Murrah Speech & Debate at Ole Miss Tournament

My oldest son joined the Speech & Debate team this year to compete in the category of policy debate. Another mother and I each drove a van load of team members to the University of Mississippi in Oxford on Friday morning and back very, very late on Saturday (into Sunday). It was a long, grueling weekend from my point of view, but Graeme (and his teammates) found it challenging, exhilarating, and affirming. I felt very much the novice going in, but, by Saturday at 6 p.m., I had judged Lincoln-Douglas debate, novice prose, poetry, impromptu speech, and dramatic interpretation. Between the two days of competition, I got 4.5 hours sleep. Here are some pictures from the tournament.

Joseph and Crystal preparing for the opening round.

Team members armed with the morning’s first coffee (or hot chocolate).

Crystal and Adria getting revved up.

Crystal doing a run-through for Adria.

Ryan and Graeme talk strategy between rounds with Coach Micah Everson.

Khari in between rounds of Extemporaneous Speech.

Alliyah in between rounds of Impromptu.

Adria rapping with Crystal to relax between rounds.

Michael with Coach Everson between rounds.

James, Graeme, Khari, Ryan, and Alliyah chilling between rounds.

Graeme, Ryan, and Khari watching an episode of Sherlock while waiting for the Awards Ceremony.

Adria receiving her medal for breaking (making it into semi-finals) in Dramatic Interpretation.

The portion of the Murrah Mustangs team that participated in the Ole Miss tournament.

Ryan and Graeme took first place in policy debate! Khari took fourth in Extemp. Graeme took fifth in Extemp-Novice. Alliyah broke in Impromptu. Great results for the first tournament of the season. Next weekend, two mini-van loads will go to Montgomery, AL, but Graeme and I have other obligations. The whole team will compete together at the first metro-area tournament of the season Oct. 19-20.