After returning from Dublin, Ireland IVC Speech and Debate had the honor of ending their season competing at not one, but two national championship tournaments.
IVC Forensics kicked off their national’s season by competing against almost 30 other colleges and universities at the 2024 NOF National Championship Tournament. This virtual championship invitational was developed in 2020, however has become a prevalent fixture in the forensics calendar due to the importance of developing strong oral communication skills in a virtual format. IVC Speech proved their skills can translate online, as they were named the top community college at the tournament by being granted the 1st Place Sweepstakes Award! Most notably, Alexia Gallon received top accolades by beating out 81 other competitors in IPDA (individual) debate and taking top overall speaker. As a result, she was also awarded a silver medal in the activity while teammate Lena Anecki took home the bronze medal in IPDA as well as Honors in Extemporaneous Speaking. Rounding out the awards were Amanda Nguyen taking bronze in Persuasive Speaking, Sophia Diaz accepting bronze in Programmed Oral Interpretation, and Tymen Koetsier receiving the bronze in Impromptu Speaking.
IVC Forensics continued their winning streak at the Phi Rho Pi National Championships from March 30-April 7 in Reno, Nevada. Phi Rho Pi is the national forensics association for community colleges and has the honor of being one of the oldest forensics organizations in the United States. The championship tournament hosted 50 community colleges from across the country and over 500 participants. Eleven students represented IVC at the competition: because of their individual successes at the tournament, IVC’s team was awarded the gold medal in debate sweepstakes and bronze medal in overall sweepstakes in the Wheeler Division.
IVC Speech’s strongest showing was in debate, with seven moving on to the final rounds in IPDA, NPDA and NFA-LD debate. IPDA proved to be the most difficult event at the tournament by having the highest entry with 133 students competing in the activity. Nonetheless, taking top honors, Vincent Woo received a Gold Medal. Proving his talent in the activity, Vincent also took home the Gold in IPDA Debate in 2023. Seth Paap followed right behind his teammate by receiving Silver in IPDA Debate, while Tymen Koetsier, Eli Sepulveda, and Alexia Gallon all tied with a Bronze Medal. Out of the 133 students competing in IPDA, Eli Sepulveda was also named the 2nd overall speaker in the event. In NPDA Debate, teammates Seth Paap and Alexia Gallon were awarded the Silver Medal, while Alexia also proved her talent by taking a Bronze Medal in NFA-LD. All of the individual accolades in debate cumulated in IVC being named the Gold Medalists in Debate Sweepstakes in the Wheeler Division.
In addition to debate, IVC was also successful in individual speaking events. Team member, and now National Champion, Amanda Nguyen had a particularly successful tournament in persuasive speaking. Amanda beat out 80 competitors to take the top honor of the highest advancing Gold Medal in Persuasive Speaking. While Tymen Koetsier was also recognized as a Bronze Medalist in Impromptu Speaking. "Seeing the dedication and skill of our team this year fills me with immense pride," said Coach Christiaan Pipion. "Not only have we had remarkable success this season, winning 144 awards including 13 sweepstakes awards, but our students have consistently demonstrated their intelligence, professionalism, and respectability. It's truly been a joy to coach such a fun and talented group and I couldn't be happier with how they've done this year."
IVC Speech will compete at one last tournament this season, the Cool-Off on April 27 at Santiago Canyon College. Those interested in joining the team in the fall are encouraged to contact co-directors Jules French or Bill Neesen.