On Sept. 2, the Speech and Debate team held their first tournament on Bonita Vista Highs (BVH) campus. The students debated against one another on the topic of high-speed rail transportation. This helps the students, especially novices, who have just joined the Speech and Debate team and have no prior experience with debate, get warmed up for the season as they experience getting judged for the first time.

“Sometimes we have other schools come in [for the tournament]. This year we had so many novices that we really just wanted to keep it our school. We have 47 kids that are here right now,” International Baccalaureate English Literature Higher Level 2, Speech and Debate advisor and Newspaper advisor Eric Helle said. “We want them to have a first experience with judges in the room to help them figure out the process of debate.”

During the tournament, each student is partnered up and debates against another pair, which takes place in separate classrooms. On occasion, these students prepare arguments that either support the debate topic or don’t support it. The rounds of the tournament ultimately allow students to test out both their cases during each round and later reflect on what they can improve on.

“They’re going in the 12 rooms that we’re using for the competition, [and] they’re going to come into contact with a teammate that they likely haven’t spoken to,” Helle said. “It’s early in the year and now they’re going to be debating with each other. They’re going to come out talking about that debate and talking about what went well and what they want to improve on.”

After each round, students spend a period of time revising and preparing for the next round. During this time, students are able to discuss with their teammates, which helps build relationships amongst students.

“That relaxation part before the next round is really important too,” Helle said. “So not only is it for competition, it’s there for students to bond with their teammates.”

Senior and Speech and Debate President Giselle Geering describes the tournament as a sort of introduction to the debate portion of Speech and Debate for the novices, as well as a way to ensure that all members are on track to being successful in future tournaments.

“The purpose of this tournament is really just to get the students’ feet wet and debate because we don’t expect anyone to debate for the first time and be amazing,” Geering said. “We have this tournament before our first league tournament in order to make sure that everyone is on track to succeed so that the first time they go into a debate tournament isn’t against other schools.”

Geering also describes Speech and Debate as a way to improve social and communicative skills, not only within the tournaments themselves, but also within an individual’s personal life. Speech and Debate has allowed her to gain more confidence, allowing her to be more transparent and less judgmental when it comes to listening to others perspectives.

“I’ve definitely become a more confident person because of Speech and Debate. I’ve learned so much about the world and about myself,” Geering said. “I feel like I’m more open minded to other people’s opinions because I’m exposed to them so much because I have to argue the other side a lot.”

Junior and Speech and Debate Treasurer Tai Cassel Engen shares similar views with Geering, stating that Speech and Debate is a way for him to get involved within his community and to meet new people, especially those from other schools.

“I really love the tournaments [and] I really love the team. It’s really been an environment for me to get to know more people, get involved in high school and get to compete in a lot of debates to put myself out there,” Cassel Engen said. “I think it’s a great opportunity to be able to do that, especially against other schools in our county.”

This tournament also serves as a way for students to be introduced to various political and social topics which may be obscure to them, such as “Resolved: the United States Federal government should increase its investments in high speed rail.” This helps students broaden their understanding of the world and gives them a sense on how to approach different topics when debating. Junior and Speech and Debate member William Fowler finds learning these topics a very enjoyable part of the class.

“It’s been pretty fun, though it is a lot of work. I think it does ultimately pay off,” Fowler said. “I’ve had a lot of fun at tournaments and just learning about various topics across the world that I wouldn’t have learned about without being a part of Speech and Debate.”

For many students in Speech and Debate, this tournament will help root out problems or things they need to improve on. The tournament will give them first-hand experience with debate and these skills that students learn during their time in Speech and Debate will also translate to other parts of their lives, including college and beyond.

“It’s essentially the work that you put into something that leads to success and that’s a hard lesson to learn sometimes,” Helle said. “So I think that allowing students that mindset, it’s okay to fail as long as you reflect on it—[that] you know what you’ve done and established a measurable [and] achievable goal. That’s the place that we want [Speech and Debate students] to be.”

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