Walker hosts 51st Chuck Beckman Memorial Speech Tournament

  Last Saturday, the WHA Speech Team hosted the 51st annual Chuck Beckman Memorial Speech Tournament. Twenty-eight schools were in attendance with almost 300 speakers. The tournament hosted 14 different speaking events throughout the day. There were three preliminary rounds of speaking. The top six speakers in each category competed in the final round, and the next six competed in an honor final round. This was one of the larger tournaments for the Walker Talkers with tough competition in every category. The team entered 15 speakers total and earned 9 awards. 

   The following speakers competed in the honor final round of their category: Sora Bauerly placed 4th in Oratory, Abagayle Audette placed 3rd in Extemp. Reading, Julia Schock placed 5th in Drama, and Madison Kendrick placed 1st in Drama. 

   The following speakers placed within the top six of their category and competed in a final round: Elijah Cox placed 4th in Prose, Leo Burns placed 6th in Humor, Natalie Resch-Seely placed 4th in Extemp. Speaking, Ada Muller placed 4th in Discussion, and Katelyn DeLost placed 5th in Creative. 

   In the team sweepstakes Staples-Motley, Moorhead, and Thief River Falls placed 1st through 3rd respectively. Walker placed 5th overall behind 4th place Rock Ridge. 

This tournament, which is held on the same weekend in March every year, is the team’s primary fundraising event. The funds allow the team to purchase items that keep speakers well dressed and prepared for tournaments. Additionally, the money raised from the tournament allows the team to attend overnight competitions that require lodging. And finally, hosting this tournament every year allows the team to continue to host tournaments. Competing as a speech team in the northern half of this state can be difficult. Travel times to tournaments are often well over two hours each way, and these trips are made almost every weekend for several weeks. Maintaining tournaments in the area allows speakers to attend more competitions and get more experience in the activity without having to make lengthy trips to the south end of the state. Above all, as a team, we are proud of the school we attend, and we enjoy the opportunity to showcase our school to speakers, parents, and coaches from all over the state. We extend our deepest appreciation to everyone who helped us make this tournament a success. Thank you to the administrators for making the building open and available. Thank you to the custodians for working on Saturday to keep the building clean and presentable. And most importantly, thank you to the parents who volunteered to serve food to the many students and judges. We could not have hosted this tournament without you. This Thursday the team will host the final junior high tournament of the season. Then, after a weekend off from tournaments, the team will travel to Moorhead to compete in the NSDA Northern Lights Qualifying tournament.