On Saturday, September 27, the newly formed GCCC Speech and Debate team participated in their first tournament. The tournament, hosted by The University of Florida, featured over 20 four-year colleges. Some notable institutions participating were Louisiana State University, Webster University, and the University of Alabama. As the only community college participating in the event, the Garden City Speakers and Debaters were up for a challenge.
Since the tournament was fully digital, the team was able to participate from the comfort of their own campus, which was beneficial for the brand-new team. Each team member also helped to organize and plan the event. The competitors had to ensure that food was taken care of, technology was running properly and consistent communication was maintained between members.
After ensuring clarity behind the scenes, the team was able to focus on their competition. Some team members, like Christy Donovan, Phybee Madlangbayan, Katelynn Hintz and Jordan Humphreys, had several years of experience behind them. Given this, they assisted their novice teammates in understanding the complexities of the competition. They explained rounds, scoring and breaking to finals to those who were unfamiliar. Essentially, a competitor would enter their digital round via zoom. Once it was their turn to speak, they would either perform their practiced material or receive their prompt and start their work, depending on their event. Speakers in events like Program Oral Interpretation (POI) and Poetry Interpretation (PI) had material prepared which they used in their events. In events like Impromptu Debate, participants began their events in anticipation, unaware of their material until the start of their performance time.
After competing in two rounds, the team waited to see who broke to finals. The results were released in several waves, with the POI results being released first. Aware of the tough competition, the speakers were prepared to be met with an unfamiliar list of names. Despite their limited expectations, they saw their teammate Christy’s name on the POI list. Further, once the PI list was released, they were delighted to see Phybee as one of the individuals who broke to finals.
The finalists rushed to prepare, while those who did not break reviewed their performances and discussed improvements with their coach, Savannah Sanburg. Despite not breaking to finals, the novice performers in Impromptu Debate were runners up. Veronica McCallum took 13th, with Isaac Dean and Tela Mulitalo taking 14th and 15th place. Considering the competition and their lack of experience, the debaters and their teammates were thrilled.
After plenty of prep work, the two finalists began their rounds. Christy performed first, giving the judges an immersive look into her piece with themes of sex trafficking and the Jeffrey Epstein case. After Christy performed, Phybee began her performance, which focused on racial violence and police brutality. Once their rounds concluded, they waited patiently for the results of the competition.
With their teammates and coach beside them for support, the final ranking was released. Facing off against national champions and acclaimed university students, Christy Donovan took 7th place in POI, and Phybee Madlangbayan took 5th place in Poetry Interpretation.
Their first competition was finally complete, and the speakers and debaters already made their mark on the collegiate speech and debate world. Over the next year, these speakers will continue to face tough competition, and if their future tournaments go anything like their first, they are in for a great season!
