Choose the event that fits you
A competitive event is the category you compete in all year, and DECA offers 60+ of them across marketing, finance, hospitality, and business management. Use this page to find the one that matches your interests, then tell us which one you want.
What competing actually looks like
The exam
Most events open with a multiple-choice exam on your career cluster, which is the industry area your event sits in. You can study for it, because DECA publishes the performance indicators the questions are drawn from, and our chapter runs practice tests all year.
The role-play
You receive a scenario that puts you in a role, such as a marketing manager whose client wants a campaign, and you are given time to prepare. Then you present your recommendation to a judge who holds that job in real life, and you answer their questions on the spot.
Moving up
You compete at the regional conference first. Finish high enough and you advance to the State Career Development Conference in Louisville, where Kentucky placement is decided and the delegation to the international conference is set. How many competitors advance depends on the event and on the quota Kentucky DECA publishes each year, so ask an advisor what advancement looks like in the event you choose. A few events work differently: some run at region only, some at state only, and the online events qualify through DECA Inc. directly.
Events Lafayette members compete in
Filter by format or by career cluster, which is the industry area an event belongs to. If you are not sure where to start, look at the Principles of Business Administration events, because DECA writes those for individual first-year DECA members regardless of what year of school you are in.
No events match that combination. Clear a filter to see the full list.
You will not be doing this alone
- Practice role-plays, judged by officers and by our business partners
- Practice exams built from DECA's published performance indicators
- Workshops for written events, and an advisor who reads your drafts
- Interview practice, and clear guidance on what to wear
- A full mock competition before every conference
Competition dress is business professional. The official DECA blazer is required at ICDC and is not required at region or state. See the dress code page for what that means at each conference. If you do not own those clothes, tell an advisor early. We will work it out, and it stays between us.
Tell us which event you want.
Email an advisor with the event that caught your eye, or bring it to a meeting, and we will tell you what preparing for it looks like. Competing requires paid membership on an official DECA roster, so start with the membership form.