Speech & Debate

INDIANAHIGHSCHOOLFORENSICSASSOCIATION
W W W.IHSFA.ORG

THEIHSFA
EMPOWERS
STUDENTSTOBE
EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATORS,
CRITICAL
THINKERSAND
LIFELONG
LEARNERS.

As educator s, w e all w ant our students to be able to solve pr oblem s,

collabor ate w ith peer s constr uctively, and be cr itical thinker s. M or e than
just buzz w or ds, these ar e the skills that em ployer s w ant to see w hen
hir ing em ployees. The Indiana High School For ensics Association pr ovides
a venue for students to lear n and r efine all of these skills thr ough the
activities of Speech and Debate.
M ovies and television have often por tr ayed these events as elitist and
only benefiting those that ar e alr eady academ ically gifted. How ever, I have
seen fir st hand the gr ow th that can happen for students of all skill
levels. A 2011 study found,"Even after accounting for the influence of
self -selection, students w ho par ticipated in the Chicago Debate League
w er e m or e likely to gr aduate fr om high school, per for m ed better on the
ACT,and show ed gr eater gains in cum ulative GPA r elative to sim ilar
com par ison students" (M ezuk , Bondar enko, Sm ith & Tucker, 2011, p.
630). W hile sim ilar studies have not been conducted on Speech events,
any coach can tell you that these activities help students w ith liter acy
skills including infer ence m aking, char acter ization and under standing
plot developm ent.
Beyond academ ics, students on these team s lear n em pathy as they
suppor t team m em ber s thr ough both victor y and loss. Students feel
involved in their school and gain a sense of pr ide that can car r y over
into their behavior on a day to day basis in the classr oom .
Adm inistr ator s w ho have invested in this or ganization can attest to the
benefits r eaped both in and out of the classr oom .
Samantha O'Conner
Executive Director - Indiana High School Forensics Association

Cal endar
Sept ember 11- 12

STARTINGATEAM

Annual Coaches Clinic

Oct - Jan
Who coaches speech & debat e?

Debate invitational
tour nam ents

W hile m any of our coaches teach English and Speech, other s teach Social
Studies, Fine Ar ts and even Science. We also have a gr ow ing com m unity of
coaches w ho ar e faculty at local colleges or for m er com petitor s w ho w ish to
r em ain par t of the activity.

Januar y 29- 30

What ar et hecost s t o st ar t a t eam?

Nov - Feb

M em ber ship into the IHSFA is $115 each year, entr ies into our Sectional and
State tour nam ents ar e $6 each. M em ber schools have access to coaching
r esour ces via our w ebsite, m ay com pete at Sectional and State tour nam ents
and ear n scholar ships and r ecognition. Schools m ay also join our par ent
or ganization the National Speech & Debate Association (speechanddebate.or g)
w hich pr ovides an Honor Society, National Tour nam ent and additional
scholar ship and r ecognition oppor tunities.

State Debate Tour nam ent

Speech invitational
tour nam ents

Febr uar y 27
Sectional Speech
Tour nam ents

How of t en do st udent s compet e?

In addition to Sectional and State Tour nam ents, our season consists of sever al
invitational tour nam ents at m em ber schools thr oughout the state. Invitational
tour nam ents ar e gener ally fr ee of cost. Coaches can find a calendar of
tour nam ents and tour nam ent invitations at w w w.IHSFA,or g.

MAr ch 12
State Speech Tour nam ent

Speech, debat e or bot h?

Coaches m ay choose if they w ant to par ticipate in Speech events, Debate
events or both. M any new coaches find it easier to focus on one or the
other. Coach pr efer ences, cur r iculum connections and availability of
near by tour nam ents ar e all factor s in choosing events.

WANTMORE
INFORMATION?
Visit our w ebsite at w w w.IHSFA.or g to contact a m em ber of
our Executive Boar d in your ar ea or em ail our Executive
Dir ector - Executive.Dir ector @ishfa.or g.

WHYWE
SUPPORT
SPEECH&
DEBATE

I coach speech and debate, and I also teach English com position. Som e of
my students w ill never w r ite another essay after they gr aduate fr om high
school and/or college, but all of them w ill have to speak w ith people and
convince them of their ow n ability, pr oduct, or position. Speaking clear ly
and w ith conviction is the m ost obvious life skill.
M ichael Yeakey - Coach & Teacher
Bethany Christian Schools

The ability to effectively com m unicate a given

m essage is cr ucial to today's w or kfor ce. Ther e is no
gr eater pr epar ation for college than an activity that
involves r eading, w r iting, and cr itical thinking.
Speech often gives a voice to high schooler s w ho
m ight have not had a voice other w ise. I coach high
school speech to m entor the students to be a sm all
par t of getting them r eady for the 'r eal w or ld.' I
coach high school speech because it m atter s.
Anna Carmon, Ph.D - Director of the Communication
Studies Program, IUPUC
Coach - Columbus East High School

READTHERESEARCHONTHEIMPACT OFSPEECH& DEBATENational Speech & Debate Association - Advocacy

As an adm inistr ator, I suppor t speech and debate because these pr ogr am s instill and foster the academ ic and
social values integr al to student success in the educational envir onm ent. Speech and debate pr ogr am s foster
21st centur y skills thr ough encour aging student choice and foster ing collabor ation. In the cur r ent context of
student achievem ent, accountability, and school safety as it r elates to clim ate and cultur e, w hen
adm inistr ator s ar e able and w illing to take the tim e (and allocate the r esour ces) to suppor t these pr ogr am s'
staff and students, the positive im pact on clim ate and cultur e w ithin the building and com m unity is
im m easur able.
Elizabeth Walters - Assistant Principal
Southport High School

FROMOURALUMNI

The exper ience fr om speech and debate allow ed m e to

be far m or e pr epar ed for college classes. Especially in
business school, w hen alm ost ever y class has at least
one pr esentation, speech allow ed m e to have the
confidence that I w ould pr oper ly m em or ize my par t.
And in the event that I r ealized w hat I w as saying w as
not exactly w hat I had planned, tr aining for im pr om ptu
taught m e how not to panic and how to concisely
connect points on the fly.
Amy Lovell - Former Competitor

I had never hear d of com petitive speech befor e. I

decided to go to a call out m eeting and it has easily
been one of the best decisions I m ade as a high
school student. W ithout speech I w ould not be even
close to the per son that I am today. A m ajor ity of my
fr iends ar e people I m et thr ough speech, my public
speaking skills have im pr oved exponentially , even
my com m on application essay center ed ar ound my
ver y 1st speech m eet.
Zoe Walker - Former Competitor

To say that speech w as the m ost im por tant thing I did

in high school could not be m or e tr ue. It taught m e
how to act, dr ess, and speak pr ofessionally. It gave m e
a uniquely cr eative outlet in my life. It w as nothing
shor t of the m ost exciting com petition in existence.
M ost im por tantly how ever, it gave m e a team that
tur ned into my fam ily and a place to belong and call
hom e.
M ariann Fant - Former Competitor

Deliver ing a good speech is one of the m ost pow er ful

and per suasive tools a per son can have, and my
exper ience w ith speech team alw ays gives m e a boost
of confidence w henever I give a pr esentation.
Pr esentations cr op up all the tim e in college, w hether
it?s for class or for r esear ch confer ences.
Per sonally, though, w hat I took aw ay m ost fr om
speech team w as the m em or y of how r ew ar ding it
w as. I knew that w hatever car eer I chose for myself, I
w anted it to r eflect the fun and fulfillm ent I got fr om
w or king on my pieces and com peting w ith my
team m ates.

Adele Zhou - Former Competitor