What Is "Friendship Practice"?

The world of competitive speech and debate is fast-paced, exciting, and often intimidating to outsiders. As our students develop important practical skills that they can take with them into the real world, they make strong connections with their peers. These rivalries are reinforced each weekend as schools see each other at various tournaments and competitors trade wins and losses with one another. Unfortunately, as we hone our skills and reach new levels of success in the world of forensics, we often lose sight of what really matters. Students and coaches alike begin to focus more on what it takes to win rounds as opposed to really taking a moment to breathe and enjoy the journey.

The Fall Friendship Practice Tournament seeks to provide a competitive opportunity that allows schools to continue to achieve success in each of their events while also challenging them to shift their perspective. This tournament operates the same as many others - we follow all of the rules, award medals and trophies at the end, and allow for students to compete for TFA state points. The difference between this tournament and others comes from our focus on PRACTICE. Not the practice of the competitive strategies that win rounds, but rather the practice of enjoying the experience that competition provides us with. The practice of building strong connections to the literature that we read and the advocacies that we champion. The practice of developing our skills as communicators. And perhaps most importantly, the practice of using these opportunities as a chance to make FRIENDS.