Over the weekend, the YLHS Speech and Debate team traveled to Cypress College in order to compete at the annual Cypress College High School Speech and Debate Invitational. Many came back with trophies and other awards, and all of them had valuable experiences as they showcased their speeches or made convincing arguments for debates.

Speech and Debate is a valuable 7th period class here at YLHS that teaches students crucial speaking, persuasive, and professional skills. Every student is required to dress formally for each tournament, and either memorize or prepare material in order to participate in their event. Most tournaments run for an entire day, or even two or three days. This recent tournament at Cypress College lasted two days. Some students had to stay the entirety of the two days, while others were able to be more flexible with when they were at the college, depending on what event they were competing in.

Sarah Chen (10) described the experience, saying that it was

“definitely very long and stressful, but much more invigorating and fun than it was tiring”, and that she “made lots of new memories and had tons of fun.”

Each student that participated in the tournament was able to see the outcome of many hours and hours spent practicing every week. They competed in events that included giving different types of 10 minute speeches, making up impromptu speeches on the spot, and debating persuasively against other students. All of their hard work paid off at this recent tournament, where many YLHS students were able to sharpen their skills and enjoy their events.

The students that attended the tournament earned many prizes in all sorts of categories. Kelly Nguyen (12), Grace Kim (11) , and Kobi Khong (10), all made it to finals for Original Oratory. Andrew Krohn (10) earned 3rd place in impromptu, while Julia Massey (10) made 1st in Original Advocacy. Maya Sonbol (10) and Warren Lee (10) placed 1st place in Duo Interpretation. Meanwhile in Student Congress, Ryan Le (11) was a finalist, Anna Zhang (9) placed 4th, and Caitlyn Truong (10) placed 9th, Rohita Thammineni (9) placed 2nd, Wayne Chan (11) placed 5th, and Nate Yi (12) placed first. Simran Chowdhry (12) placed 1st in the presiding officer competition. Finally, in the sweepstakes, YLHS took 4th place.

Overall, the Cypress College High School Invitational was a rewarding, exciting experience for the YLHS Speech and Debate team. Congratulations to everyone who competed, and good luck at the next two tournaments remaining in the school year!