UK Speech and Debate
For the fifth year running, the University of Kentucky Speech and Debate Team won the John G. Fee Invitational speech and debate tournament held annually by Berea College. This year, 17 schools representing seven states participated in this two-day competition. UK earned the title of grand champion by amassing the most points from the speech and debate halves of the competition.
“The hard work the team has put in so far this year has paid off,” said the team’s director Timothy Bill. “We’re on track for another great season.”
In addition to winning the title of grand champion, UK also placed first in the large school division of individual events sweepstakes and the large school division of debate sweepstakes.
To prepare for this competition, students from UK wrote and practiced 36 different speeches covering topics as varied as intergenerational trauma, climate change, evidence use in court and personal driving habits. Of these 36 speeches, 24 earned recognitions at this tournament including 17 that qualified for the National Forensic Association tournament in April. The team also entered seven debate entries with three advancing to quarterfinals or semifinals in their respective divisions.
A full list of awards won by UK students at the tournament can be found here.
The University of Kentucky Speech and Debate Team is committed to training the next generation of civic leaders who are passionate about effecting change in their communities. UK Speech and Debate is a student organization in the School of Information Science in the College of Communication and Information. To find out more, please visit the team’s website https://www.ukforensics.com.