At 4 in the morning on Saturday, March 9th, most of Leavenworth was still asleep. However, the CHS Speech and Debate team was preparing for their long drive to the state competition in Puget Sound. The tournament started at 8:00 AM with all club members rushing off to their events.
“It was very exciting to find out that I was going to State in my first year participating in this club and I definitely think that my favorite part is being able to get to know people at the tournaments,” said Ashton Weston (10).
This year at Speech state, the club members have qualified in four different categories: First, Dual Interpretation (DUO), which is a 10-minute, two-person performance. Second, Original Oratory (OO) which is a ten-minute opinionated self-written speech. Third, Dramatic Interpretation (DI), a ten-minute dramatic speech, and last, Impromptu, an improvised event where competitors are given three prompts and perform a speech about one of them.
The different events are sorted into patterns: A, B, and C, or the “debate pattern”. Usually, students choose one event in the A and B sections, but it is possible to “double-enter” which is when the person competes in two events in a single pattern, for example Duo and DI are both located in the A section.
There are many events to choose from and luckily Cascade High Schools’ club size has been growing to offer more opportunities. They have Speech and Debate members from all grades, and for the people just beginning their club journey, qualifying for State is a major cause for celebration. “It was very exciting to find out that I was going to State in my first year participating in this club and I definitely think that my favorite part is being able to get to know people at the tournaments,” said Ashton Weston (10).
However, Speech and Debate isn’t all fun and games. It takes hard work to memorize the speeches, work out the actions, and create a speaking presence, but the sense of satisfaction after making it to State makes it all worth it. “I’m glad that I can say that I made it to State,” said Georgia Holm (9). Despite not attending the event, Holm still is proud of her accomplishment.
At this tournament only the Speech events were presented.
The weekend of March 15th-17th was Debate state at Gonzaga University. Our teams participated in Public Forum Debate, where two two-person teams are given a topic and argue either in support of the topic, or against it. Our State Debate team consists of Breanna Loomis (12), who has been doing debate since Junior year, and Mia Schons (10).
Schons began debate only this year. “I wanted to start debate because I’m a really argumentative person and I felt like I needed a healthy outlet for all that anger that I have inside of me. I do plan on continuing speech and debate in the future,” said Schons.
If you think Speech and Debate is right for you and you would like to become a part of the club, contact Mr. Allen at dallen@cascadesd.org
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