Debaters make it far in national tournament
Written by Tessa Bowen, Former Student on Thursday, June 21, 2012
Five SHS students competed in The National Forensics League tournament, held in Indianapolis this past week. Three of the five students from SHS made it to the octo-finals. Sophomore Alex Sapadin, made it all the way to the quarter-final round in political speech. "Everyone was so competent and dedicated to what they did. The level of competition was so high," said Sapadin.
Making it to the national tournament is an accomplishment in and of itself. However, students who make it past the preliminary round are the top 60 in the nation in their respective categories. Each category hosts around 50,000 students nationwide. “You see high school students routinely doing things you never imagined they could do, operating at an incredibly high level in a tough environment for a week, 12, 14, 16 hours a day. The level of talent there is just mind-boggling,” said debate coach Bill Nicolay.
Competition isn't the only thing Sapadin took from the tournament. “The debate team has become family to me. Any time spent with them is time well spent,” said Sapadin.
Other debaters felt the same way. “The first thing that went through my head was ‘Oh-my-gosh, it’s actually here!’” said Max Zinkand. “I was really nervous but I knew I was competing against really good debaters.”
The tournament took place over the course of five days. Students spent up to 10 hours each day prepping, watching and competing. “[Nationals] were very long and draining, and it will take me a week to make up the sleep deficit, but the level of competition is just stunningly good,”said Nicolay.
