By Rylie Parkins/ne news editor

Practice may not always make perfect, but it can pay off. The NE Campus speech and debate team recently competed at the Speech on the Beach Tournament, where many members placed in various categories.

The students spend a year getting ready for nationals, which will be held in Chicago in April, and internationals in London.

“This group of students have been preparing their programs since fall 2007. Students can join the team at any point in the semester, and the coaches will help get them ready for tournaments,” Lisa Benedetti, NE communication arts chair and debate team coach, said.

The members of the team are dedicated to preparing for competitions, practicing for several hours a week, Ambra Costner, speech and debate team member, said.

“We meet for class twice a week for an hour,” she said. “The students are required to meet with each of our three coaches for at least an hour every week. We also are to practice on our own for about an hour a day.”

Team members must be well informed on many subjects as their debate topics are broad.

“Some of the topics have to do with everything from death, autism and infidelity to environmental issues, philanthropy and romance novels,” Costner said.

When competition day rolls around, members are pumped and ready to compete, Costner said.

“The atmosphere of the tournaments is usually very serious,” she said. 

Costner said preparations become more intense the day of the competition.

“Our team gets into competitive mode at 5 a.m. that morning. We wake up practicing, then we do warm-up exercises. Once everyone is getting ready to go into a round, you can sense pure competition in the air.”

The smaller tournaments have anywhere from 10-15 teams competing, whereas larger competitions have 20-25 schools.

At the Speech on the Beach competition, 12 teams from Texas and Louisiana participated.

All of their hard work definitely paid off. The team was successful and can now focus on prepping for their next competition, Irene Thrower, NE speech and debate team coach, said.

“I am proud of all of our students and the dedications that they put in to make this a life-changing experience for themselves,” she said. “On top of balancing school and their outside lives, forensics teaches these students how to manage time and efforts effectively. Each one of our students has grown in a very unique and individual way.”

Competition Results
2nd Place – Communication Analysis: Ambra Costner
3rd Place – Communication Analysis: Jessica Christopher
2nd Place – Informative Speaking: Emylee Pinero
3rd Place – Impromptu Speaking: Carlos Pinero
5th Place – Dramatic Interpretation: Carlos Pinero
3rd Place – Persuasive Speaking: Ambra Costner
2nd Place – Parliamentary Debate: Carlos Pinero (with Benjamin Butler from Delmar College)
5th Place – Top Speaker: Carlos Pinero