District Congress

P-Russ's recap:

SUBJECT: Impressive Performances at Congressional Districts/Novice Championship

Good afternoon, all,

Hope you're enjoying hunkering down for the SB if that's your thing and, if not, that you're reveling in the special quiet that descends on this country when you're one of the few people not watching the big game.

This weekend, Jenn, Edith, and I took ten of our finest debaters down to the Albuquerque Marriott Pyramid for two of the biggest S&D events of the year: Congressional Districts and the Novice Congress State Championship (which run concurrently). Depending on their chamber, students had a shot at being named state champ or at getting an invitation to the 99th annual National Speech and Debate Tournament, which will be held in Phoenix in June. This is one of those events that's an honor just to attend!

And while us new kids on the block didn't steal any of the top spots from the S&D powerhouses this time around, there were many seriously impressive performances all the same:

• Tamarron Austin and Marcus Nahalea were right on the cusp of breaking to finals in House Districts, even with it having been Marcus's very first time trying this event!

• In their first times competing in Congressional Debate since they medaled at our very first meet back in September, Hailey Thomas and Haylei Redhouse got 9th and 11th in the Novice Championship respectively.

• Most impressive of all were Aspyn Kaskalla's and Natashia Anderson's performances. They let me throw them in to Senate Districts, which is one of the most challenging competitions of the entire season. Similar to the real Senate, each school only gets to send two competitors, and they are invariably the absolute best debaters on their teams. Natashia and Aspyn were likely the only novices in a room filled with juniors and seniors, many of whom have actually already been to Nationals before! This being the case, it would have been totally reasonable and not embarrassing at all if they'd ranked dead last. Nevertheless, they came away right near the middle of the chamber, with Aspyn taking 9th and Natashia taking 11th, making them New Mexico's 7th and 9th alternates to Nationals for this event! But my favorite outcome of their bravery and success in the snakepit was a comment made to me by Ed Henry, a retired NM coach who spent decades mentoring students in Congressional Debate specifically (and with great success!) and who judged Senate yesterday. He took the time to find me after the tournament to tell me what promise and potential Aspyn and Natashia have. "Their only issue right now is inexperience," he said. "If they stick with it, they'll be dangerous." 😂

So yes -- didn't turn any heads too significantly this time, but honestly it would've been pretty embarrassing for all those students who've been working at this for two or three years if novices like ours had shown them up! We are in an excellent place for the end of our first year, and I can't wait to see what lies ahead for these kids, both on and off the team.

Although I should clarify that this was only the final competition for Congressional Debate. We have two more serious tournaments coming up for the other events, so stay tuned!

Best,

John