Debaters compete in activity's 'Super Bowl'

Eight Green River High School students were among the 6,000 participants from 1,500 schools who made their way to Louisville, Kentucky last week to take part in the National Speech and Debate Tournament.

The Wolves Speech and Debate team members all participated in the six initial rounds of the tournament, with several students competing in multiple events. While none of the students "broke through" to the later rounds, according to Head Coach Dan Parson, they still worked hard through their three days of competitions.

"Everybody did well and they felt like they did their best and learned a lot," Parson said.

Once their own competitions were over, the students spent the last two days of the tournament watching other students from across the country compete in the final rounds, which Parson said is an important educational experience.

"You can't achieve a certain level of mastery and unless you know what that level of mastery looks like," Parson said, explaining watching the national winners allows the students to see a level of skill they would't be able to encounter otherwise which they can learn from and emulate. He believes this opportunity is critical for any speech and debate team to be able to achieve the progress coaches and students aim for.

Around 170,000 students participate in speech and debate nationwide, according to Parson. He explained the numbers probably rival those of other sports and activities, even if speech and debate tends to get less attention.

"It's the biggest thing people have never heard of," Parson joked.

But for those who have heard of it and participate, the national tournament is especially exciting. Parson estimated close to 10,000 people gather for the competition, and said the final rounds are always a big production.

"It's a little bit like going to the speech and debate Super Bowl," Parson said. "That's the level of excitement that you have. All these kids who do this activity, all of a sudden they're there with the best of the best, with a great big stage, and they're surrounded by thousands of other competitors watching the final rounds, and it's a big deal."

This year's tournament was especially exciting since it marked a return to in-person competitions after two years of canceled or virtual tournaments due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The level of inspiration and standard of excellence set at nationals just wasn't the same in virtual competitions, according to Parson.

Being part of the tournament also gave the students the confidence boost of being able to compete at a higher level.

"Seeing what national-level excellence looks like, they saw that they could hang with that level of experience," Parson said. "Hopefully that'll really inspire the kids back here to try even harder and to work even harder and strive for that themselves."

Parson also extended his gratitude to everyone who donated to make the trip to nationals possible, including Sweetwater County School District Superintendent Craig Barringer and the school board.

"The community was so kind to us in our fundraising efforts," Parson said. "Lots and lots and lots of people donated time and money so the kids could go have this experience."