The Speech and Debate Team just returned from our first of two district events, which determine who qualifies to Nationals. This weekend was the East Iowa District Speech and Debate tournament, covering 11 different events and each qualifying 1 entry to Nationals. Bettendorf returns with the following qualifier:
Ishika Motwani – Champion in Original Oratory (2nd time Qualifier – Junior)
In addition to Ishika, we had a number of students finish as 1st Alternates to Nationals (2nd Place):
Katie Baltos – 1st Alternate in Informative Speaking
Ishika Motwani – 1st Alternate in Program Oral Interpretation
Mary Newman – 1st Alternate in Humorous Interpretation
Miley O’Malley – 1st Alternate in Dramatic Interpretation
Bri Seeley – 1st Alternate in United States Extemporaneous Speaking
Ellie Winkler – 1st Alternate in Lincoln-Douglas Debate AND 1st Alternate in International Extemporaneous Speaking
Finally, with our strong showing in Speech, Bettendorf was able to secure the East Iowa District Speech Sweepstakes award for our school.
We will now be making final preparations for our last district event, which takes place next week in Grinnell. This will determine who qualifies from the East Iowa District Congress event, where an additional 4 students will qualify to Nationals. Here’s hoping for the best!