The high school’s Speech and Debate team holds their annual tournament on Feb. 3. Forensics tournaments are not easy to manage, however. Savannah Bard, 12, describes the difficulty of finding judges.

“Finding judges is very difficult whether it is for debate or forensics.” They further elaborate on the difficulty of working a tournament by stating, “more things that we may have to do include making signs, assigning rooms, and knowing what [judges are good at judging specific events],” they said. 

Aside from the actual day of the tournament, there are preparations the entire week before. The team does a lot of work behind the scenes, and a fair amount of creativity is required for such a tournament. “The second hardest thing you have to do [in preparation for the tournament] is writing topics for impromptu and extemporaneous speeches.” Trystan Wood, 10, said.

Due to the amount of work that goes into tournament preparation and operation, it is an all hands on deck situation. In fact, unlike similar activities that facilitate their own competitions, the high school forensics team does not participate in their own tournament. Adiel Garcia, 12, claims this is because “competing in our own home tournament would result in a lot of inefficiency.” Ashlyn Smith, 10, explains that this is because “[nobody] would be able to run the tournament.” 

In addition to the high school’s forensics tournament,they will be hosting the frontier league tournament. This will be the first time in many years that the forensics league tournament will be held at the high school, but the home tournament provides an excellent opportunity for the team to be prepared for that. 

The forensics team will also hold a showcase night towards the end of the season, which is in April. The showcase is an opportunity for “forensicators,” or members of the forensics team, to show their performances that they have worked hard on throughout the season. It is open for all students, parents, teachers, and community members to attend.