Revere speech and debate makes impact at national tournament

Words mattered for Revere students who competed at the National Speech and Debate Association National Tournament June 17-22 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Of the 11 Revere High and middle school competitors at the nationals, seven advanced beyond preliminary rounds.

High school students must qualify for the NSDA Nationals through district competition. Revere had three – an all-time high – participate in the national tourney: senior Leah Espinal and sophomores Claire Jimerson and Julia Scott, who in her first-ever national event advanced beyond prelims through 11 rounds of Lincoln Douglas debate. She placed 27th in the United States among more than 240 competitors.

Revere sophomore Julia Scott of Bath placed among the top 28 in the U.S. in the Lincoln Douglas debates.

Middle school students participate in the NSDA Nationals through a “coach/school invite” process. Revere chose to send eight students, of which six advanced beyond the preliminaries. Highest finisher was eighth grader Drake Du, who placed 17th in Congressional Debate. Sanchita Chandran finished 22nd. Both went to the semifinals.

Also advancing were middle school public forum debaters Isha Bansal and Chloe Doyle (24th) and Phillip Liu and Aditya Desai (29th). Nnemdi Amanambu and Meredith Stein also participated for Revere.

Competing against their peers from inside and outside the U.S. became a transformational experience for several Revere students.

“The NSDA tournament was the biggest opportunity I’ve ever gotten,” said Chandran. “It allowed me to expand my speaking abilities and learn from amazing people I competed against.”

Added Du, “Speech and debate is an invaluable opportunity that has opened me up to a community of friends and fellow competitors, many of whom have kept in close contact even after the tournament ended.”

“I left nationals having gained great confidence. You can’t let losing one round or facing intimidating debaters faze you,” Bansal said.

“When I look back on our accomplishments throughout the year, I realize how hard we worked and how amazing it felt to win,’’ said Doyle.

“When I took over as coach in 2013, our school could fit its entire team into a small van to attend tournaments,’’ said John Kerezy. “Five years later, we were excited to have a high school roster exceeding 50 competitors.”

Residents can follow Revere speech and debate by reading the blog at talkingminutemen.wordpress.com.