After winning 124 awards thus far this season, the IVC Speech Team faced their hardest challenge yet: competing at the 36th Annual International Forensics Association (IFA) Speech and Debate Championships and the CCCFA State Championships. With the tournaments overlapping, IVC Speech had to split their talent to attend both tournaments.
From March 6-12, five representatives for IVC Speech traveled to compete at the IFA championships including Chaeryn Chung, Barry Huang, Beck Clark, Teagan Rusk, and Lily Drescher. IFA is an affiliate of the National Communication Association and promotes the diversity of speech and debate competition in nations around the world by hosting an annual tournament in alternating countries. For 2026, Athens, Greece was voted to be the location of the prestigious tournament. Co-Director of Forensics, Bill Neesen stated, “Having a speech and debate tournament at the historical foundations of argumentation was an unforgettable moment in my life and our students.” IVC competed in Athens against 32 other colleges and universities in events such as IPDA Debate (individual), NPDA debate (team), Programmed Oral Interpretation, Prose Interpretation, Impromptu, and Extemporaneous Speaking.
Ultimately, IVC Speech was victorious, taking home several awards. In debate, topics were often centered around international relations and Greek politics. For example, students were tasked with arguing topics ranging from whether Greece should play a larger leadership role in European security policy, to whether the philosophy of Socrates offers a better model for civic engagement than modern political discourse. IPDA debater Chaeryn Chung was victorious through five rounds of competition and was eventually named the octo-finalist among 63 competitors. Meanwhile NPDA teammates Beck Clark and Barry Huang were awarded semi-finalists after six rounds of grueling competition with Beck Clark also being named the 4th Speaker overall in the event. In individual events, Lily Drescher received a semi-finalist award in Impromptu Speaking, while Barry Huang took 6th place in Extemporaneous Speaking among 87 competitors.
While their teammates were busy battling in Athens, on March 11-15 eleven representatives for IVC Speech traveled to compete at the CCCFA State Championships. The tournament held in Concord, California included competition from 21 community colleges across California. Ultimately, IVC Speech was awarded the 3rd place team sweepstakes award in limited entry.
IPDA Debate was the largest entry at the tournament, with 72 entries. Nonetheless, Ilya Chepelyuk tied for 1st Speaker in the event, but was awarded 2nd place on a tie breaker, along with a bronze medalist in the event. Teammate Kamalesh Sadu also took a bronze, while Kina Yan edged out her colleagues and took the silver medal. Rounding out the awards were Eric Shin and Ilya Chepelyuk receiving a bronze medal for NPDA Debate, Kamalesh Sadu obtaining a bronze medal in Extemporaneous Speaking, and Sophia Diaz receiving a bronze medal for her Poetry performance centering on ICE and critiquing the harms and injustices tied to immigration enforcement.
IVC Speech hopes to continue their successes at the 2026 Phi Rho Pi National Championships in Bethesda, Maryland from April 4-12. Those interested in joining the team in the fall are encouraged to contact co-directors Jules French or Bill Neesen.
