The Fear Instilled in Our Community

People commonly acknowledge fear in this world, but rarely do you ever see an association with fear in the Speech and Debate community, even with it being so prevalent in today’s Speech and Debate world. Not only are we already afraid, but with the recent pandemic, many more competitors are apprehensive about returning to the competition floor. Many members cherish this activity but are also conflicted about their future alongside Speech and Debate.

As many competitors have just started to adapt to the virtual world of Speech and Debate, there are still those who feel isolated. Here are just a few issues. Just looking at tournaments on Tabroom and Speechwire almost all of them fail to cater to Duo Interpretation, not even attempting to allow a split screen option. This is causing so many individuals to be forced to learn a different event just as the season starts. Thus, causing a unhealthy disadvantage. Which leads to our next issue, teams are struggling to teach incoming novices online. This is largely due to Speech and Debate organizations such as NSDA and NCFL not providing any source of aid. The fact that there are little to no statements even being addressed by our leagues is concerning to the overall interest of the Speech and Interpretation community. Not to mention the overgrowing qualified judge bias towards debate events especially with online tournaments.

There have been many issues with the national circuit, but we also can't forget about locals. Though it is not a new issue, misconduct and ethical issues are where many of our fears are centered. They continue to instill more concern with competitors even online. Recently though, NSDA came out with the statement that they were going to re-implement ethic/equity officers, which is well overdue, but we are still making a change! Although there is a lot of fear instituted in Speech and Debate, we need to understand that change is coming, and to be able to continue with Speech or Debate should be what you want. Other people or circumstances should never push you out of something you love!

Making sure to report any issues (whether online or in person), this will help prevent any further problems, while also simultaneously creating a safer environment for you and all of those around. Remember, keep fighting for what you think is right and don't give up this activity just because it's not in person right now. This situation can be somewhat intimidating, entering into a world you are not familiar with, but you'll never know what it would be like if you never try again! Everyone has their first for everything in Speech and Debate, don't worry, there are good people in everything and even better friends, you just have to find them!