Case Closed At Crowley Court House

Anjali Gupta
February 24, 2010
Filed under News

Four members of the debate team have recently qualified for the State tournament, which will be held from March 10-13 in El Paso. Students on the team participate in events such as extemporaneous speaking, Lincoln-Douglas debate, student congress and oratory.

“There will be 12 tournaments in total where students have the opportunity to gain State points for the Texas Forensic Association (TFA) tournament,” Nancy Lewis said, the PISD District Lead for Speech.

Plano West played host to a TFA State Qualifying Tournament from October 17-18, where hundreds of students, judges, and coaches filled the school.

“We had over 400 competitors and around 100 debate coaches and judges,” junior Jennifer Conner said. “It was the largest tournament that Plano West has ever held.”

The debate team is led by Mrs. Lewis, and Rhonda Smith, who help coach the students on the various aspects of their specific events.

“We teach the debate class,” Lewis said. “When we’re helping the students prepare for a tournament, we review any current events and we listen to practice speeches.”

After going to various speech tournaments around the area, students are able to gain State points through competing.

“You have to go to finals to earn State points,” Conner said. “At most tournaments, if you get first place, you get eight State points. You need ten points in one event to qualify.”

Conner is one the students who have qualified for the State tournament, along with Ali Mavrakis, Pippa Mason and Richard Holland.

“Students who haven’t qualified as of yet still have time to gain State points,” Lewis said. “We expect that at least four or five more students will qualify.”

Among the biggest tournaments of the year is the Harvard tournament, where members of the team will be traveling to the college to compete from Feb.13 through 15.

“The Harvard tournament is for the Tournament of Champions qualifiers,” Mrs. Smith said. “We determine who goes by the student’s success in their respective events as well as their commitment to the team.”

However, through taking debate, students can earn more than just State points.

“Debate challenges me to think quickly in a way that no other class does,” junior Pippa Mason said. “The political awareness you get from debate is hard to find anywhere else. I also really love how it has taught me that every opinion or side has a value.”

Lewis also believes that debate teaches students valuable communication skills.

“For the rest of your life you need public speaking skills,” Lewis said. “No matter what your job is, you are going to need to convince someone to do what you want them to do and to see your point of view.”

A variety of events are offered at the speech tournaments, each one unique in requiring the participant to apply different speaking skills.

“My favorite event is Domestic Extemporaneous,” Conner said. “We have 30 minutes to prepare a seven minute speech about a news item using evidence from articles that the team has collected.”

Senior Michael Wei participates in Student Congress, an event in which students emulate the way the United States Congress debates bills and resolutions.

“You gain an appreciation about what the real US Congress is doing while using speaking strategies,” Wei said. “It’s a more holistic experience. It’s more than just speech-giving.”

There are also events that employ the participant’s acting techniques, including Dramatic and Humorous Interpretation, Duet and Duo Acting and Prose.

“I do Dramatic Interpretation, where I tell the story of a character without any props or costumes,” junior Rose Pansick said. “It forces me to make people believe I’m someone else without changing my appearance.”

While some members of the debate team are just starting, others have years of experience, participating in tournaments since middle school.

“When I was in seventh grade, I took a speech class,” Pansick said. “After I gave my first speech, my teacher told me that I should join the debate team. And I found out that I loved it.”

Though most of the events are individual, the students work as a team to support each other. Each student spends extra time throughout the week preparing for their event, requiring hours of research and practice.

“The hardest part is the time commitment debate takes up,” Mason said. “I spend most of my Fridays and Saturdays at competition, and spend a lot of time researching for topics. The best part, however, is actually being in a debate round.”

Through the tournaments, individual practice and extensive research, the student stay committed to their team while still enjoying the thrill of competition.

“It seems like it would be nerve-wracking,” Conner said. “But when you get up and give a good speech, it’s the best feeling in the world.”