Debate Club
Podiums, note cards and judges were the simple signs that the regional competition of The National Christian Forensics and Communications Association had come to Butler.
Hosted by the WPaCO Speech Club in Franklin and Genesis Speech and Debate Club in Butler, the event was held Feb. 3 to 5 at Community Alliance Church. More than 80 competitors from Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania competed in speech and debate.
“The competition gives homeschoolers the opportunity to learn and exercise analytical and oratorical skills, addressing life issues from a biblical world view in a manner that glorifies God,” said Chris Henderson of Lake Township, the tournament director.
Students ages 12 and older compete in qualifying tournaments to earn a spot at the regional invitational where they can qualify for the National Championship held in June. The top half of competitors in each category qualify for the regional tournament. Last week's event resulted in 27 students from Western Pennsylvania qualifying for the regional invitational tournament.
Rebecca Eyth, 16, and her sister Hannah, 14, of Oakland Township were selected to advance. Rebecca, a junior, has been involved in speech and debate for six years with the local club. She has competed for the last three years in the regional tournament. She has placed third in Apologetics, fifth in Original Oratory and eighth in Lincoln-Douglas debate speaker points.
“My favorite speech category is Apologetics where students have the opportunity to defend the Christian faith by providing a speech from a list of 100 possible questions,” explained Rebecca.
In competition, 12 to 15 of the 100 possible questions are laid face down on a table. A student selects three and chooses one question, then is given 4 minutes to prepare a 6-minute speech.
These are real-life questions encompassing the Christian faith that people ask every day. For example, one of the questions is “Analyze and respond to the statement, ‘There are many roads to God.'”
“This category is preparing me for the rest of my life to be able to logically and biblically defend my faith,” she said.
And while Rebecca's passion is for the logic questions, her sister, Hannah, a freshman, prefers the humorous pieces, though she didn't qualify in it this year.“My favorite speeches are duo and humorous. I enjoy making people laugh,” said Hannah who has been in the club for four years. “I practice these speechesseveral months before the speech season and also during the season.”There are nine different types of speech opportunities from group debate to one on one debate to duos, humorous speeches and Illustrated Oratory, in which Hannah placed fifth. “It is a speech category that allows you to use visual aids,” she explained.Jonathan Tavares, 16, a junior from Attleboro, Mass., is in his third year with NCFCA but in his second year of the debate category.“I think debate helps develop my communication skills and will benefit me when I get involved in business or politics in the future,” said Tavares, who competed in the Team Policy debate. The Policy topic was whether or not the U.S. government should adopt a resolution that would change its foreign policy relations with Russia.Luke Smith, 16, a junior from East Lyme, Conn., is Tavares' partner.“I enjoy the policy debates because of all the research that goes into it,” said Smith, who is in his third year of the Team Policy debate and enjoys learning the logic behind it all.“Analyzing new data and staying current on the issue throughout the year is important,” he added.The duo uses modern technology such as Skype and conference calls to connect and practice for their competitions since they live about five hours apart.During a round of debate, a team of two debaters advocates the resolution by proposing a specific plan to accomplish the goal stated in the resolution, while another team of two debaters opposes the resolution and the specific plan of the first team.“Even though you are debating, it is a friendly competition where you can build your skills. Feedback is positive and encouraging,” said Tavares. The judges include parents and members of the community and host church.Alumni from NCFCA have gone on to prestigious colleges and into forensic debate clubs.“We've got doctors, lawyers and politicians who were members of NCFCA,” said Henderson. “We believe if we set the bar high, as they achieve their goals they are preparing for life.”The Regional Invitational Tournament is set for April 18 to 20 at Grove City College. For more information, go to http://www.ncfca.org.
