As we all journey into a new school year, what is a pressing question on every blazer’s mind? Clubs! From Women in Medicine to Ukeladies, NDP offers a variety of fascinating clubs for students of all interests. For this month’s club spotlight, we are going to delve into the complex and fun, speech and debate club!
Speech and Debate club is a competitive club which offers students the opportunity to study and argue important current topics, work on their public speaking skills, give dramatic interpretive presentations, and so much more! Students can choose from a variety of different events separated into two main categories, speech events and debate events. Some speech events are low preparation and open to interpretation, while some involve memorizing speeches or even writing your own. All debate events take at least some preparation, but they are also all different and call on many different skill sets. Some of these events even require a partner, so speech and debate could be a great option if you want to participate in a club with a friend!
Now the answers to some of the most-asked questions about clubs, provided for us by this year’s speech president, Angeline Ruiz!
Q: Why should new blazers join speech and debate?
Angeline: New Students should join speech and debate because it allows for students to build their public speaking skills, through public forum and other debate events. Even the performative events allow students to get over stage fright or speaking in front of crowds and further develop their creative side. I believe any events done will allow students to expand their knowledge and creativity, and overall, just help them to become well rounded individuals.
Q: What is your favorite event in speech and debate?
Angeline: My favorite event in Speech and debate is Oral Interpretation (OI), This event is a performative event where you can perform a prose and a poetry within 10 minutes. The reason this is my favorite event is because I can have a binder with the text I am performing, so it makes it a little easier than the other events, and additionally it takes a little less prep time.
Q: What is your routine on a speech and debate competition day?
Angeline: On competition days I usually get to where the competition is being held around 7 am. Competitions are broken up into A and B flights, so there are three rounds throughout the course of the day, with flight A being first and flight B being next. Usually, the A flights are mainly debate events and the B flights are performative, so I usually prep for my rounds before and mid-day. I have my lunch during A flights. These days usually go until 5 and then there are awards ceremonies after, but we are allowed to leave when we are finished.
A lot of these events may sound very confusing, so here’s a crash course in a few of the most popular events. Check it out and see if anything catches your eye!
Declamation: This is a great speech event for younger students, especially because it is only open to 9th and 10th graders! This event involves memorizing one speech and performing it all year and is a great event to start out with if you want to add another event later. You may choose your own speech for this event, so try to pick one that resonates with you, but it can be fun! But if you are feeling stressed about finding your own speech, no worries, because Mrs. Sann has folders full of great speeches for you to choose from!
Lincoln Douglas Debate: Lincoln-Douglas is a challenging and fun debate event inspired by the iconic one-on-one Lincoln vs. Douglas debates back in the 1800s. This event is another great event for beginners, because there is a novice division for less experienced debaters, and it has simpler rules than a lot of other debate formats. You perform this event one-on-one with a debater from another school, but you will have a squad of NDP debaters to share the research workload. This event will not only prepare you for public speaking in the future, it will also improve your research and data organization skills.
Dramatic Performance: Dramatic Performance (DP) is an event for those who excel in theater, or those who just love to perform! In this event, you will choose a piece to perform and learn it well. You can edit your piece to your liking, and you can even improv a little! You will be judged in this event based on your ability to perform, and your goal is to influence the judge’s emotions. Make them laugh, cry, or both!
After all of this, I know many of you are ready to jump into the world of speech and debate. If you want to sign up for the team and compete in the first meet in October, send an email to Mrs. Sann to ask about registration. This is a very fun and exciting club, and an excellent opportunity to improve skills needed throughout your whole life, while having a great time (and maybe even winning some medals)! I hope you join NDP speech and debate club!