By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer
The best kept secret at Prattville High School is their speech and debate team, which has now qualified at least one student to the national tournament for the past 16 years.
But amidst a COVID year like we’ve never seen before, tournaments were forced to change format and adjust to the ever-changing times.
Typically in-person, debate tournaments happen on high school campuses all across the state – but with state-wide mask mandates and CDC guidelines in place, students had to compete virtually this year.
That didn’t stop three Prattville High School students from qualifying to the national debate tournament this year, which will also take place online this June.
The qualifiers are John Tate Smyth in International Extemporaneous Speaking, Brooke Turley in Original Oratory, and Brooklyn Woods in Programmed Oral Interpretation. Troy Chesser will serve as first alternate in Original Oratory.
The students qualified at this past weekend’s district tournament after placing either first or second in their respective event.
“I’d say the thing that I liked most about competing this year was being able to take breaks in my room instead of around a bunch of people in a cafeteria somewhere,” Woods said. “It was kind of cool competing and then being able to take a nap in my bed.”
Woods went on to explain that there were downsides to the virtual tournaments as well.
“Sometimes there would be connection issues with my computer and I wouldn’t be able to hear the judges feedback. I also didn’t like not being able to interact with people from other schools,” Woods explained.
John Tate Smyth, president of the team, agreed that there were pluses and minuses to the modified year, saying that performing from home kept things much more simplified.
“I really benefited from not having to wake up at 6:00 a.m., hop on a bus, and travel to a different city,” Smyth laughed. “But, I did miss being in-person and having teammates motivate you before going into rounds. Having people watch what you do and support you was something that was sorely missed.”
Turley agreed with Smyth’s sentiment.
“The biggest thing that a lot of the team missed was the comradery that comes with in-person tournaments. It was tough at times because waking up and signing into a virtual tournament felt more like a job rather than something to be excited for,” Turley said.
Chesser said that the biggest hurdle to overcome for him this year lied with the judges at the tournaments.
“I think something that virtual tournaments lacked, and simply couldn’t emulate, was the ability to see your judge’s reactions in real time,” Chesser explained.
PHS Head Debate Coach, Katy Olienyk, has been coaching at the school for the past 15 years and has never experienced anything like this last season.
“Having to wear masks when we were together would obstruct facial expressions, which can make it difficult to read student’s faces when they are performing,” Olienyk said. “This presents an obstacle that makes it hard to effectively prepare for a tournament; however, the students have done a great job this year helping each other out and coaching each other through the challenges.”
Despite the hardships that came with the year, all involved were still grateful for the chance to even have tournaments.
“We’re very lucky because we could still participate due to the virtual options that were given to us by the Alabama Speech and Debate Association. Everyone did the best with what they were given,” Olienyk said.
Turley, a senior and four-year competitor on the team, agreed with her head coach.
“This was my last year to do something that I love and, even though it wasn’t perfect, if we hadn’t had the option to do this virtually then there would have been nothing at all,” she explained.
Now those students still have two more chances to do the thing they love so much, starting with the Alabama State Tournament on April 8th. That will be followed by the national tournament on June 13th.
“We’re going to have a lot more practices and preparation leading up into June. This is also my senior year, so I want to make sure myself and everyone else is as ready as they can be,” Smyth said.
