After two and a half years of giving speeches virtually, the IVC Speech Team was finally able to return to in-person competition this semester. IVC Speech dominated their competition by taking home a total of 37 awards. The awards ranged from events such as NPDA (team) debate, IPDA (individual) debate, impromptu speaking, informative and persuasive speaking.
Although the team enjoyed meeting their competition in-person, they were still able to participate in virtual environments as well. In fact, of the seven speech tournaments attended over the semester, four were in-person at El Camino College, Pasadena City College, Grossmont College, and Cerritos College, while the remaining three were virtual.
Director of Forensics, Jules French stated, “What is so unique about the state of forensics now is that students can continue to sharpen their virtual communication skills at online tournaments, and then can also have the experience of speaking in-person with a live audience. Students have to learn so many subtleties regarding communication in each of these contexts, and now I am confident our team members can be successful communicators regardless of the environment.”
The team’s most successful in-person tournament of the semester was the 2022 PSCFA League Championship Invitational held on December 2-4. This championship was attended by 31 colleges and universities from throughout Southern California, Utah, and Arizona. IVC students Rita Zhang, Kyra Magda, Diego Victoria, Anthony Carrillo, Vincent Woo, and Harrison Martin all received medals for their outstanding speaking skills. Vincent had a particularly successful tournament, by beating out all of his competition and taking home the coveted Gold Medal in IPDA (individual) debate. Topics that were covered in this type of debate at the tournament ranged from whether the United Sates Federal Government should mandate a non-partisan redistricting system for federal congressional districts, to whether the World Trade Organization should reduce intellectual property protections for medicines, to whether the federal government should repeal Section 230 protection for social media companies.
As for virtual tournaments, the team’s most successful tournament was the National Online Forensics Fall Asynchronous Tournament held from December 12-19. IVC Forensics took top honors at the tournament and received the overall 1st Place in College Sweepstakes Award. The team received more than twice as many points as the 2nd place finishers, CSU Northridge! The successes continued with three IVC students receiving Gold Medals, including Rita Zhang in Persuasive Speaking, Diego Victoria in Extemporaneous Speaking, and Chloe Han in Impromptu Speaking.
The team is looking forward to continuing their success in the spring semester at the CCCFA State Championships in Woodland Hills, and the Phi Rho Pi National Championships in Washington DC. Those interested in joining the IVC Speech Team are encouraged to contact Jules French or Bill Neesen.