Welcome aboard buddy! You've made the first step in getting involved, there is a large community here of the most helpful people I have ever found on the internet. The first thing you'll want to do, is read all of the forum guidelines, and posts that say things like 'READ ME BEFORE POSTING' and posts like that to ensure you follow all the rules. Be sure to visit the Introductions page and tell people about yourself and where you're from to get lots of good information about your local areas. This thread will most likely be moved to the tournaments section, and hopefully you get some more replies there.
To be honest, the answer I am going to give you is not what you want to hear, and that is the fact that the questions you are asking have already been answered many times by other anglers, and the great people on this site have made it easy for you to find that information and use it to educate yourself. A quick search on this site turns up some GREAT articles and forum threads that are sure to get you started in the right direction:
http://www.bassresource.com/fishing-tournament-tips/ this link alone will take you to lots of articles discussing exactly what you want to know. Unfortunately like all things in life, we must dig deep on our own to truly understand and learn all that we can! If you don't have a boat, and want to try tournaments, you will likely be fishing on the back of someones boat as a 'co angler' so read all the articles on that page about co anglers, and you will find out what to expect, what you would need to bring, etc. Look for Bass clubs in your area, a quick search on the BASS website should get you some email addresses for people who run clubs near you, I know the one in my city just started a Junior club for younger people looking to try the competitive aspect of fishing. Also check out your highschool and see if they have a team or club, and if they don't, maybe find a teacher who loves fishing and take the initiative to try and get one started.
For gear, if you read enough threads in those sections you will learn that you don't require much, 3 or 4 entry level combos that you compile over time should serve you well for many years. Bottom line, make sure you're focused on school first, a proper education is much more valuable to you than any rod or lure or tournament! Good luck and be safe.
edit: start here: http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/guide_to_tournament_fishing.html
