With its home tournament behind it, the Republic Speech and Debate team has been refining its pieces as it prepares to return to competition later this month. The team will hit the ground running with ten more tournaments after Christmas break.
Already, though, some team members have experienced success early in the season. At the first tournament of the year — in Willard for varsity competitors and Hillcrest for novice competitors — several students brought home awards. As a team, the novice squad finished fourth in the sweeps race, with Republic capturing fifth place overall.
Kennedy Silvey, an experienced participant in her third year of the speech and debate program, is embracing a new challenge with her dramatic interpretation (DI) this season. She finished third in the event with a narrative from the perspective of Elizabeth Kendall, serial killer Ted Bundy’s wife, portraying the challenges Kendall faced upon unraveling the truth about her husband.
Silvey’s had even more success with her Program of Oral Interpretation (POI), which focuses on the experiences of women in the military, highlighting the challenges they encounter. She placed first in that event.
Silvey said she enjoys POI more as an event, because of the opportunity it affords to weave her personal story with the experiences of others through different pieces. Her ambitions for the year are set high, as she aims to qualify for both nationals and state, with an eye on adding another state title to her achievements. She teamed with Maecie Liska to win a state gold medal two years ago in Duo Interpretation.
Kyree Basnight competed in International Extemporaneous Speaking at Hillcrest, finishing sixth. She and her debate partner also advanced to the semifinals, debating this year’s policy resolution concerning fiscal redistribution in the United States. “It seems like a lot, but it’s pretty simple when you break it down or spend as much time as me and my debate partner have,” she said of the resolution.
Fellow novice Sienna Blankenship overcame nerves to find success at her first high school speech and debate tournament. Competing in Humorous Interpretation (HI) with her piece “The Talent Show Fail,” Blankenship earned first place.
“I was surprised by the tournament results because I did not feel confident,” she admitted. “Once we got through prelims, that provided me with a lot of confidence going into finals.” Blankenship said she hopes to continue refining her piece and qualifying for bigger tournaments.
“My HI piece allows me to be pretty creative with my movements and do what I think the judge would think is funny,” she said. After a strong start, Blankenship looks to build on her early success as the season continues.