Any returning members or prepared novices are encouraged to sign up for the Yale Invitational, September 14-16. It’s an excellent early-season tournament to get good feedback, but there’s limited space available. Team members attending Yale will also be required to attend two “preseason” meetings in September after school begins. No spots are guaranteed, but registration opens August 1, so to maximize your chances, sign up below ASAP!
NSDA Nationals Results
Congratulations to our team members who attended NSDA Nationals in Fort Lauderdale this year. A special congratulations to senior Bryn Bennett, who made the national quarterfinals in Program Oral Interpretation!
2018-19 Interest Meeting
Are you or your friends interested in speech and debate? Join next year’s officers in the STEM lab on Tuesday, June 5 at lunch for a no-obligation information session about the benefits of joining the team and what we do. Bring your friends, family members, total strangers – the more the merrier! Food will be provided!
NCFL Results
Congratulations to all three of our NCFL qualifiers who competed this weekend at Grand Nationals in Washington, DC. Special congratulations to:
- Katherine Hu, Octafinalist in Original Oratory
- Caitlyn Dempsey, 10th place in Oral Interpretation
NJSDL State Champions and NJ District Qualifiers
Congratulations to all our team members who competed at the NJSDL State Championships and the NJ District Qualifying Tournament! Special congratulations to the following champions and qualifiers:
NJSDL State Champions
- Bryn Bennett – State Champion, Program Oral Interpretation
- Caitlyn Dempsey – State Champion, Oral Interpretation
NJ District Qualifiers
- Bryn Bennett – Program Oral Interpretation
- Katherine Hu – Original Oratory
- Mallika Ravi – Informative Speaking
Here is the full list of accomplishments for States and Districts:
NJ District Qualifying Tournament:
Sabrina Hu – semifinalist, Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking
Claudia Pietrus – semifinalist, Original Oratory
Kathryn Altman – semifinalist, Humorous Interpretation (2nd alternate)
Brenna McConnell – runner up, Big Questions Debate
Katherine Hu – qualifier in Original Oratory
Mallika Ravi – qualifier in Informative Speaking
Bryn Bennett – qualifier in Humorous Interpretation (declined) and Program Oral Interpretation (accepted)
Team Sweepstakes – 4th place Speech, 4th place Debate, 2nd place overall
NJSDL State Championships:
Claudia Pietrus – state semifinalist, Original Oratory
Simran Kakkar – state semifinalist, Junior Varsity Lincoln Douglas
Mallika Ravi – 2nd place, Informative Speaking
Caitlyn Dempsey – STATE CHAMPION IN ORAL INTERPRETATION
Bryn Bennett – state semifinalist, Humorous Interpretation & STATE CHAMPION, PROGRAM ORAL INTERPRETATION
Team Sweepstakes – 5th place Speech & 7th place overall
Mailing List
If you are a student or parent who is not receiving team emails, please sign up for the mailing list here.
CFL 1 and Princeton
Below are the results for the first Newark CFL tournament of the year:
- Katherine Hu – 4th place, Original Oratory
- Paul Ward & Allie Wu – Quarterfinalists, Varsity Public Forum
AND – it’s that time again! The Princeton Classic is coming up soon. Waitlists for the tournament will be cleared next week, so make sure to sign up ASAP. Even if you aren’t 100% certain that you can attend, it’s better to sign up now and drop later than waiting too long with the possibility of not getting in. Princeton sign-ups are here. Deposit information will be handed out at meetings this week – those will be due on November 8.
Results & October Tournaments
Big Bronx Results:
Bryn Bennett placed 2nd in Program Oral Interp at this major national tournament! Congratulations!
October Tournaments:
Our first local tournaments of the year are coming up in the next two weeks. We encourage all team members to sign up for these – the earlier you start competing, the more practice you get, and the earlier you get feedback from judges. Sign up below for:
CFL #1 @ Union Catholic – 10/21
FYI – for Phillipsburg on, our new policy for sign-ups will be one week ahead of the tournament. So, the sign-up deadline for Phillipsburg will be this Satuday, 10/21.
Season Kick-off Meetings!
Welcome back to the school year! The coaches and student officers are excited to welcome everyone back to the competitive season with two upcoming kick-off meetings coming up soon. Both meetings will begin in room 164 after school.
- Tuesday, September 26 is our special meeting for all returning members. Any team member grades 10-12 who was on the team last year is invited to attend. We’ll be discussing the new season, giving out important information and schedules, setting goals for the year, and training to help welcome our new members at the next meeting
- Thursday, September 28 is our official season kick-off meeting for all new and returning members. We invite everyone to come and check out our team, meet the coaches and student officers, find out what speech and debate is and why it’s worth your time, and learn about our different events. Bring a friend or two, and enjoy our first meeting of the year!
Please also join our team mailing list if you are a new member. The link to the mailing list can be found here.
Yale Results
Congratulations to the following team members who competed at the Yale Invitational this weekend and advanced to elimination rounds!
- Lauren Spencer – Quarterfinalist, Dramatic Interpretation
- Kathryn Altman – Quarterfinalist, Humorous Interpretation
- Nicole Nissel & Briana Nissel – Semifinalists, Duo Interpretation