Utah Military Academy’s Speech and Debate team kicked off this month with an
amazing performance at Buffalo Battle (Pre-Buff), laying out the road map for
their current preparation for the upcoming state competition.
UMA’s speech and debate team has made noticeable victories in events like
SPAR and Exempt, with Coady Maples placing 4th in SPAR and Remington Frost
placing 3rd in Exempt. The team has demonstrated its skill across different
categories and events.
Coady Maples and Julius Zamora competed in SPAR, both showing their ability
to come up with an argument under pressure and in a short amount of time, with
Coady Maples placing 4th overall in the event. SPAR, short for Spontaneous Argumentation, is a round where the competitors are given a new topic every round to make a spontaneous argument in a fast manner requiring quick thinking.
Remington Frost had placed for National Exempt, earning 3rd overall in the
event. Extemporaneous Speaking, National Extemp is an event where
competitors are supplied a piece of paper with three topics relating to the world
events that are currently happening in the U.S. They are given 30 minutes to
research and prepare a 5 to 7-minute speech on the topic they have chosen from
the three they were provided.
Beyond these successes, the team also showed excellence in Original Oratory
and Impromptu. Samantha Manning-Ramirez competed in Original Oratory, where
competitors create a 7-10 minute speech on a topic of their choice and present it
as closely as possible based on memory.
Keagan Butler participated in Impromptu, where competitors are supplied a piece
of paper with three topics that range from single words to short phrases, and
quotes. They have a total of 7 minutes to prepare and give a short speech on the
topic they choose out of the three.
Although the team has shown excellence in this competition, there is one
major thing that they need to work on. “We need to practice more and use the time we are provided to prepare for our upcoming tournaments,” Coach Amber Storm said. The Speech and Debate team needs to dedicate the time they are given to practice to truly refine their techniques and build up the skills they need to truly excel to the next level and build up their confidence. The push for more practice will help the UMA Speech and Debate team to strive for excellence in their upcoming competitions.
UMA’s Speech and Debate team’s strong start at the Buffalo Battle (Pre-Buff) has set the stage for a promising state and region this year. With the new focus on practice and improvement, the team is ready to rise to the challenge and show their excellence in the upcoming regional and state competitions.
