This weekend, a team of 34 students traveled to Bob Jones Academy in Greenville for the largest local tournament of the year. Overall, the team took 4th place in sweepstakes, out of over thirty schools! Here are the students that placed in their respective events:

Daniel Guerrero – CHAMPION, Novice Lincoln Douglas Debate

Ohavia Phillips – 2nd Place, Oral Interpretation

Vijay Sadanani – 2nd Place, Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debate

Mike Griggs – 3rd Place, Oral Interpretation

Lane Fagan/Ashley Thomas – 3rd Place, Impromptu Duet Acting

Patrick Withrow – 3rd Place, Impromptu AND Extemp Speaking

Mike Griggs/Ashley Thomas – 5th Place, Duo Interpretation

Sara Lee – 5th Place, Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debate

Additionally, the PF team of Porter Nenon and Lauren Wiggins traveled to the New York City Invitational at the Bronx High School of Science this weekend. (aka “Big Bronx”) This is a HUGE tournament for Public Forum, and Ports and Lala made OCTAFINALS! (Top 16 teams) Be sure to congratulate them on this amazing accomplishment!

If you intend to go to Marvin Ridge, be sure to get your name on the list NOW! You can sign up HERE. Signups will close Tuesday night. Forms are due WEDNESDAY.

This has been a great weekend for MP Speech and Debate, so thanks SO much to everyone who made it happen!

~Mike G

Due to a lack of signups, we have CANCELLED the trip to Blue Key, as it will be more expensive than we originally estimated. However, we will be taking a large team to the George Mason Patriot Games on December 4-5, so be sure to mark your calendars if you’re interested in attending! (And trust me, this is one tournament you do NOT want to miss.) Cost should be around $300, assuming enough people sign up.

Also: Signups are online for MARVIN RIDGE, which is October 23 in Waxhaw. (Students are responsible for their own transportation.) Get your name on the list NOW if you want to go! Marvin offer novice divisions of every event under the sun, so if this will be your first or second tournament, I recommend signing up for a novice event. Legislation has been posted on the “Topics and Legislation” page.

Also, good luck to the 30+ students competing at Bob Jones Academy this weekend, as well as the varsity debaters that will be attending the New York City Invitational at Bronx Science!

~Mike G

If you plan to attend Blue Key, you need to sign up NOW on the Tournament Signups Page! It is a fantastic tournament at the Univeristy of Florida in Gainesville, from October 28 to November 1. In the past, people we’ve taken to Blue Key have gone on to become some of our best competitors. It’s a ton of fun, great competition for varsity members, and a fantastic learning experience for novices!

Tournament information is available on http://www.bluekeydebate.com/. (Don’t trust the dates… some of them are outdated.)

The cost will be about $300… THE MORE PEOPLE THAT SIGN UP, THE LESS EXPENSIVE IT WILL BE. Mr. West needs to know by this weekend who is going, so sign up NOW!

Signups are also online for Bob Jones Academy, on October 16. Once again, Mr. West needs to now ASAP about that one.

~Mike G

Today, 44 competitors traveled to North Meck to compete in the Viking Classic/Carolina Challenge Cup! Even though MP’s three-year streak in possession of the CCC was ended by Hillcrest, here are the people who placed, in their respective events:

Tyler Cheek/Apoorva Thatavarty – CHAMPIONS, Novice Public Forum

Lisa Fan – CHAMPION, Varsity Lincoln-Douglas

Meghan Dorn/Beth Kingaby – 2nd Place, IDA

Logan Cerwin/Will Barry – 3rd Place, IDA

Isabel Williams – 4th Place, Impromptu

Porter Nenon/Lauren Wiggins – 4th Place, Varsity Public Forum

Robert Havelka/Jason Fuller – 5th Place, Varsity Public Forum

Mike Griggs – 5th Place, Oral Interpretation

Sara Lee – 5th Place, Varsity Lincoln-Douglas

Katelyn Morgan – 6th Place, Novice Reading

Mike Griggs – 6th Place, Dramatic Interpretation

Deena Cronson/Charlie Talmage – 6th Place, Varsity Public Forum

Currently, the score on the Carolina Challenge Cup is: North Carolina 3, South Carolina 2. The state that wins the cup five times wins the challenge… So let’s keep up the great work so we can win back that cup next year!

