The Southwest Academic Conference (SWAC) began with meetings between the Superintendents of schools in Smyth County

Smyth County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 33,081 people, 13,493 households, and 9,607 families residing in the county. The population density was 73 people per square mile . There were 15,111 housing units at an average density of 33 per square mile...

, Washington County

Washington County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 51,103 people, 21,056 households, and 14,949 families residing in the county. The population density was 91 people per square mile . There were 22,985 housing units at an average density of 41 per square mile...

, and Bristol

Bristol, Virginia

Bristol is an independent city in Virginia, United States, bounded by Washington County, Virginia, Bristol, Tennessee, and Sullivan County, Tennessee....

 in December 1986 to propose the formation of a league to allow students to participate in academic competitions. This idea was presented to the principals of the schools in the Spring of 1987 and the name Southwest Academic Conference (SWAC) was chosen.

The schools involved are Abingdon High School, John S. Battle High School

John S. Battle High School

John S. Battle High School is a high school located in the Southwest portion of Virginia in Washington County. The school was named after the Governor John S. Battle. It was built in 1959. There have been many additions. The Mason building is in the Northwest quadrant of the school. In the 1970s,...

, Chilhowie High School

Chilhowie High School

Chilhowie High School is located in the town of Chilhowie, Virginia. It was founded in 1959 and is part of the Smyth County School Division.-Extra curricular activities:...

, Holston High School, Marion Senior High School

Marion Senior High School (Virginia)

Marion Senior High School is a public high school located in Marion, Virginia. It is part of the Smyth County Public Schools and its athletics compete in the AA Southwest District in Region IV....

, Northwood High School

Northwood High School (Saltville, Virginia)

Northwood High School is a public high school located in Saltville, Virginia. The school serves about 300 students in grades 9 to 12 in the Smyth County Public Schools system. The school operates on a 4x4 block schedule and has many goals in place to improve the achievement of students on...

, Patrick Henry High School

Patrick Henry High School-Glade Spring

Patrick Henry High School was built in 1960 and named after the patriotic leader Patrick Henry.-Clubs:*Art Club*Drama Club*FBLA *FCA *FFA...

, Virginia High School

Virginia High School (Virginia)

Virginia High School is a high school located in Bristol, Virginia. In 1999, Virginia High started offering the Tri-Cities area's first International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. Classes from the Advanced Placement program are also offered to help students who are headed to college...

.

Competition

The schools have teams for the content areas of English

English studies

English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...

, Mathematics

Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

, Science

Science

Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...

, Social Studies

Social studies

Social studies is the "integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence," as defined by the American National Council for the Social Studies...

. The English team has an approved reading list each season focusing on selected plays

Play (theatre)

A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...

, novels, short stories

Short Stories

Short Stories may refer to:*A plural for Short story*Short Stories , an American pulp magazine published from 1890-1959*Short Stories, a 1954 collection by O. E...

, nonfiction, and poetry

Poetry

Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...

 as well as specific terminology

Terminology

Terminology is the study of terms and their use. Terms are words and compound words that in specific contexts are given specific meanings, meanings that may deviate from the meaning the same words have in other contexts and in everyday language. The discipline Terminology studies among other...

. The Math team focuses on studies from Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry

Geometry

Geometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers ....

, and Trigonometry

Trigonometry

Trigonometry is a branch of mathematics that studies triangles and the relationships between their sides and the angles between these sides. Trigonometry defines the trigonometric functions, which describe those relationships and have applicability to cyclical phenomena, such as waves...

. The science team focuses on the studies of physical science

Physical science

Physical science is an encompassing term for the branches of natural science and science that study non-living systems, in contrast to the life sciences...

, earth science

Earth science

Earth science is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. It is arguably a special case in planetary science, the Earth being the only known life-bearing planet. There are both reductionist and holistic approaches to Earth sciences...

, biology

Biology

Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...

, and chemistry

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

. The social studies questions involve treaties, US Supreme Court cases, legislation

Legislation

Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...

, geography

Geography

Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...

, and history

History

History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

. In addition to the content area specific teams, there is an All-Around team which focuses on information regarding art

Art

Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....

 and architecture

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

, performing arts (dance

Dance

Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

, theater, music

Music

Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

), philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

, religion

Religion

Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...

, world literature

Literature

Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...

 (including mythology

Mythology

The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...

), math (including the history of math), science (physical science

Physical science

Physical science is an encompassing term for the branches of natural science and science that study non-living systems, in contrast to the life sciences...

, earth science

Earth science

Earth science is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. It is arguably a special case in planetary science, the Earth being the only known life-bearing planet. There are both reductionist and holistic approaches to Earth sciences...

, biology

Biology

Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...

, chemistry

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

, psychology

Psychology

Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...

), and social studies (US history and world history

World History

World History, Global History or Transnational history is a field of historical study that emerged as a distinct academic field in the 1980s. It examines history from a global perspective...

, sociology

Sociology

Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...

, anthropology

Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...

.
Schools generally compete twice per week on Monday and Thursday with four schools hosting the competitions and four schools traveling to the school against which they are competing. For 2008, the order of competition is social studies, all around, English, math, science.

The teams compete with four players each. The first round in all areas but math has 10 directed questions for each team where the emcee asks each team a question and allows them to answer, however if the team misses the other team gets an opportunity to answer the question. The math team's directed round has 10 directed questions and both teams are allowed to answer by writing the answer on a piece of paper which the emcee collects at the end of the time allowed to answer. All categories have a second round made up of ten toss-up questions where players from either team may ring in to answer. If a player rings in before the emcee says "Begin" and answers incorrectly, there is a 2-point penalty and the question is read in its entirety for the other school. Each correct answer in both rounds is worth five points.

Championships

English:

• 2009: Chilhowie High
• 2008: Holston High
• 2007: Holston High
• 2006: Northwood High
• 2005: Patrick Henry High
• 2004: Northwood High
• 2003: Patrick Henry High
• 2002: Holston High
• 2001: John S. Battle High

Math:

• 2009: Abingdon High
• 2008: Abingdon High
• 2007: Virginia High
• 2006: Virginia High
• 2005: Virginia High
• 2004: Marion High
• 2003: Marion High
• 2002: Marion High
• 2001: Marion High
• 2000: Abingdon High
• 1999: Abingdon High
• 1998: Abingdon High
• 1997: Abingdon High
• 1996: Abingdon High

Science:

• 2009: Virginia High
• 2008: Marion High
• 2007: Abingdon High
• 2006: Virginia High
• 2005: Abingdon High
• 2004: Virginia High
• 2003: Virginia High
• 2002: Abingdon High
• 2001: Marion High

Social Studies:

• 2009: Abingdon High
• 2008: Patrick Henry High
• 2007: Patrick Henry High
• 2006: Northwood High
• 2005: Northwood High
• 2004: Northwood High
• 2003: Northwood High
• 2002: Abingdon High
• 2001: Virginia High

All Around:

• 2009: Marion High
• 2008: Holston High
• 2007: Holston High
• 2006: Northwood High
• 2005: Marion High
• 2004: Marion High
• 2003: Marion High
• 2002: Marion High
• 2001: Abingdon High