Stow Students Speak and Debate at Nationals in Dallas

Two students traveled to Dallas this month to compete in the National Forensic League's national tournament.

Hanna Borsilli and Manny Anderson traveled with to compete in the Lincoln Douglas debate and humorous interpretation, respectively.

"I was quite nervous to compete at the national level. In Lincoln Douglas debate, competitors have a variety of different regional debate styles so I was not sure what to expect in the competition," Borsilli said. "For example, while many Lincoln Douglas debaters from Northern states, like myself, build their debate cases based on common sense and persuasion, debaters from Southern states are much more progressive and tend to incorporate more statistical analysis and abstract philosophical concepts with which I am unfamiliar."

She had to debate through six rounds.

The competitors had to receive eight wins from 12 judges in order to move onto the next round, Theisen said. Borsilli just missed moving on after receiving seven wins. Manny fared a little better in the humorous interpretation category.

"Out of 230 kids, [Manny] was in the top 60, qualifying him to move to the octa-round of the tournament," Theisen said. "In that round, Manny competed against six kids in front of two judges. We won't know until fall Manny's exact ranking, but the fact that he made it to the out rounds is pretty phenomenal."

As if the excitement of making it to nationals wasn't enough, the group also got to experience a city in the throes of celebration after the.

"All of a sudden on Sunday night, traffic started pouring in on all these dead streets," Theisen said. "Out our window we saw Victory Square where all the sports teams celebrate when they win. We saw three giant television screens from our hotel, and it was live coverage of the Mavericks winning."

Borsilli reiterated her coaches' comments, saying that "it was a very loud night in Dallas." 

The experience the students had in Dallas is something that they will be able to take from in their respective careers, Theisen said.

While Borsilli said she doesn't plan to further her debating career at the collegiate level, she is still interested in being a part of the process.

"I do hope to judge at local tournaments during my breaks from school," Borsilli said. "Nationals was truly one of the best experiences of my life. I got to spend a week with my friends in a great city competing in an event that I love, and I am sure that these memories will stay with me for many years to come."