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2020 has been off to a jam-packed, victorious start for our competitive students at GSA. Here's our recap of the student successes at the recent February tournaments. Both the Stanford and UC Berkeley invitationals are larger-scale tournaments, with students flying in from all across the nation to compete. Any advancements out of preliminary rounds for both speech and debate are a huge accomplishment, especially considering the fact that the majority of our students are first or second year competitors; often middle school students competing against high schoolers! Please congratulate the following students for their wins:
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STANFORD UNIVERSITY 2020
SPEECH
Manit M. - 1st Place in JV DI
Keith M. - 2nd Place in Varsity National Extemp, 7th in JV Impromptu
Sanah B. - 6th Place in Varsity Impromptu Speaking, Semifinalist in Varsity OI
Esha B & Shreya S. - Semifinalists in JV Duo
Apoorva P. - Quarterfinalist in Varsity OO
Amy Z. - Semifinalist in JV DI, Quarterfinalist in JV OI
Ayush A. - Quarterfinalist in Varsity POI
Selina C. - 2nd place in Varsity OO, achieving qualification to KYTOC and NIETOC at large
Anouk Y. - Semifinalist in Varsity POI, achieving KYTOC qualification
Sripradha M. - Quarterfinalist in JV OI
DEBATE
Shalizi & Walia - Double Octofinalists in JV Public Forum
Ayalasomayajula & Srinivasan - 3 - 2 Record in JV Public Forum
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UC BERKELEY 2020
SPEECH
Vivian N. - Quarterfinalist in Varsity HI
Amulya A. Quarterfinalist in Varsity Info/Expos
Selina C. - Champion of Varsity OO
DEBATE
JV Public Forum
Sathish & Ayalasomayajula - Champions of JV Public Forum, 27th & 17th Speaker Award, respectively.
Fan & Hu - 3 - 3 Record
Goyal & Guo - 3 -3 Record
Goyal & Srinivasan - 3 - 3 Record
Kalje & Shin - 3 - 3 Record
JV LD
Ayati V. - Double Octafinalist
Albert. L. - 4 - 2 Record
Rhea S. - 4 - 2 Record
Shree J. - 4 - 2 Record
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🌟Upcoming Tournaments🌟
Don't forget to fulfill your tournament requirement for the semester! Reminders have been sent out for those who have yet to attend a tournament. Please make sure to sign up for an upcoming tournament:
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🍀Stratford Shamrock Invitational 🍀March 14-15th @ Stratford Osgood
Registration Closes: TOMORROW, March 3rd, 11:59pm
Events Offered: Debate - Novice PF, Novice LD, Congress (BASIS Team only); Speech - Original Oratory, Impromptu, Prose/Poetry (Equivalent of HI or DI), Duo Interpretation
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📣YG Elementary Congress & SPAR Debate Tournament 📣March 21st @ Young Genius
Registration Closes: March 15th, 11:59pm
Events Offered: Congress, Impromptu, SPAR Debate.
Students are encouraged to compete in two (2) events.
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💐Spring SCU Philathetic Invitational 💐March 27-29th @ Santa Clara University
Registration Closes: March 24th, 11:59pm
Events Offered: All Speech events, with Varsity & JV divisions; JV & Varsity PF;JV & Varsity LD
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📣💥Student Spotlight: Varsha S. & Samyutha A. 💥📣
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Your JV Public Forum Champions of the 2020 UC Berkeley Invitational! Varsha S. (left) has been competing for GSA for almost one year. Samyutha A (right) is in her second year of competition. In the past, the two competed in Duo interp together.
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What was the most challenging part of the tournament?
VARSHA: Getting through Prelims. Most people find it harder as you progress in Elimination rounds, but for me, rounds only got easier to get through as we advanced.
SAMYUTHA: Trying to not get intimidated when we went against teams that had more experience and older than us.
What was something you learned from the tournament?
