Olivia Ormsby
Olivia Ormsby
The Road to Nationals: The Spelman Speech and Debate Team’s Journey to win 16 title at HBCU National Speech and Debate Tournament
The Road to Nationals: The Spelman Speech and Debate Team’s Journey to win 16 title at HBCU National Speech and Debate Tournament
From helping Spelman SGA and Senate Candidates write speeches, to community outreach with Girl Scouts, and speaking workshops within the AUC, the Spelman College Speech and Debate team is always working towards greatness.
From Feb. 6–8, the Spelman College Speech and Debate Team competed at the HBCU National Speech and Debate Tournament in Houston, Texas at Texas Southern University. The HBCU National Tournament is the team's biggest competition of the year. This year, the team was able to bring 21 girls to compete and collectively won 16 different titles, including 1st place in National Parliamentary Debate, 1st place in Extemporaneous Speaking, 2nd place in Slam Poetry, and 2nd place in Debate Sweepstakes, to name a few.
The HBCU National Tournament is, in some ways, very similar to other competitions the team participates in. There are similar categories, the judging rubric is consistent and the duos for debates are unchanged. The key difference between regular competitions and HBCU Nationals is the community.
”HBCU Nationals is the most exciting competition because most other comps also have PWI’s and those schools have more funding and resources. Sometimes opponents can be more exclusionary and less receptive to our experiences,” Speech Captain Ryley Anthony said. “The HBCU environment is empowering because our opponents know Black scholarship and we can be comforted in knowing that our points were heard and respected even if we disagree.”
Despite an increase in funding from Spelman and outside donors, money is still a firm barrier between the Spelman Speech and Debate Team and their competitors. Although this season the team was not able to afford a full-time coach, the college was able to step in and provide them with funding for airfare travel as opposed to the bus they took last season. Every season funding grows stronger, and the team prides itself on never charging team members a competition fee.
In light of coaching and funding disparities, the team’s executive board (E-board) stepped up to not only welcome new members but also maintain the team's emphasis on advocacy. The E-Board set up one-on-one mentoring between new members, the E-board and senior members to ensure that teammates were not only prepared for competition, but felt included on the team.
”I started on the debate team last year. The thing that first drew me in was the community on the team. I appreciated how it taught me how to think, and on top of that, how it taught me to engage in the craft because we are one of the very few Black women collegiate speech and debate teams,” Speech and Debate Club President Sophia Wade said.
In speaking with the E-board it is clear that the values of leadership and strong community connection come from the top as they described fellow teammates.
“She [Taylor Abi-Robinson] is new to debate this year but shows up with an unwavering determination to improve and stay passionate to the team and her craft. I’ve seen her grow immensely in the last few weeks and am so proud of her,” Debate Captain Makayla Rivera said.
Although speech and debate are two separate categories of competition with different practices and competition styles, community and growth are shared values.
“She [Lillian Green] is a freshman on the speech team, and this was her first time doing a speech, but what stands out most to me as her captain is her character. She is extremely talented and hardworking, but also a light on the team. Just being in her presence is lovely, and she is always looking to give and what others can offer to help the team succeed,” Speech Captain Ryley Anthony said.
As the Speech and Debate team has finished another impressive and successful tournament at HBCU Nationals, the team is still looking ahead. After a record-breaking application season this fall with over 60 applicants, the E-Board is already looking for ways to bring more girls to HBCU Nationals next year and expand upon the Black female scholarship they are already doing.
From helping Spelman SGA and Senate Candidates write speeches, to community outreach with Girl Scouts, and speaking workshops within the AUC, the Spelman College Speech and Debate team is always working towards greatness.
From Feb. 6–8, the Spelman College Speech and Debate Team competed at the HBCU National Speech and Debate Tournament in Houston, Texas at Texas Southern University. The HBCU National Tournament is the team's biggest competition of the year. This year, the team was able to bring 21 girls to compete and collectively won 16 different titles, including 1st place in National Parliamentary Debate, 1st place in Extemporaneous Speaking, 2nd place in Slam Poetry, and 2nd place in Debate Sweepstakes, to name a few.
The HBCU National Tournament is, in some ways, very similar to other competitions the team participates in. There are similar categories, the judging rubric is consistent and the duos for debates are unchanged. The key difference between regular competitions and HBCU Nationals is the community.
”HBCU Nationals is the most exciting competition because most other comps also have PWI’s and those schools have more funding and resources. Sometimes opponents can be more exclusionary and less receptive to our experiences,” Speech Captain Ryley Anthony said. “The HBCU environment is empowering because our opponents know Black scholarship and we can be comforted in knowing that our points were heard and respected even if we disagree.”
Despite an increase in funding from Spelman and outside donors, money is still a firm barrier between the Spelman Speech and Debate Team and their competitors. Although this season the team was not able to afford a full-time coach, the college was able to step in and provide them with funding for airfare travel as opposed to the bus they took last season. Every season funding grows stronger, and the team prides itself on never charging team members a competition fee.
In light of coaching and funding disparities, the team’s executive board (E-board) stepped up to not only welcome new members but also maintain the team's emphasis on advocacy. The E-Board set up one-on-one mentoring between new members, the E-board and senior members to ensure that teammates were not only prepared for competition, but felt included on the team.
”I started on the debate team last year. The thing that first drew me in was the community on the team. I appreciated how it taught me how to think, and on top of that, how it taught me to engage in the craft because we are one of the very few Black women collegiate speech and debate teams,” Speech and Debate Club President Sophia Wade said.
In speaking with the E-board it is clear that the values of leadership and strong community connection come from the top as they described fellow teammates.
“She [Taylor Abi-Robinson] is new to debate this year but shows up with an unwavering determination to improve and stay passionate to the team and her craft. I’ve seen her grow immensely in the last few weeks and am so proud of her,” Debate Captain Makayla Rivera said.
Although speech and debate are two separate categories of competition with different practices and competition styles, community and growth are shared values.
“She [Lillian Green] is a freshman on the speech team, and this was her first time doing a speech, but what stands out most to me as her captain is her character. She is extremely talented and hardworking, but also a light on the team. Just being in her presence is lovely, and she is always looking to give and what others can offer to help the team succeed,” Speech Captain Ryley Anthony said.
As the Speech and Debate team has finished another impressive and successful tournament at HBCU Nationals, the team is still looking ahead. After a record-breaking application season this fall with over 60 applicants, the E-Board is already looking for ways to bring more girls to HBCU Nationals next year and expand upon the Black female scholarship they are already doing.