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US Speech and Debate Teams Finish Season Strong
The Speech & Debate Teams both had their National Speech and Debate Association National Qualifiers Tournament in the "Hoosier Heartland" District this past Friday and Saturday, March 1 and 2. The top two competitors at National Qualifiers are awarded the honor of representing the district at the NSDA National Tournament this June in Dallas, TX.
On the Speech side, sophomore Imaan Mirza put in a fantastic performance in the Informative Speaking category, qualifying for Nationals with her piece "First Comes Love (Then Comes Marriage)." Senior Matt Fu will also be heading to Dallas in the Extemporaneous Speaking category, in which students respond off-the-cuff to topics in international politics. This is a repeat performance for Matt, who qualified last year for this honor in the same category. Rounding out the speech competitors, both freshman Nandini Mathavan and sophomore Jade Thomas advanced to the final round with their respective Informative Speaking and Prose pieces.
On the Debate side, Lincoln-Douglas style debaters prepared their cases on a resolution asking whether the U.S. should provide military aid to authoritarian regimes. Sophomore Audrey Pan advanced to the second day of competition with senior Alec Weiker, competing in his final high school tournament. In the two-on two format category known as Public Forum, Park Tudor's three teams debated whether or not the U.S. government should prioritize paying off the national debt or fostering short-term growth. Seniors Arunabh Sinha and Ammar Athar took their first few ballots and also advanced to late rounds on the second day, while fellow PFers Anna Ji, Rex Burkman, Ahmed Athar, and William Morris gained valuable experience on Friday night.
At the final awards ceremony on Saturday, the PT Debate and Speech program was presented a plaque and named the 2019 NSDA "Leading Chapter Award" by the Hoosier Heartland District for "Recognition in Excellence in Speech & Debate"- an award given each year to a school that compiles significant NSDA points in proportion to its number of competitors. The Speech Team was coached this year by Ms. Christine Zavakos, and the Debate Team was coached by Dr. Matthew McGrath.
While this year's debate season in now concluded, the Speech Team is still gearing up for its big Indiana State Tournament this Saturday, March 6. Congrats to Imaan and Matt for their awesome achievements in qualifying for Dallas!"