Due to its size, UNI is often considered the underdog, regardless of the activity. For the UNI Speech and Debate team, it has been a long road to the national tournament, but the team has made it.
The UNI Speech team has been traveling once or twice per month to competitions throughout the year. The team has placed within the top three at several tournaments, qualifying for nationals.
While there are a few different national tournaments, the UNI Speech team set their eyes on what is considered to be the most competitive national tournament, held by the American Forensics Association.
Nationals will take place April 3-6 in Portland, Ore. To prepare for the tough competition ahead, the team has been practicing often, including long hours put in on the weekend, said Hunter Thompson, senior communication major and UNI Speech and Debate team member.
“The team has been researching, writing and performing their topics and events over the past eight months, so over these next two weeks, in addition to the public showcase, we’ll be doing a lot of practicing and polishing of their speech and acting events,” said Joshua Hamzehee, communication studies instructor.
Hamzehee is also the UNI Speech and Debate team advisor.
According to Thompson, the UNI Speech and Debate team has consecutively appeared in the AFA national tournament the past five years. In terms of ranking, the team has consistently placed 10th the last three years, and he expects nothing less next month, noting the exceptional year they have already had.
“While every team has a unique set of skills, I think the momentum and experience we have built over the past three years will really be beneficial for a team that has a lot of talented junior and senior members who have already won plenty of national awards and recognition,” said Hamzehee.
At winter nationals, held this past January, the team placed third overall.
In terms of size, the UNI team is considerably smaller than those they compete against. This year, the team had 11 members qualify for nationals. This sets them apart from the rest, said Thompson, as the team plans to win over the judges with the quality of their work rather than the quantity of members.
Hamzehee stated that the team’s award-winning speech and acting performances relate to many topics discussed in classroom and issues that our society faces as a whole. The team plans to continue to present these topics in innovative, engaging, and entertaining ways said Hamzehee.
The speech showcase, held Wednesday in the Mauker Union Ballroom, is the last event on their calendar until nationals. The team members must wait until the awards ceremony to find out if this season will be their best yet.
