Five students competed against the nation’s best in the National Speech and Debate Association’s (NSDA) National competition in Des Moines, Iowa, from June 16-21. They gained valuable competition skills and walked away with a newfound appreciation for their events.
“It was an invaluable experience because I got to see people that I idolize throughout the year, and it’s really rewarding to spread my message and watch talented competitors,” said senior Timothy Leung, one of the speech and debate team’s co-president.
Representing the school in its 29th appearance at Nationals were seniors Ashish Goswami and Leonardo Jia, who teamed up to participate in the Public Forum (PF) Debate category; Leung, who participated in Program Oral Interpretation (POI); Class of 24’ alumni Cameron Nguyen, who took part in Storytelling (STO) and junior Anagha Vitaldevara, who competed in Dramatic Interpretation (DI).
“NSDA nationals was an exciting experience because we got to meet lots of our friends from across the nation,” Goswami said.
After five days of competing, the results were announced during the awards ceremony on June 21: Leung, who is the club’s co-president, placed 45th out of 254 individual entries in POI, making it to the first round of octafinals.
Goswami, also the club’s co-president, and Jia, the co-vice president, placed 23rd out of 266 teams, making it to the 10th round of eliminations out of 16 in Public Forum Debate. They debated the resolution Resolved: The United States should establish a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement with the European Union.
Returning from the National Tournament in the summer, the speech and debate team is ready to start a new season. To raise funds for tournament fees and coaching resources, members sold homemade cake pops at the school’s annual Food Truck Fest on Aug. 16, raising around $150.
In the early weeks of the school year, many returning members already began preparing their speeches or researching their debate topics for the season under the coaching of speech coach Jenny Cook and debate coach Steve Clemmons. From Sept. 7-9, the speech and debate team attended their first tournament of the year: the National Speech and Debate Season Opener, hosted online by the University of Kentucky.
Four teams of two including Goswami and Jia participated in PF, and Leung competed in DI.
Goswami and Jia made it to octafinals, placing in the top 16 of 343 entries.
“We didn’t prepare as much for this tournament because of college applications and other extracurricular obligations,” Goswami said. “I feel our performance is a testament to the power of experience.”
Leung placed first in DI.
“It’s my senior season, so I want to do well this year and have lots of pieces that mean a lot to me,” Leung said. “My intention for the season opener was just to get my speech out there and start getting some feedback.”.
As the new season got off to a running start, the leadership team extended its focus to the most important action item of the year — starting practices and gaining new members.
On Sept. 12, they hosted their orientation with several dozen interested attendees, introducing the basics of speech and debate to prospective members.
Four days later, the team hosted its first official meeting with over 50 new members in attendance, one of the largest teams the school has had since COVID-19 began.
“Overall I think interest in the club has increased dramatically,” Goswami said. “This should help lay strong foundations for the future of Saratoga High speech and debate.”
