As the Speech and Debate team prepares for their upcoming Debate tournament on Nov. 1 and Speech tournament on Nov. 8, both captains and mentors are ready to do all that they can to set their novices up for success.
“On the debate side, upcoming is our novice TCFL tournament that’s happening on November 1st,” senior and team captain Diya Varrier said. “Our last couple of classes are just going to be preparing novices for the first tournament, getting cases and rounds in for practice”.
The captains stick to a systematic process of going through a list of steps that ensure that all parts of an event are covered.
“We start them off with an introduction process of just teaching them the style of debate,” Varrier said. “In this case, we’re teaching them Lincoln-Douglas, which is a solo style of debate. Then, we move into topic analysis on the topic that they’re supposed to be debating. It [the topic] changes every two months, and right now it’s about rewilding”.
Once the process of curating the cases is finished, they move on to practice to get the novices comfortable with speaking.
“Once they have their cases done, we move on to rounds, and we basically simulate what would happen in a real round,” Varrier said. “Then we give them feedback, acting like their judges, and work on whatever problems they have”.
Working alongside the captains are the mentors, making sure that the novices are fully prepared for tournaments by getting used to the material and looking through the cases before they’re presented.
“It’s been a very rigorous but rewarding process, and it’s really interesting to watch the novices first come into the debate landscape,” senior and mentor Meera Shreedhar said. “They [initially] have no background information and are unsure of what to do, but watching their progression over time is really fun to see, so being a part of this process has been very exciting”.
Having to teach 22 total novices, 15 in debate and seven in speech, the mentors and captains are working diligently to review all their cases and speeches. Their systematic approach is making a strong impact, and the novices are feeling well-prepared for their tournament.
“I like a lot of my coaches, and they’re definitely getting us prepared,” freshman novice Melania Uribe said. “[Speech and debate] has been really inspiring, because going into debate, I see them [captains and mentors], and I really want to become like them. They’re so confident, and I wish to become like them someday”.
The mentors and captains not only prepare novices for a day of success at their first tournament, but they’ve also structured the classroom setting into a session of fun that keeps novices engaged and learning.
“One thing we do a lot [that I really enjoy] is four corners, we get put into corners and we debate somebody else,” freshman novice Anika Gossain said. “Officially, something that I like that we’ve learned is the way we learn how to format cases. It’s really cool, and it makes it easier for the judges to understand.”
In less than a week, novices will have the opportunity to showcase the skills they’ve developed over the past few months. With the massive amount of support and resources they have to appreciate, the novices are feeling confident and are ready to give it their all at the competition.
