A little over a year ago, the Piedmont Speech and Debate Club was barely more than a rudimentary collection of students who dreamed that one day they would make it to the big leagues.
This year the group has grown in numbers, earned numerous awards in competition, and changed their name to the Speech and Debate Team. And they are only just getting started.
“We have the most amazing group of kids,” Speech and Debate coach Carlton Chan said. “I would say we get 90 percent participation every meeting. Meetings are on Fridays and kids still show up. How many kids want to give up a Friday night to do speech and debate?”
There are currently 17 students on the team, though they compete separately as individuals or in pairs. They can participate in the Speech category or the Debate category and there is plenty to choose from at competitions.
“For Speech, we compete in something called Individual Events which includes many different events like Impromptu, Original Oratory, Extemporaneous, Expository, etc.” Chan said. “Basically, the students compete against other kids in the room and to win, must present the best speech.”
Sophomore Keith Sibal said that his favorite part is competing in the Impromptu Speech category.
“You are given three topics to choose from and you have two minutes to prepare a five-minute speech about that topic,” Sibal said. “I like the exciting free-flowing creativity that impromptu brings.”
Sophomore Henry Hopcraft, who took first place in the Impromptu Speech category at a recent tournament, said that he never would have imagined winning an award the previous year.
“I think our team as a whole has grown a lot over the past year,” Hopcraft said. “Just comparing where we were [last year] to where we are now makes me impatient to see where we’ll be by the time I’m a junior.”
The Debate category includes two different events: Student Congress and Public Forum. In Student Congress, the students pretend to be representatives and debate over a resolution or bill.
“The resolutions they have gotten for Public Forum are things like whether or not the US should take a more aggressive position against ISIS,” Chan said.
Public Forum is a pairs competition made up of four rounds. The students must be able to argue both sides.
“The last topic the students got was ‘On balance, the benefits of GMO foods outweigh the harms,’” Chan said. “The really fun part is in the cross examination. Each partner speaks once and each engages in crossfire.”
Preparation is a mix of improving techniques and practicing in front of peers. As a group, the students have meshed well and enjoy spending the time together.
“Sometimes we practice speeches, sometimes we research, but it’s always helpful and fun,” freshman Annika Disney said. “My favorite part is giving speeches and the team bonding. We are all pretty close and we get to go to an overnight tournament in LA and we just have a lot of fun overall.”
The team has participated in four tournaments so far, with various students achieving awards in all of them. Three of of those awards were first place.
“I think that we as a team have a really strong sense of motivation.” Sibal said. “Inspired by the success at our first Student Congress tournament, we all realized that if we put in the work, we could also win trophies. And from there, our success has snowballed. Our team consistently brings home awards for our hard work and preparation.”
Sibal recalls how last year was the team’s first year since early 2000, was a completely different story.
“We were a much smaller club; we met only once a week, and went to only two tournaments with little success,” Sibal said. “It was our first year as a club, and things started out pretty slowly.”
The team may have died from lack of interest 14 years ago, but now the students are making up the difference. With the administration’s support, Chan believes the team can go far.
“My big dream is to get Piedmont Speech and Debate on the map,” Chan said. “Piedmont is an academic high school and all academic high schools should have a great speech and debate class. The two go hand in hand. The kids are so smart and talented and we have the ability to be right up there with all the great programs in our league.”
Beyond the competition, Speech and Debate allows students to practice important skills like constructing well-supported arguments.
“I have thanked debate multiple times for helping me survive history with Mr. Cowherd,” Sibal said. “Before I joined, I was very timid and quiet, but I pushed myself to argue and speak in front of my peers, and have since gained more confidence. For me, it’s not so much about how I progressed as a debater, but how I grew as a person in general.”
Disney also finds satisfaction in having joined Speech and Debate Team despite the amount of work required for writing speeches.
“A lot of people think debate is really nerdy, which it kind of is, but it’s super chill and I really recommend it,” Disney said.
Hopcraft was pushed to join the debate team in middle school by his parents. He ended up loving it and wanting to continue to participate in debate when he came to high school.
“There’s something compelling about learning how best to express yourself through the medium of language,” Hopcraft said. “Day-to-day we never really think of talking as an art form, but deeper down, words can have a beautiful eloquence when used to immerse an audience in the mind of a speaker. Yelling facts at other kids in suits is hecka fun.”
