Speech and Debate Tournament
Speech:
Sometimes you just hit a judge who doesn't like you. It doesn't define who you are, although it feels like a kick in the teeth sometimes. My IXer got a 7 in a round - usually the lowest score you can get is a 6, but we had to stuff the rounds (too many kids, not enough rooms) and he got the bottom.
I'd love to see the scores that this judge gave to others, but I'm not sure I can get that info from Speechwire. We had speculated that she was a novice judge, but it's clear from her comments that she was not only experienced in the event, she knew what she was talking about in precise terms. It was harsh but good feedback for this kid.
My little DXer - little because he's a novice, not because he's smaller than I am - had one goal: getting a 3. And he got it! Ok, his other scores were not so great. We need to work on consistency, but as a novice, he's coming along nicely. Next goal is not a 2 but no 6. Every week, I see this kid working his butt off, considering the critiques the coaches and I make. I think that this week, when I have to consign the Xers to a former interper due to scheduling, we'll see him make more presentation improvements. That alone will bring him up.
My senior DXer is sad that she didn't do well. This was probably her worst tournament this year - not a single 1 in the three rounds. 2-2-2 isn't bad, but it wasn't enough to get a trophy. She's sincerely sad.
I joke with my Xers that they need to win to get me points. I have to stop that. They take that seriously and I'm not at all. I want them to win for themselves. Let that be my new send-off.
The interloper, a policy debater, stepped into IX for this week only. He took 4th. Oy. He's a brilliant kid, a bit arrogant, smarter than most. He doesn't like IX, he wants to get back to debate. But he took 4th. What is the matter with this boy?
Debate:
PFers- mostly not good. One team didn't win anything. I'm not sure what J&O are doing because I haven't reviewed their cases, but that's this week's task. L&S and S&A both went 2-2, which is a massive improvement for S&A. I'd love to know what the difference was this week; maybe it's the new case. Now that the Islamic Cultural Center resolution is over, I think we're feeling fresh.
And now, my biggest news. ED won 3 debates yesterday. THREE!!! We revised her NEG case and rewrote some of the contention 2, clearly strengthening it. Her only loss was to one of the top 6 debaters, which is a good indicator of how much she's improving. Her only loss was her first round, which dropped her when we went to power rounds, but it gave her the chance at the other two wins by pairing her with students at the same strength.
My debate coach boss, who we'll now call The Debate Coach, asked me at the end of rounds if the party is at my house tonight. No, I said, I'm going to a party - NaNoWriMo Thank God It's Over party at Don Pablos. He said he thought there would be a party at my house tonight.
No...
Later, he asked what I would do if ED surpassed Junior Debater. JD has been debating for 3 years how; he's a good debater. "I'll throw a party!" I said.
"Party at your house," he told me.
Analysis of the standings left us with this: ED ranked highest of the 3 on the team. JD ranked highest on speaker points. Malthusian Debater, a 2nd year LD debater with a twisted, fun sense of argument, beat The Opposition.
The Opposition is a young woman from our district that put our team on edge when she started last year. She has cutesy sayings like "And that's why we're going to vote AFF in this round" to the judge.
We?
To top it off, at the last tournament, Junior Debater asked for evidence, which she said she would supply - and then, when asked to produce it, said she didn't have to. JD was through the roof. We spent a couple of hours looking for the rules of evidence for debate. Finally, The Debate Coach sent me a link to an outdated NFL manual - ah HA! The rules of evidence include the instructions to the judge for failure to support evidence/provide evidence on demand. We tracked down the revised manuals and printed up extra copies.
Malthusian Debater had her 2nd round with The Opposition. I made sure that Junior Debater's evidence was in her file before letting her go into the round.
MD WON!!! She slung that NFL rules of evidence around and The Opposition got her lowest score of the day. It certainly kept her off the stage for awards.
Now, lest you think I have issues with this young lady, let me say this: I do. She cheated and this time, she got caught. What's disturbing about this is that her team mate, who got creamed on evidence time after time in the final tournaments last year, now calls himself Mr. Evidence and was on the stage last night. (It may have been his first placing.) Her coach is not teaching her bad debate. Her team mates know better. She's often on the stage for awards; granted, she's a gifted debater. She knows the terminology and she uses it, sometimes to intimidate a novice judge. I certainly felt intimidated by her last year.
But every one of my team will be carrying those NFL rules into every round with her.
I would have paid money to see The Opposition's face when MD pulled out those rules and laid them down.
Next week, her high school is hosting the largest debate tournament in Midwest Swing State. I won't see her coach, but The Debate Coach will be working tab with him. I anticipate some comments; Mr. Diamond Awards Debate Coach is an jerk. But he'll be so busy running his tournament that he probably won't have time.
Next week: [rubbing my hands together] We'll see.