Next Saturday (1/7) kicks off the second half of our season at Hunterdon Central. This is a new NJSDL tournament that will offer ALL speech events and all levels of debate, and we want the tournament to stick around in the future, so let’s go out in force! It will also be the site of States this year, so it might be a good idea to get a feel for the campus, too. Sign up here.
CFL #3 Cancelled
We received word this afternoon that CFL #3 at Montville is cancelled, so there will be no tournament tomorrow (12/17). We will keep you updated if the tournament is rescheduled for another time. Enjoy the weekend, be safe, and we’ll see everyone for our holiday cookie exchange on Tuesday after-school.
Results from Princeton & Summit
Please congratulate the following team members for their hard work and success the past two weekends!
Summit Holiday Classic:
- Peter Vailakis – Top Non-Advancing Novice, Original Oratory
- Tyler Harper & Lara Heinlein – Top Non-Advancing Novices, Duo Interpretation
- Kathryn Altman – 4th place Humorous Interpretation
- Jordan Pontelandolfo – 4th place Dramatic Interpretation
- Lauren Spencer – 1st place Dramatic Interpretation
- Bryn Bennett – 1st place Humorous Interpretation and 1st place Program Oral Interpretation
- Team Sweepstakes – 5th place
Princeton Classic:
- Amy Pu – Double-octafinalist, Varsity Lincoln Douglas
- Shefali Das – Semifinalist, Original Oratory
- Bryn Bennett – 6th place Humorous Interpretation
- Lauren Spencer – 6th place Dramatic Interpretation
CFL #2 Results
After a week off, our team competed at CFL #2 at Ridge HS on Saturday. Veterans got some great fine-tuning opportunities, novices got some great experience, and we did quite well for ourselves overall. Take a look:
- Naomi Gonzalez – 6th place JV Extemporaneous Speaking
- Jordan Pontelandolfo – 5th place Oral Interpretation
- Abha Walter – 4th place JV Extemporaneous Speaking
- Lauren Spencer – 4th place Dramatic Performance
- Bryn Bennett & Caitlyn Dempsey – 4th place Duo Interpretation
- Claudia Pietrus – 4th place Original Oratory
- Jacqueline Wu – 3rd place JV Extemporaneous Speaking
- Sam Halpern – 3rd place Congress
- Team Sweepstakes – 4th place
Perhaps you’ve already heard about some other excitement from the tournament. Two of our students had the great fortune to debate Stephen Colbert’s son this weekend at CFL #2. What was perhaps more surprising to them was that when they walked in their room, Mr. Colbert was sitting in the back, ready to watch the debate. Mr. Colbert is also a speech and debate alumni from his childhood in South Carolina, so it was really great to see him supporting the activity. If you’re interested in photographic proof, check out our photo gallery here.
Late October Results & CFL #2 Signups
Please join us in congratulating our members who have achieved success at our early-season local tournaments below:
Phillipsburg Invitational:
- Renee Shen – 6th place Varsity Lincoln Douglas
- Jordan Pontelandolfo – 6th place Dramatic Interpretation
- Kathryn Altman – 6th place Humorous Interpretation
- Mallika Ravi – 5th place Novice Poetry and 5th place Novice Prose
- Braedyn Speight – 2nd place Novice Poetry
- Bryn Bennett – 2nd place Program Oral Interpretation
Capitol Beltway Fall Classic:
- Amy Pu – Octafinalist, Varsity Lincoln Douglas
CFL #1 @ Ridge:
- Naomi Gonzalez – 1st place Junior Varsity Extemporaneous Speaking
There is only one local tournament in November (CFL #2 at Ridge on 11/12), so make sure you sign up! The earlier you compete, the more feedback you get, the quicker you earn points, and the more comfortable you feel. Sign up here: CFL #2: Ridge.
Early Tournament Registration
We encourage everyone to consider signing up for our early tournaments. There are three before the Thanksgiving break, perfect for novices to shadow (or even better, compete) at and for veterans to earn early states bids and CFL qualification points. Signups or drops are due by the Tuesday before each tournament. Take a look below:
CFL #1: Ridge (10/22)
Phillipsburg (10/29)
Also, don’t sleep on our next national Ivy League tournament at Princeton – nice and close for an overnight trip. Tournament registration opens on 10/18, so to ensure a spot on the roster, sign up soon.
Princeton Classic (12/2-12/4)