About
About Snohomish Speech and Debate
- Category: Uncategorised
- Published Date
- Eric Hare
- Hits: 5446
The Snohomish High School Speech and Debate team was founded in 2005 and has grown rapidly in terms of membership and success. In the 2006-2007 competitive season we were ranked 1st in the state overall in the national strength rating system (new degrees), we won the Puget Sound National Qualifying Tournament for the second year in a row, sent 24 members to the State Championship finals where we placed in the top five in speech and all debate events we entered, and sent 11 to the National Championships in Wichita, KS. Snohomish finished 6th in the Nationals tournament sweepstakes ranking for top teams in debate, producing award winners in public forum (two teams), student congress, and duo speech. We took an astounding 441 individual top-three trophies and awards in regular competition.
Speech and Debate offers your child a wonderful opportunity to grow in skill, confidence, and knowledge, and the difference in ability that the first year of competition creates is truly astonishing. I believe every competitor on our team will tell you that they learn more of value through Speech and Debate than they learn in any other offering through school. For students headed to college, Speech and Debate looks great on an application and there are opportunities for scholarships for team members.
The SHS Debate team has a little something for everyone. Those looking to improve their speaking ability or stage presence will find an atmosphere designed to do just that. Those who want to be a part of a competitive team who may not have the athletic ability to participate in a varsity sports team will find all the elements that make sports exciting; team wins and losses, trophies, and championships.
Debate is divided into three primary sections. The first are debate events. Many people who make the decision to not join the team do so because they think that this is the only aspect of the debate program. The truth is actually that only three of the more than a dozen NFL sanctioned events are true debate events. With that said, the three are a very exciting learning experience, and most debaters will tell you that they are a whole lot of fun. There is also a hybrid speech-debate event known as Student Congress, and though it shares elements of both, it is quite unlike either speech or debate. For information on these debate events, please see their individual pages:
Snohomish has traditionally been very strong in the competitive speech events. Contrary to popular rumor, not all of the speech events deal with current events and politics. While some require a fairly good understanding (Extemporaneous) and others benefit from a general knowledge of the area (Oratory), most require none of the sort. In reality, speech events range from poetry/prose style, to a unique explanatory topic with a posterboard, to on the spot speaking. For information on these speech events, please see their individual pages:
- Expository Speaking
- Original Oratory
- Interpretive Reading
- Extemporaneous Speaking
- Impromptu Speaking
The final of the three sections to the debate program is dramatic. These events include two single speaking events, and a duo event with a partner. For any interested in improving their acting and stage presence, these events offer a great opportunity. For information on these dramatic events, please see their individual pages:
If you have more questions about the program, please first visit the FAQs Section to see if your question has already been answered. For information and questions about Snohomish Debate, please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to e-mail the instructor, William Nicolay. For website related questions, please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to e-mail Eric Hare, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to e-mail Rainie Nelson, or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to e-mail Shannon Harris.
About