Speech and Debate Readies for an Exciting Year
By Jana Riggins, Speech and Debate Director | Friday, September 06, 2013 1:32 PM
The Texas delegation in Oregon
Welcome to the 2013 - 2014 school year! Just as you are calling out new names on your roll sheet and seeing new faces in your classroom, new and exciting things are also happening at UIL!
The annual speech coach mailing has gone digital. It’s now designed as an e-book and is posted on the speech section of the UIL website. Take the time to access the documents included in the e-book to assist you in having the information you need for a successful year. If you are a new coach, email me (jriggins@uiltexas.org), and I will be happy to send you a complimentary New Coach manual. In addition, there is a section of the speech website that is customized just for you as a first-year coach.
This school year introduces newly designed literary categories for high school oral interpretation contestants and the categories are definitely innovative. For the first time ever, interpreters will be allowed to add theatre, radio, television, movie or documentary scripts into the Category B Prose performance. Poetry contestants get the added benefit of using song lyrics for transitions, as their thematic poetry performance for Category A explores a decade or social/political movement.
Traditional rules remain in place for some categories so it is imperative that coaches read the Constitution for specific rules and order a copy of the new Prose & Poetry Handbook which explains and clarifies both categories for each of the interpretation contests. Judges at invitational meets and those preparing to serve as critics for district meets should become educated on the new categories. The 2013 handbook adds a section concerning judging and one addressing ethics in oral interpretation competition.
If you are a debate coach, you will be asked in the next few weeks to submit a ballot to vote on the 2014-2015 cross-examination debate resolution. The National Federation of High School Associations hosted the CX Topic Selection Meeting in Portland, Oregon this summer and five topics made the national ballot. I am very happy to say that two of those topics were developed from study reports written and presented at the meeting by Texas coaches. Congratulations to Noah Recker from La Vernia High School who wrote the oceans topic and David Gardiner/Bill Schuetz for crafting the water topic. Kudos to Chad Flisowski, as well, whose criminal justice topic made it almost to the final cut. See the photo of our complete Texas delegation in Oregon in this Leaguer edition. I am proud of the quality representation of the Lone Star state and active participation by Texas debate coaches at the national meeting. If you would be interested in being sponsored by UIL to write a study report at next year’s summer meeting, click on the Volunteer to Serve link and submit your information to the State Office.
For several years now, the League has allowed coaches to submit an online ballot or a paper ballot for your school’s voice to be heard concerning debate resolutions. Voting this year will be exclusively online. You will receive an email notice when the ballot is posted so be certain you have registered online as a Speech Coach so we have current contact information for you. https://www.uiltexas.org/form/speech-coach/.
The fall Lincoln-Douglas Debate resolution was released in August. The Middle East value topic, RESOLVED: United States efforts to promote democracy in the Middle East are desirable is timely, with all eyes and the news media focused on what is occurring in that region of the world and the United States’ response to it. The resolution provides great cross-curriculum studies for debate and social studies as you prepare debaters for the tournament circuit. When your cases are ready, contact your Social Studies department chair and arrange for your competitors to present debates for social studies students. This is also a topic that could stir strong interest for debates before your community leaders and organizations.
A brand new contest is being piloted this season, too. Congress is a mock legislative assembly where students research and defend bills and resolutions and vote within the formal structure of parliamentary procedure. See the separate article written about Congress is this edition of the Leaguer.
Student Activity Conferences (SuperConferences) rotate to new sites this season. Make your plans to bring your speech team to one of these free conferences where over 20 speech and debate workshops will be conducted at each site. Outstanding coaches from around our state will present the new interpretation categories, topic analysis on the CX Debate resolution and the UIL Fall Lincoln-Douglas Debate resolution, instruction for novice and also varsity in each of the UIL speaking events, including the new pilot contest of Congress. Locations this year include University of Texas at Arlington on Sept. 14; Texas Tech University Sept. 28; University of Texas in Austin Oct. 5; and Sam Houston State University Nov. 9. I am still searching for presenters at some of the sites so if you plan on attending and are willing to conduct one of the workshops, contact me.
Another way to get your year off to a solid start is to attend the Texas Speech Communication Association convention in Corpus Christi Oct. 10-12. The UIL Advisory Committee will be meeting at that time and anyone can sit in and contribute to these discussions. The convention provides a way to network with other speech educators and to engage in professional development specifically designed for communication teachers and those involved in forensics.
At UIL, we strive to provide relevant contests and resources that promote challenge and success for your students. Our staff continually strives to answer your questions and support you as a coach. Stay in touch with us and let us know how we can serve you better. Best wishes for a great school year!