On Saturday, October 27, the Forensics Team got together at Shikellamy High School in Sunbury, PA to attend their first tournament of the year, specifically for first-time Forensics competitors. Various events in which State High competed included Declamation, Duo Interpretation, Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Public Forum, and more. State High was extremely successful, winning the following awards (that came with candy as well):

Declamation:

1st – Tanisha Mal

3rd – Michelle Zhang

Duo Interpretation:

3rd – Keya Ahrestani and Sruthi Ramesh

Lincoln-Douglas Debate:

1st – Emiyare Ikwut-Ukwa

2nd – Claire Zheng

3rd – Serena Duncan

Public Forum:

1st – Jackie Li and Lauren Velegol       

2nd – Araaf Mannan and Ashrafur Khan

3rd – Allison Mi and Adrita Talukder

The day started off with a two-hour bus ride to Shikellamy High School. Once the students arrived, they were welcomed into the large auditorium, and then proceeded to go to separate debate and speech workshops to learn from others. Afterward, the students began competing in their specific events, which they had prepared for in the weeks leading up to that date.

“I prepped a lot, but when I got there I realized I really didn’t need to because the other schools students attending didn’t prepare as much as we did which eased some of the stress. One of my favorite memories was probably delivering my speech during the first round because it was really nerve-racking, but as I got into my speech I started to really have fun while delivering it,” freshman Tanisha Mal said.

As the rounds of the competition came to an end, competitors and judges ate their lunches where many competitors discussed their rounds and how they did. At the awards ceremony, several prizes were earned, and State High then boarded the bus back home, ending the long, rewarding day.

“I think State High did really well. Of the rounds I watched, everyone looked like they prepared a lot. They were very successful, and everybody looked like they were having fun,” senior Jasmine Cao said. However, the Shikellamy tournament was a big change from previous years with more competitors and thus more competition.

Having judged the tournament both this year and last, Cao said, “It’s always fun to judge because I get to see other people in their first couple rounds but it feels strange to be on the other side of the table. I just try to be as helpful as I can and I try to be nice. We definitely had more novices compete than in the past, and we had more student judges too. Luckily, everything ran smoothly, and it was a good learning experience to all.”

“I think the tournament was very beneficial because it gave me an idea of what a real tournament would be like. However, some of the judges weren’t very thorough and I noticed that many of my competitors weren’t very prepared which didn’t make it a challenging tournament.  Nevertheless, I would wholeheartedly recommend this experience to others because it’s a great tournament to go to and it gives you an idea of what a real tournament would be like but with more lenient rules, a less stressful environment, and you also don’t need as much preparation as a real tournament,” freshman Tanisha Mal said.

As a great opportunity for State High students, the Shikellamy Novice Tournament was a fulfilling experience to all. State High students did exceptionally well. Congratulations are in order to all who competed.