the Mount Everest novice team did not have enough participants. Whether or not Mission Bay High’s varsity team makes the playoffs, Dancher said he felt it was a good year for the program. But he said he was little disappointed the team didn’t win the final regular season match. The good news for Dancher and the team is that many of the varsity players will be back next year.