The Billings Central Speech and Drama competed at the Eastern A Divisionals tournament, which took place in East Helena on Saturday, January 25. The team placed third for speech, and most of the team moved on to the State competition.
Speech and Drama is unlike any other sport for a number of reasons. The first is that it is the only sport that exists in high school as a mixed gender competition, making it stand out. Secondly, there are so many different events people do. Some people stick to debate and must think on their feet, a great lifetime skill to have, while others write their own speeches about politics or anything in general based off of prompts they’re given. Others memorize speeches about anything of their choosing and deliver them to the judges. Some people use props and act out skits and plays. Speech and Drama is unique since there are people from all schools and backgrounds. As senior Cole Hoffman mentioned, “Speech and Debate is such a unique sport because it has such a variety of a crowd. People from diverse backgrounds and crowds compete in Speech and Drama.”
Hoffman is a senior at Billings Central. He has been on the Central Speech and Debate team for three years and competes in Public Forum debate. He enjoys the style of debate of his event and how meets are organized. As he said, “I think the competition style is pretty nice. It’s a nice mix between competing for one hour and then socializing the next.” He also talked about the amount of competition and experience you enjoy because the meets last all day.
Speech is also a wonderful way for students to challenge themselves. As Hoffman stated, “The hard thing about Speech and Drama is staying up to date with current events.” His event, Public Forum, discusses and debates current political issues. He earned fourth place in Public Forum debate at Divisionals and said “Divisionals could have gone better or could have gone worse for me.”
Central’s Speech and Drama team has many dedicated coaches: Mrs. Tate, Mrs. Nelson, Ms. Story, and Mrs. Muskett. Mrs. Tate has been coaching the team for fifteen years and Mrs. Nelson for fourteen. They became the head coaches twelve years ago. Some of the experiences Mrs. Tate values are the relationships built; as she stated, “I like how Speech and Drama builds close relationships between students and coaches. I also like how it builds confidence among students.” Mrs. Nelson likes the inclusiveness of the team, stating, “I like how there is a place for everyone.” Nelson and Tate also talked about the upcoming state competition, with Nelson looking forward to seeing individual accomplishments. Nelson stated, “I’m excited for some individual students to shine on their own.” Tate also said, “I’m looking forward for some second chances for our students.” Speech and Drama would not be possible without all their great coaches.
Overall, this meet was a great steppingstone and final preparation before the State competition. Speech and Drama is a unique event, and Central’s team spirit and committed coaches allow students to shine and enjoy an intellectual activity.
