Another Great Start to Speech and Debate Season

Credits: Mrs. Conoly

On Saturday, September 20, the annual Vestavia Novice tournament was set. Students from across the state of Alabama in our BAMA district came to the high school’s main campus to participate in a wide array of both speech and debate events. Competitors in this tournament were exclusive to novices alone. It’s known as the “pre-season” for students to compete against others on their same skill level and gain good experience and advice from experienced varsities, coaches, and parent judges. 

This year included fourteen different schools with hundreds of competitors. The debate events offered were Big Questions, Lincoln-Douglas, and Public Forum. The speech events were Dramatic Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, Extemporaneous, Humorous Interpretation, Impromptu, Informative, Original Oratory, Poetry Interpretation, Program Oral Interpretation, and Prose Interpretation. Judges in the pool for the tournament were double the amount of entries in speec,h leading to each round having two judges on a panel, which may seem intimidating, but in the end is useful, double the ballots and double the feedback. 

The Novice Tournament’s results can help predict the future of the team for the season, and like years prior, Vestavia dominated in speech events. In Dramatic Interpretation, Finley Stephenson won second place. The event is known for its emotive language and ability to gain a heartfelt reaction from the audience. In impromptu, Finley Stephenson won first place, Zara Ziauddin won second place, Linda Lou won fourth, and Bailey Mason won sixth, all of whom who ranked in this event were speech novices for the year. Impromptu is an event in which a participant is given seven minutes in total to prepare a speech with 3 examples and deliver it. They choose between three different quotes and are challenged to find the theme and a way to relate it to themselves and the world around them. And finally, in informative speaking Linda Lou won fifth place with her speech that confronted the cute or “kawaii” culture of eastern asian countries to hide their murky histories. 

Credits: Caitlyn Webster-Roberts

From left to right: Linda Lou, Bailey Mason, and Finley Stephenson

This sweep continued in the debate events as well, with John Largent and Elizabeth Caballero winning sixth place in Public Forum, their resolution being “The United Kingdom should rejoin the European Union.” In Lincoln-Douglas debate, Usman Sehbai ranked fourth place. 

Overall, the tournament was a major success for Vestavia, and the team is excited for the upcoming season. Congratulations to everyone who helped judge, set up, and participate in the tournament!