Speech and Debate Policy Team Places Third in Weekend Tournament

Five San Dieguito Speech and Debate competitors advanced beyond the preliminary rounds of the Jack Howe Invitational in Long Beach last weekend, at the team’s second tournament of the season.

Seniors Katie and Eric Wimsatt placed third in Varsity Policy debate, senior Linnea Leidy broke to octofinals in Varsity Lincoln-Douglas debate, junior Kylie Ade made it to semi-finals in Varsity Expository Speech, and freshman Tate Oien advanced to semifinals in novice Congress.

Katie Wimsatt said, “Overall, the team did really, really well. It was the first tournament of the year, and of the 20 people brought, five of us broke to elimination rounds, which was amazing.”

During tournaments such as this one, the competitors are all over the campus. Sometimes sprinting from round to round, they often are exhausted by the end of the day. However, just like any other team be it sports or academic, there is always some time to bond, said Wimsatt.

Wimsatt said, “The highlight of the tournament was hanging out with the rest of the SDA team in between debates. We were all cheering each other on and sharing stories from rounds which was really fun.”

With this much success at the first tournament, Speech and Debate would seem to promise an exciting year. However, Wimsatt said that she “honestly can’t make predictions for the rest of the season. Debate changes really quickly.”

The next speech and debate league tournament will take place locally in October, and the next invitational will be held in November.