By: Ellie Shafer, Shield Editor
On Saturday October 6, NRCA’s Speech and Debate class traveled to Fayetteville to compete in the Jack Britt Tournament. The team came out with strong wins, including an honorable mention for one novice team.
The Speech and Debate class meets every day before school at 7 AM. Two to three weeks before the tournament, the students received what topics would be debated at the Jack Britt Tournament. The students were then paired up and began to develop their arguments for each side of the given topic.
“We prepared by working through the topic in class and helping each other strengthen our cases,” Speech and Debate Class President, Ashlyn Hanks said.
During the tournament, each set of partners debates in either four or five rounds. These rounds set debate teams from NRCA against students from surrounding schools. The team did not know which side of the argument they would be taking until a few moments before, when a coin was tossed to determine sides. The tournament was a success, with NRCA winning seven rounds between their Varsity and Novice Public Forum. Varsity Public Forum is made up of returning students, while the Novice Forum comprises first-year students in Speech and Debate.
After the rounds of debate were over, students that excelled in their rounds were honored during the award ceremony. This year, Connor Cabot and Nicole Belcher, one of the novice teams, received an honorable mention after winning three out of their four debates.
“We hope to learn better tactics, information, and strategies to implement in following tournament,” Speech and Debate Team Vice President, John Dubia said.
The Speech and Debate Class continues to celebrate a successful tournament, while also preparing for their next tournament on November 3.