Bridgewater-Raritan High School’s Forensics Speech and Debate club launched its season with an informational meeting on Tuesday, September 30, bringing in a significant number of new members eager to develop their public speaking and argumentation skills.

The comprehensive information session—led by advisor Mr. Fischer and club board Viraaj Marathe, Hrishi Patel, and Paritosh Bhole—introduced students to the various categories available in forensics, including Public Forum, Lincoln Douglas, Congressional Debate, Parliamentary Debate and Speech. The meeting outlined the structure of the season, tournament expectations, and the commitment required to succeed in speech and debate.

Following the informational meeting, the team held its first official practice on Tuesday, October 7, marking the beginning of active preparation for the upcoming tournament season. The practice session allowed both returning members and newcomers to gain a deeper understanding about their category, as well as begin working on their debate cases, speeches, and fundamental skills under the guidance of the captains.

Viraaj Marathe, Forensics president, shares his excitement and goals for the season.

“I’m super excited to welcome our newest members to the club and help Forensics be the best it can be. I hope to send some kids to Kentucky and Richmond at the end of the year, but I mainly hope to show people the environment that’s hooked me for years, and maybe hook them too,” Marathe said.

The club continues to build on last year’s remarkable success, when the team captured awards throughout the season and succeeded at the state championship level. Multiple participants traveled to Kentucky and Des Moines to compete at national tournaments, showing the program’s competitive caliber.

This season marks an exciting expansion in the team’s tournament schedule. The club has added Harvard’s tournament in Boston, Massachusetts to its roster of national circuit competitions, joining the Princeton tournament that was introduced last year and the University of Pennsylvania tournament that Bridgewater-Raritan High School has competed in for several years. These three national tournaments provide elite competition opportunities for the team’s most experienced debaters.

Additionally, the club is bringing back its home tournament after a successful debut last year. The Bridgewater-Raritan home tournament proved to be both enjoyable for participants and an excellent showcase of the school’s forensics program.

Advika Prakash, one of the Lincoln Douglas Debate captains, shares her thoughts on these new tournaments.

“Hosting a home tournament is an amazing opportunity for us as debaters, since it promotes leadership and gives us the chance to contribute. I’m also looking forward to several of the national tournaments we have this year, especially Harvard, since it is our first year competing there as a school. Debate is an incredible activity of argumentation and I look forward to competing this season,” Prakash said.

The season officially begins on October 25, when the team will compete at Phillipsburg High School for its first regular-season tournament.

The ambitious schedule includes 14 tournaments throughout the year, with high school competitions at Randolph, Princeton, Ridge, Summit, Hunterdon Central and Montville, among others. The season will culminate with the State Championships at Hunterdon Central on March 13-14 and the New Jersey District Tournament at Delbarton on March 20-21.

The strong turnout of new members reflects the club’s reputation as an inclusive environment where students of all experience levels can thrive. The Forensics board, along with category captains in Lincoln Douglas (Advika Prakash, Arnav Dham, Harshit Kondle), Public Forum (Marko Gvozdenovic, Rishabh Sankar, Anaya Tejani), Congress (Anshita Jaiswal, Colin Hawley), Parliamentary Debate (Manas Gumedelli) and Speech (Achyut Nuli, Anay Gade), are committed to mentoring newcomers and helping them develop their skills.

With a robust roster of both experienced competitors and enthusiastic newcomers, combined with an expanded tournament schedule that includes prestigious national competitions, the Forensics club is positioned for another successful season. The team aspires to have members place in tournaments and qualify for the Tournament of Champions and National Speech and Debate Tournament.

The club meets regularly after school every Tuesday and Thursday in the high school, with practices designed to help students develop their skills and prepare for upcoming competitions. Although registration for the club has unfortunately closed, students interested in joining can still reach out to club leadership for information about getting involved for the next season.