With the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year at PSHS well underway, many extracurriculars and electives of the building have also begun their devoted pursuit; the Poland Speech and Debate Team is no exception. Specifically, the team is to attend their very first Speech and Debate tournament organized by the OSDA — Ohio Speech and Debate Association — at JFK High School, located in Warren.

These tournaments are events where varied Speech and Debate teams of schools throughout the district are to compete against each other in terms of each individual’s enrolled event. Conventionally, three rounds are conducted with an amount of people and a judge in a room. One person (or two in a certain event) is to present their speech, which is consistently practiced and rehearsed with a coach or by themselves beforehand, and are to then be judged off multiple factors via a numerical value; one being the most efficient of the round, and five being the least efficient of the round. The tournaments tend to last from very early in the morning until the midpoint of the afternoon!

Spencer Humphreys, the main director and coach of the team, comments that he is “…super excited for the first tournament, and excited for them [the freshmen] to go out and experience a tournament for the first time. That’s what the first tournament is all about, just getting that experience in seeing what it’s like, getting that confidence…”

In regards to this, he also speaks of expecting “great things from the returning members and… a lot of… the new members in seeing what potential they bring to the table.”

When asked specifically about his expectations for the multitude of newcomers and their abilities on the team, Humphreys answered, “I expect them to continue challenging themselves, and continue being curious, and trying new things in their events this year, and just not being afraid to express themselves and reach their full potential in their event.”

These many members of the team, whether new or returning, are facing much emotion, but are, overall, anticipated. Therefore, we wish the Poland Speech and Debate Team good luck with their first tournament, and all other tournaments and events, of the 2023-2024 season!