The Bridgewater-Raritan High School Forensics Club of Speech and Debate began with its first tournament of the season at Summit High School.
The event was the Borelli Festival, which was designed to be an introductory tournament for new debaters to get a feel for speech and debate, The event was a success for Bridgewater-Raritan competitors.
At Summit, both workshops and tournaments were held to ease students into getting more comfortable with their public speaking. Some of the workshops included presentations focused on researching styles for debate, improving impromptu speaking, and structuring arguments.
Certain workshops taught participants about the format of speech and debate events. Speech categories, such as oral interpretation or humorous interpretation, and debate categories, such as Lincoln-Douglas or Public Forum, are among the options that forensics students have. Borelli allowed students to learn more about their specific event.
Additionally, rounds between debaters were also a part of the agenda. The most effective method for becoming more comfortable with debating is participating in tournaments to get more familiar with the structure of debate. Both speech and debate rounds were held, and many of Bridgewater-Raritan’s very own were able to win their rounds. Numerous experienced Bridgewater-Raritan debaters also attended to help teach workshops and judge rounds.
Saraansh Rawat, a sophomore debater who is starting his first year of debate in Public Forum, shared his experience.
“I found the experience valuable [as] I got to see how people collaborated on things like blocks to help the whole group… It’s truly a team sport in that you’re either working on your stuff or helping someone else who is helping you; that’s the best part. We all work together [towards] one common goal,” Rawat said.
Other Bridgewater-Raritan students who were at Borelli were selected to lead workshops teaching other students about the aspects of speech and debate.
Junior novice team captain Atharva Makode mentioned their experience teaching students.
“Teaching was a fun experience as it allowed me to share my knowledge with many of the new debaters in the state,” Makode said.
The event was a great way for students to take their first step into the forensics world and it was a pleasant beginning to the Forensics season.
The next tournament was held at Phillipsburg High School on October 28.