If you wanna go to Bob Jones (Oct. 16) or Blue Key (Oct. 28- Nov. 1), sign up NOW under “Tournament Signups!”

~Mike G

This just in: the NFL has released the newest LD and PF topics! And they are as follows:

PFD November Resolution:
Resolved: An Islamic cultural center should be built near Ground Zero.

LD November/December Resolution:
Resolved: The abuse of illegal drugs ought to be treated as a matter of public health, not of criminal justice.

Legislation for Bob Jones will be posted very soon. ALSO: Good luck to our huge team of 44 competitors competing at the North Meck Viking Classic this weekend!
~Mike G

Today, the team traveled to Pinecrest High School in Southern Pines, NC to kick off the local circuit with a bang! In addition to a FIRST PLACE team sweepstakes win, here are the competitors who placed in their respective events:

Daisy Torres – CHAMPION in Oral Interp (At her FIRST tournament I might add…)
Ben Beaumont – CHAMPION in Varsity Congress (Second year in a row!)
Mike Griggs/Ashley Thomas – CHAMPIONS in Duo Interp (With a perfect record!)
Jack Eiselt – 2nd place in JV Congress (Also, best Presiding Officer)
Patrick Withrow – 2nd place in Impromptu
Mike Griggs – 3rd place in Dramatic Interp
Lisa Fan – 4th place in Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Isabel Williams – 4th place in Extemp Speaking
Porter Nenon/Sara Lee – 5th place in Varsity Public Forum
John Winn – 5th place in Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Sarah Watson – 6th place in Oral Interp

ALSO, just a quick reminder… if you want to go to North Meck, Bob Jones, or Florida Blue Key, you need to sign up NOW on the SIGNUP PAGE!

~Mike G

As many of you know, at the end of September, Administration will be enforcing a policy that requires all students to wear ID’s during school hours. So why not use this opportunity to show your pride in one of MP’s most successful teams? Starting tomorrow (Sept. 15), “Myers Park Speech and Debate” lanyards will be on sale for $2 each, in LA-27! Not gonna lie, they look pretty awesome. Don’t miss out on this awesome opportunity!
Speaking of awesome opportunities, SIGN UP FOR PINECREST!!! As of now 16 have signed up… let’s get some more so that we can beat our 3rd place finish from last year!
~Mike G

A few weeks ago, all the officers sat down to discuss plans and goals for the coming year. One of our main goals was that we would advance at least 50% of the students that we took to the Wake Forest Earlybird.

Well, this past weekend, I’m pleased to announce that our goal was not only met, but exceeded, as we broke 60% of our competitors out of their preliminary rounds! Congratulations to the following competitors who made elimination rounds at the Earlybird!

Priyang Shah – 5th place in Congress, Best presiding officer in final session

Lisa Fan – Semifinals, JVLD

Jason Fuller/Robert Havelka – Semifinals, PFD

Mike Griggs/Ashley Thomas – Semifinals, DUO Interp

Sara Lee – Quarterfinals, JVLD

Porter Nenon/Lauren Wiggins – Quarterfinals, PFD

Also thanks to Jay Merritt, Derrick Flakoll, Patrick Withrow, Erin Larsen, and Betsy Marshall, who all made this a fantastic kickoff weekend! This year is gonna be AMAZING!

~Mike G

Today is truly a historic occasion… After school, 96 students gathered in S-7 to make up the biggest interest meeting in MP Speech and Debate’s 46-year history! Thanks so much to everyone who came out, and we look forward to making this year our best yet! Signups are now online for Pinecrest, North Meck, and Bob Jones under “Tournament Signup”, so if you’re interested, be sure to get your name on the list ASAP!
~Mike G

Hope everyone had a relaxing summer!

It’s that time of year again… time for school to start back up, along with the new speech and debate season! Signups are now online for Wake Forest, on the Tournament Signup page! If you are interested, please sign up ASAP for this awesome tournament! (Signups for Pinecrest and North Meck will be online shortly.) We look forward to starting off the season strong by continuing our record of success!

~Mike G