Anvitha Yaparla and Vivian Shi pose alongside Mr. Conoly after placing 2nd place in Public Forum
The University of Alabama hosted its Hall of Fame Speech and Debate Tournament on the weekend of January 18th-19th.
The Tournament draws competition from all over the Southeast, comprising events in the following:
Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Public Forum Debate
Speech Events: Duo Interpretation, Prose Interpretation, Dramatic Interpretation, After Dinner Speaking (ADS), Impromptu Speaking, Poetry Interpretation, Humorous Interpretation, Oratory, POI, Informative Speaking, and Extemporaneous Speaking
Vestavia Hills High School brought 18 students competing in a multitude of events. The three-time Alabama State Champion team set off for Tuscaloosa on the afternoon of Friday, January 18. After competing from mid-afternoon to 9:00 p.m., the team rested up to prepare for the next morning’s 6:30 start to competitions. Following a long day of intellectual argumentation and powerful pathos, Vestavia Speech and Debaters received recognition for their hard work at the awards ceremony Saturday evening. Also present were two VHHS Speech and Debate alumni and current members of the University of Alabama Forensic Council, who compete on the national level. Both performed in the tournament’s showcase, displaying their collegiate speech talents. One such performer was McKenzie Ormand, a former competitor on the Vestavia Speech Team and national qualifier in Dramatic Interpretation (DI). The tournament featured McKenzie’s performance of her award-winning Persuasive speech, which has won recognition in several collegiate tournaments.
During the awards ceremony, placements in debate events included:
Anvitha Yaparla and Vivian Shi - 2nd Place in Public Forum
Dev Patel and Arhaan Lalani - 4th Place in Public Forum Debate
Divya Ramani and Astha Mehta - 7th Place in Public Forum Debate
The VHHS Speech team faced difficult competition, made all the more so by the Hall of Fame’s status as a NIETOC bid—a tournament in which competitors can qualify for an elite national competition for individual events. Nevertheless, the Rebels produced impressive results.
Individual Events consist of three rounds followed by a final round for the top six teams in the event.
Placements in speech events included:
ADS:
1st Place by Tina Gao
3rd Place by Tina Lou
Duo Interpretation:
3rd Place by Anna Kate Bailey and Ethan Schmidt
Extemporaneous Speaking:
3rd Place by Tina Gao
Impromptu Speaking:
3rd Place by Kaylee Zhou
Prose Interpretation:
1st Place by Tina Lou
Vestavia Hills High School also earned recognition for its excellent performance as a team. VHHS won third place in Overall Sweepstakes, which accounts for points gained from both speech and debate. The Rebels were also awarded recognition in both Speech Sweepstakes and Debate Sweepstakes.
If you know any VHHS Speech and Debaters, be sure to congratulate them on their outstanding performance—these competitions require extensive practice and dedication!
Greta Christiansen, Ethan Schmidt, and Anna Kate Bailey pose for a photo after their wins!
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