The 2025 Speech and Drama National Qualifiers took place from February 15th to the 17th. The local competition is where students compete in order to advance to Nationals. Each competitor must place in the top echelon of their category in order to proceed to the next level of competition. This year’s Speech and Debate National Qualifiers took place in Billings at Skyview High School. There, judges evaluated students based on factors such as delivery, content, research, and overall presentation.
Central’s team had two competing, senior Maddie Gibson and sophomore Sahara Small. Gibson placed fifth, earning the second alternate spot for Nationals. Sahara Small placed seventh, unfortunately missing the final round by a single point. This year, Nationals will take place in Des Moines, Iowa.
With regular Speech and Drama meets, either sixteen or eight competitors can advance to finals, debate events excluded. However, the Speech and Drama National Qualifiers only takes between six and twelve to the final round for each event. The competition continues until the top three are picked to go to Nationals. “The Speech and Debate Qualifiers are a little bit more competitive then the regular meets,” Mrs. Tate, the head Speech coach, states. More schools create a more competitive Speech and Drama meet. The Qualifiers, unlike the regular Speech and Drama meets, includes all divisions. This means they include all schools from B to AA, which makes the competition much more difficult.
The way each person goes about Speech and Drama may be different, but you have to remain confident when presenting. “It’s a different environment when you go up against different classes,” Mrs Tate explained. However, when you have the confidence to perform well, you will undoubtedly stand out.
