Pioneer Academy Student Places Seventh in Speech and Debate Tournament
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Sat, 11/13/2021 - 12:58pm
Pioneer Academy’s Speech and Debate team has had a late but great start to the 2021-2022 season. COVID-19’s Delta variant not only knocked out the team’s coach for two weeks but has also caused stricter regulations for tournament participation.
Pioneer Academy missed the first tournament as a result of these complications. In spite of all of the obstacles, freshman Connor Ragan was happy to attend the Wooster tournament Saturday, October 16.
Ragan competed in Congressional Debate, an event designed to run like a much quicker version of real Congress sessions.
The students debate “legislation” which has been written by their peers and act as “Representatives” while debating topics ranging from COVID-19 vaccination doses to the safety concerns of trick or treating in the midst of the pandemic.
Ragan spent time preparing questions and gathering statistics on both sides of the issue for every piece of legislation, and his hard work paid off.
In this event, students gave speeches in favor of or in opposition to the submitted legislation, and then face a one-minute questioning period.
Students are scored on a scale of 1 through 6 on presentation, argumentation, organization and logical use of evidence. Ragan gave three speeches and asked a lot of great questions, according to Judge Jade Whitbeck.
Congressional Debate differs from other events in the way that students are ranked. In each of two sessions, the group has a different judge. Each judge picks two students who stand out as judge favorites.
The scores of each student’s speeches in both rounds are averaged to give them an overall score. The top scorers and judges picks all end up in the running for placement in the event. These student’s names are given to the entire Congress chamber, and the students place them in order of who they think placed 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.
Ragan placed 7th in a group of 30 competitors, most of whom had far more experience. The students who placed 1 through 6 had all competed in some sort of debate event throughout the 2020-2021 season.
When asked how his experience was, Ragan said “The whole tournament was just a blast! I thought it was pretty interesting to see how other kids structure their debates and how they execute their speeches. It was great to just sit down and talk about my views with the other debaters, who were all very nice. I will definitely be competing in the next tournament, but this time, I'm going to place 1st instead of 7th!”
The next tournament will be November 19 and 20, hosted at McQueen High School. Those interested in volunteering to judge, contact coach Jill Shufelt at 283-1317 or jshufelt@carson.k12.nv.us for more information.
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Located in Nevada’s capital, Carson City School District offers public education to approximately 7,600 students throughout Carson City. The district includes 6 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, 1 alternative high school and 1 comprehensive high school. Carson City School District boasts many successes including impressive graduation rates, strict safety measures, programs for gifted students and advanced-placement classes, among several others. In a joint venture with Western Nevada College, the Carson City School District Jump Start College program allows students to complete their senior year of high school and freshman year of college simultaneously. For more information, visit carsoncityschools.com.
