German students from over 40 Texas schools gathered at San Marcos University on Saturday, Feb. 25 to compete in the annual Texas State German Contest (TSGC). Contestants had previously placed in the top five of surrounding smaller German contests such as Sprachfest, Houstonfest, and Winterfest. 

Events such as traditional folk dance, polka band, and gingerbread house art were key factors in building community, joining students from all over the state. Other events included speaking, spelling, and grammar contests.

“[The contest] was worth it, a lot of fun, and was a nice way to hang out with friends,” Alex Tremmel ‘25 said. “[Westwood] did pretty [well] considering there were very few of us. Spelling was definitely my favorite event, but I could improve on knowing more vocabulary.”

As a result of Covid, for the first time ever, the TSGC offered a hybrid option, allowing students  to submit online entries for events such as digital logo design, research paper, and oral presentation.

Below is a list of students who advanced:

Sweepstakes: Westwood High School (7th place)

Advantaged Speakers Test: Lena Boas ‘25 (3rd place), Dominic Schwarzenbach ‘24 (4th place)

Culture 4: Kritanko Chakraborty ‘25 (3rd place), Annalise Breyer ‘25 (8th place)

Reading Comprehension 4: Kritanko Chakraborty ‘25 (3rd place), Maalolan Parthasarathi (5th place)

Grammar 4: Kritanko Chakraborty ‘25 (4th place), Sanjana Iyer ‘25 (6th place)

Spelling 4: Kritanko Chakraborty ‘25 (1st place), Aleks Tremmel ‘25 (9th place)

Vocal Solo: Kritanko Chakraborty ‘25 (1st place)

Prose Reading 4: Sanjana Iyer ‘25 (7th place)

Sight Reading 4: Sanjana Iyer ‘25 (7th place), Annalise Breyer ‘25 (8th place)

Vocabulary 4: Sanjana Iyer ‘25 (3rd place), Maalolan Parthasarathi ‘25 (8th place)

Poetry Memory 4: Zachary Gawaiser ‘26 (4th place), Mason Jacob ‘25 (5th place)

Prose Memory 4: Zachary Gawaiser ‘24 (5th place)

Listening Comprehension: Alex Tremmel (5th place)

Extemporaneous Speaking Advantaged: Dominic Schwarzenbach ‘24 (1st place), Lena Boas ‘25 (2nd place)

Oral Presentation Advantaged: Lena Boas ‘25 (3rd place)

Poetry Memory Advantaged: Dominic Schwarzenbach ‘24 (2nd place)

Shirt Design: Iris Wang ‘26 (1st place)

Pass Auf Varsity (German Jeopardy): (7th place) Mason Jacob ‘25, Annalise Breyer ‘25, Zachary Gawaiser 5, Aleksandra Tremmel ‘25, Maalolan Parthasarathi ‘25

Video Show: (9th place) Annalise Breyer ‘25, Aleksandra Tremmel ‘25, Bidita Majumdar ‘25, Henry Grundmann ‘25, Leila Tavisoli ‘25, Maalolan Parthasarathi ‘25, Mason Jacob ‘25