HECTOR HERNANDEZ | staff writer
Nearing the end of a strong season, the forensics and debate team sent its coach and four of its students over international waters to compete in the International Forensics Association tournament held in London over spring break. The team included seniors Sarah Colome, Jameson Gavin, Nathan Harpham, junior James Stevenson and Director of Forensics Amy Jung. The team left for London on March 15 and returned on March 22. The tournament was held at the Holiday Inn London-Kensington Forum and involved the toughest competition from all over the United States, including teams from Western Kentucky University, George Mason University and Tennessee State University.
“It’s a very diffi cult competition,” Jung said. “You have some of the best schools in the world competing, some of the highest quality schools and some of the best funded schools. It’s very challenging for APU to hold their own against these schools.” The team did well in the competition breaking to higher rounds in most of th events. Gavin and Harpham won three out of four rounds. Colome made the semifi nals for poetry and Stevenson went to the semifi The debate topics dealt with issues that are important to the United Kingdom. These included: the use of surveillance cameras in public places, the role of the royal family, and British relations with Greece concerning the Elgin Marbles taken from the Parthenon. The travel and the topics were all an opportunity to experience a different culture and point of view.
“It forced the students to get away from the American only mind set and see things from a very different perspective,” Jung said. Of their time in London, the team was at the tournament on March 17 and 18, allowing them a few days afterward to experience London. It was the fi rst time in London for everyone who went and the fi rst time out of the U.S. for Gavin and Stevenson. Gavin especially enjoyed London and said he would like to live there.
The trip gave them the opportunity to see and experience much of what they have learned of in history or read about in literature. They saw the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum (which was the subject of one of their debates), Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and two plays. While experiencing London together, each for the fi rst time, the students grew as a team and got to know one another better.
“It was really good for them because they finaled in prose and placed fourth overall in after dinner speaking. Last year Colome was the only student from APU to go to the international tournament held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
“It’s always more of a challenge,” communication studies major Colome said. “But it’s better that way in my opinion, that way when you [move to the next round] you can be proud because you are doing well against the best competition in the nation.” It is common for the tournament to be held in a hotel. This created its own challenges which required adjustments and adaptations, including the challenge of the limited space in the rooms and around the beds. “It’s interesting because on one level it’s more diffi cult, but because you have to work with the other team to fi nd space and to fi nd a place to speak [before the round], people don’t get as angry during the round,” communications studies major Gavin said. Although it was an international tournament, most of the competitors were from the United States because that is where the most competitive schools are from, but it was an international tournament in many more ways.
“One of the things that made the tournament international besides the location were some of the topics and events,” Jung said. don’t all work together all the time,” Jung said. “When they work together as a team they see new sides of each other and appreciate each others differences more.” The team enjoyed the time together and getting to know one another better. “I’ve been competing with these people for a long time but this was the fi rst time I really got to know them,” Gavin said. “We would sit around eating food, just relaxing and then we would start talking. It was a lot of fun and it created a different atmosphere.”
APU Forensics is a growing team and that was seen in their international success and in the presence they will have in the upcoming national tournaments. “I’m really excited. We’re sending a lot of people to nationals with more events this year,” Gavin said.
The international tournament came near the end of the season and, after returning from London, the team is looking forward to the national tournaments. The national tournament will be held next weekend in Colorado, and APU will send two teams of two to compete. The following weekend the national tournament for individual events will be held in Austin, Texas where four APU students will compete in twelve events.
