Cross examinations, rebuttals and arguments will be flying fast and frequently Thursday, Friday, and Saturday as the school will be hosting the National Forensic League District Meet with a spot at Nationals on the line.

“There are 110 districts throughout the nation, and we are in what is called the LBJ district,” speech and debate coach Tami Parker said. “We will compete against the other schools in the LBJ district, and the top 2 (competitors) from each event will compete at Nationals, so it’s basically the top 1 percent of the nation who will be there.”

The National Forensic League tournaments include all speech and debate events.

“This tournament will be all the events that the kids participate in all year long,” Parker said. “It will include Lincoln-Douglas debate, Cross-Examination debate, and Public Forum debate. We will also have extemporaneous speaking which is where students draw a topic and have 30 minutes to write a speech. We will also have Original Oratory which is where kids write a 10 minute speech on whatever topic they are passionate about. For those who lean more towards theatrics, we have Humorous and Dramatic Interpretation, and Duo acting.”

Students have been preparing for the tournament all year.

“I’m competing in Humorous Interpretation and Duo,” junior Avery Flessner said. “This tournament is really important because it’s our National Forensics League districts, so it’s also our Nationals qualifier. We’ve all been practicing in class and at home, and I expect to do well.”

The team will be taking their experience from tournaments and practice and bringing it to districts.

“Even though this is a one time ‘you win and you go to nationals’ type of event,” Parker said. “Students have been preparing by going to camp over the summer, competing at tournaments all year long, and practicing here in class, peer evaluating each other and working in groups.”

With speech and debate, no matter how much effort is put into practice, other teams can come out with a win.

“I feel that we’re as prepared as any other team coming,” Parker said. “I feel like we have a strong team, but on any given day any school can have a stronger performance. It’s unlike any other sport where you can look at the end and say “I scored this many points so I win”. This event is extremely subjective, and at the end it all comes down to how you convinced a judge that’s sitting in front of you.”