By Chelsea Lim
Peninsula High School
Grade 11___11/22/10 – On November 13, 2010, Peninsula’s Speech and Debate team made a grand showing, triumphantly bringing home 1st place Sweeps in both the Original Events and the Interpretation Events categories, making it the overall best-performing school at the tournament. Pen’s team consisted of more than 40 talented speakers, attending the Western Bay Forensics League tournament hosted by West Torrance High School.
“Public speaking is not just a hobby or an extra-curricular activity to fluff up a college app,” Tiffany Tan, a junior at Peninsula and avid member of the debate team since her freshman year, stated. “It’s an art.”
Competing in events involving scripts, acting, and dramatic interpretation, as well as non-scripted events including impromptu and extemporaneous speaking, the participants spent countless hours diligently researching pressing issues, reading the news, and polishing their speeches.
Not only did they perform superbly at league tournaments, but they also achieved remarkable success on a state and national level. Despite the team’s short history of five years, starting shy of ten members, the team has transformed into a prestigious group of more than 80 active members.
“Last year, 13 Peninsula ‘Sparkies’ – a unique name for the team – qualified for the State Tournament in Bakersfield, CA, while two others qualified for the National Tournament held in Kansas City, MO,” Jennifer Clarry, the coach specializing in Public Forum Debate, explained.
But Pen’s team would not be able to achieve such successes without the guidance and support of their five dedicated and experienced coaches: Dr. Mark Crossman, Samantha Weiss, Jennifer Clarry, Diana Crossman, and Francesca Bishop.
“I’ve been thrilled by the amount of growth we have experienced recently,” Ms. Clarry continued, “and I admire the students for their passion, energy, and devotion.”
The coaches say they hope to challenge the team by participating in higher-level speech tournaments and by producing more national and state qualifiers in the future.