V: I learned the importance of connecting with your Judge. Regardless of whether you have a Flow or Lay Judge, it’s important to connect with your Judge from the start to finish of the round.
S: Being confident really helps. When I spoke confidently, I feel as if I was a much better debater and my speeches were a lot better.
What was the highlight?
V: Getting to debate unique people from all around the country. It was really fun to see how coming from different places influences the way a person debates.
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S: Definitely when the judges told Varsha and I that we won finals on a 3-0 decision!
What is one piece of advice you have for other novice debaters preparing for their first tournament?
V: The most important thing to remember is to not stress out about the capabilities or achievements of your opponents. As soon as pairings come out, the first thing most debaters do is check their opponent’s previous records. However, it’s important to remember that regardless of how they have done in the past, once you enter a round, it’s all in your hands. NEVER stress out before even starting a round.
S: Have lots of fun!! Debate is such an amazing activity and it may take a lot of preparation; however, debating is such a fun event to do. Have fun at tournaments and don't stress about them too much.
(Optional) Fun Fact about you:
V: I can’t survive a tournament without bubble tea!
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📣💥Student Spotlight: Keith M. 💥📣
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Keith M. has been competing for GSA for 1.5 years. At Stanford, Keith earned 2nd place in Varsity National Extemp and 7th place in JV Impromptu Speaking. Keith also competes in LD Debate.
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What was your favorite Extemp topic you received?
My favorite topic was "What is unique about the presidential campaign of Andrew Yang?" since I have been following the Democratic primary race very closely for the past few months. It was really exciting to be able to get a topic I knew so much about and was so excited to speak on!
What was something you learned from the tournament?
I learned the importance of pre-round preparation and in-depth research about current affairs. I received a couple obscure topics that I had quite a bit of prior experience with in terms of research, which allowed me to focus on delivery and performance rather than research.
Fun Fact about you:
I've played the piano at Carnegie Hall two times!
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Most challenging part of the tournament?
The most challenging part of the tournament was probably the quarterfinal round. I received a somewhat unfamiliar topic and had a lot of pressure since I needed to break to semis to get an official TOC bid. I was in a pool of very talented speakers who I needed to perform better than in order to break, and all these factors made this the most nerve-wracking and challenging round of the tournament.
One piece of advice you have for students preparing for their first tournament?
Any Extempers preparing for their first tournament should remember, as my coach always says, "Your job first is to entertain, then inform." This means prioritizing a strong, emotional delivery over a monotonous speech with mounds of evidence and citations. They're more fun to deliver, more enjoyable to listen to, and they tend to lead to more competitive success!
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📣💥Student Spotlight: Selina C. 💥📣
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Selina C. is the Champion of Informative/Expository Speaking at the 2020 UC Berkeley Invitational. Selina has been with GSA for a little over one semester. She is currently being coached by Coach Ben through Private Coaching.
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What was something you learned from the tournament?
By the nature of my event itself, I learned so much new and interesting information from my fellow competitors’ speeches. Many of the breaking speeches also encompasses social implications and messages that are worth pondering.
What was the highlight of the tournament?
My friends and I were walking to the parking lot at night when a car slowed down next to us and rolled down its window. Our first thought was: “Oh no, we are getting cat-called!” But the driver hollers: “Your high-heels are so loud, we thought there were a pair of horses walking in front of us!” Yeah, beware of Saratogan horses on Berkeley's campus.
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What was the most challenging part of the tournament?
It was challenging to keep myself energetic and enthusiastic since the tournament is far and spans three days.
What is one piece of advice you have for other novice debaters preparing for their first tournament?
Bond with the Speechers from other schools! They are amazing people and will support you at every single tournament.
(Optional) Fun Fact about you:
I was honored to receive the title “Miss Ehh Debater.” (Rivas Umana '19)
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🤔 GOT QUESTIONS?🤔
Please direct all questions and concerns to Victor Rivas Umana (vrivasumana@tgsastaff.com) and Nadia Budiman (nbudiman@tgsastaff.com).
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