On Saturday, January 27, 2018 Fossil Ridge High School’s speech and debate team competed in the Lobos Hollow tournament hosted by Rocky Mountain High School. Students arrived at around 7:30 am and the tournament began at 8:15 am. Holly Ryan placed third in Foreign Extemporaneous Speaking. Ethan Sherman and Holly Ryan also placed fourth in Public Forum. Max Banks placed fifth in Big Questions Debate.  

Students compete in a variety of events including, but not limited to Public Forum, Lincoln Douglas Debate, Extemporaneous Speaking, Dramatic Interpretation, and Informative Speaking. Each of these events requires students to research and spend hours preparing their debate, speech, or topic. Tournaments usually last from around 8:15 in the morning until 10:00 in the evening.

Holly Ryan, senior, and Ethan Sherman competed  together in Public forum. The topic or resolution that they debated was,”Should Spain grant independence to Catalonia?” For this event students researched and prepared arguments that agreed with the statement and disagreed with it. They did not know which side they will be arguing for until they began the round. The number of rounds or debates for Public Forum is three, with one more if they make it to the final round. Holly said “so far, we have won a couple of tournaments, so that was awesome.” The pair hope to continue winning tournaments and to qualify for state.

Max and Parker Banks are brothers, and competed in this event. When asked about how they felt about this year’s season Parker Banks responded, “It’s what the kids call…. Gucci”. Max declined to comment. Max is a senior and Parker is a sophomore. Max Banks also competes in Big Questions debate, which he describes as being like “Public Forum Lite.”

Maddie Fink, sophomore in an event called Dramatic Interpretation. In this event students picked a script to memorize and act out as they had interpreted it. Judges look for commitment to character, and a wide range of abilities in students who compete in this event. Each student is given ten minutes to recite their piece. Fink said, “I chose the Pin by Robert McCammon because its dramatic and really shows a progression of character within the given time limit.” She also noted that it allows for a wide range of interpretations.

The team is excited for state qualifiers and hopes they all make it to state. Good luck to Fossil’s Speech and Debate Team as they enter the last few tournaments of the season. Come support them during their during the CHSAA state qualifiers at Northridge High School on February 10, 2018.