West Shore will soon make history by entering the National History Day competition for the first time.

Social studies teacher Christine Clark, who is in charge of the team, says there is heavy interest in the competition designed for grades six through 12.

“We have maybe close to 50 kids,” Clark said. “Most of them have their topic right now.”

The competition involves five categories in which contestants can compete: documentaries, research papers, media, performance and websites. Regional competitions have been scheduled for sometime in February but no specific date has been set. Those who win the regional competition will move on to the state competition in April, and then the national competition, which will take place in June at College Park, Md.

Clark says Florida usually places one or two of its 67 counties in that competition.

“I’m excited about it,” she said. “I’m totally excited because I’ve always wanted to do this since, like, 10 years ago. This is a real history competition for the first time.”

By Brandon Bailer